Chapter 11

Epilogue The bloody incident at the school was resolved by the police, and we were able to return to our normal school lives. One day after school, as spring came to a close, Ms. Koyomi called the three of us to the nurse’s office. “Um…er, what can I say? Um, I’m terribly sorry for the trouble I caused you all, Miss Natsunagi!” Seated in a chair, Ms. Koyomi placed her hands on her knees and bowed her head. But none of us blamed her. “You don’t have to apologize, Ms. Koyomi.” “That’s right. We weren’t harmed at all.” “I wasn’t, either! I was a little scared, but my precious friends and Ms. Koyomi helped me!” Ms. Koyomi slowly raised her head, but she still looked a bit perplexed. “It’s still true that I got you involved… You could even say that my organization used Miss Agarie as bait to lure Hachisu…” “It’s fine, Koyo!” said Haruru. “It’s a little over my head, but you’re basically on our side and protect us from the bad guys, right?” Ms. Koyomi nodded slightly. “Then that’s fine! Please don’t quit being our teacher and keep protecting us, okay?” “But I promised you all I’d tell you my true identity…” Ms. Koyomi looked back and forth between me and Fuyuko apologetically. “You don’t need to tell us, as long as you keep being our teacher and stay on our side,” I said. “Yeah. I’m with Nagisa. Right, Haruru?” “Yeah! Oh, but if you really do feel sorry about it…treat us to sushi next time?” “Ah, that’s a good idea. I want to go to that expensive-looking place at the station!” “Ha-ha. Ms. Koyomi’s wallet is going to be totally empty. How about it? We won’t ask you for anything else, and we don’t need an explanation. Just keep living your life like you’ve been.” We all laughed and waited for Ms. Koyomi to reply. Our request might not have sat well with her, as an adult. If anything, the desire to come clean and unburden herself might have been stronger. But as far as the three of us were concerned, we’d be much happier having Ms. Koyomi stay our teacher and spend our youth with us. “…Thank you very much. It makes me very happy to hear you all say that. I hope we can keep getting along going forward.” We all looked at each other and smiled. Now, starting tomorrow, I’d be a normal high school girl again. But… There was still one big mystery remaining in my peaceful, precious daily life: the owner of this heart of mine. This heart wanted to meet someone. I couldn’t just spend my days goofing around with everyone until I figured out who that person was. “By the way, Miss Agarie, did you tell Miss Natsunagi about the boy yet?” “Oh! No, I didn’t! Right, Nagi?” My thoughts couldn’t keep up with the sudden change of subject. “What are you talking about?” “The high school boy who saved me! When I got kidnapped, they grabbed him up, too, like a weird two-for-one special—but he managed to help me out!” Haruru said. “I couldn’t see his face because I was blindfolded, but I did hear his voice. He sounded kind of hot, and he said things like ‘good grief’ and ‘not this again’ in a pretentious way. He was probably a student at our school.” “I missed asking you this in all that, but are you trying to say the boy you were kidnapped with is…” “Yes. He’s the one you’re looking for!” Just when I’d thought I would have to wait a long time to find him, the figure that had been wrapped in mystery was suddenly about to be revealed. I couldn’t accept that yet. “B-but do you have any conclusive evidence that it’s him?” “I’ve looked into it, Nagisa,” said Fuyuko, and she handed me a whole stack of documents, including newspaper clippings and printed online articles. “A good assistant finishes her research before the detective even begins the investigation.” In the documents, his name was highlighted carefully with a marker. “I asked Ms. Koyomi about the boy and investigated him for the past few days. He was anonymous in the articles you found in the library before, but some of the older ones had his name in them.” When she said that, I went to pick out his name from the newspaper articles—but I couldn’t take that next step yet. “If he’s at our school, why didn’t he show up for the other mysteries…?” “I thought about that with Haruru. The key point was whether the police were needed in the incident. He appears at crime scenes that the public is aware of.” “Look, the first incident we solved, the Yellow Panties one, involved a pervert and voyeurism, right? But the other two were different.” “In the Yellow Panties incident, the culprit made contact with a high school boy, tripped, and fell down the stairs. If we assume that high school boy was him… What do you think?” Their deduction had been much more thorough than mine, even though they were my assistants. The nerve. But I was incredibly happy that they’d been so thoughtful and gone to such lengths to find him for me. I glanced over the newspaper articles, stared at his name again, and murmured it to myself. Then I finished reading the other articles Fuyuko had brought me, placed my hand over my chest to calm myself, and took a big breath. Will you give me the answer I’m looking for? I had a feeling that if I met him…I’d be writing a different story altogether. But I was fond of this life. A life where I wasn’t anyone yet, and I could find something in that. I might have to let go of this beautiful and unbreakable life—like a picture book the four of us had created—for just a short while. “Fuyuko. Haruru. Ms. Koyomi. Can I…go to him?” The people I loved nodded firmly. “Have a good time, Nagisa. If you solve the mystery about your heart, let’s go get some bubble tea.” “That would be a real anniversary, Nagi! If he does anything weird to you, you can tell me about it, okay?” “Miss Natsunagi, I’ll always be here for you if your heart or body is wounded.” I was going to see him for my own self-satisfaction and because my friends had encouraged me. “Thanks, everyone. I’m going!” I shoved the articles Fuyuko had given me into my schoolbag and rushed out into the hall. Class was done for the day, and not many people were around. One step, then another—my legs moved as rapidly as my heart. Before I knew it, I’d broken into a run. My heartbeat was shouting in a clear voice, I want to see him. I want to see him soon. At the same time, I became inexplicably angry. Why hadn’t he come to see me? Why hadn’t he searched for me himself all this time? I felt like the anger wasn’t really mine, but if he was cheeky, I’d shove my hand into his mouth and touch the dangly thing at the back of his throat. “That’s really weird of me.” I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and we hadn’t exchanged a word yet. I wanted him to see me soon, and I wanted him to fulfill this wish…this heart’s desire. I’d found his name on the class roster by the staff room, so I knew which classroom to enter. Most of his classmates had gone home, but there was one boy left alone, face down on his desk. Huh…? Don’t tell me he doesn’t have any friends? Normally, someone would have woken him up. “Well, whatever. It’s easier for me to deal with someone who isn’t normal anyway,” I muttered. I placed my schoolbag on the seat in front of him and observed him. How was I going to greet him? It was best to be friendly, right? Oh, but I remembered Fuyuko saying that boys liked it when girls bullied them, so maybe I’d go with something a bit more extreme. If my request made him hesitant, I might give him a little extra incentive, too. Well, it was about time for me to awaken this boy… …who was sleeping his life away to escape the reality of being alone forever. I grabbed him by the shirtfront and hauled him up with all my strength. Then I asked him as he looked up at me with an idiotic expression, still half asleep— “You’re the ace detective?”