Even I know this is insane, he thought.
Harukappa: I’ll say, “From beginning to end.” And you’ll say, “We’re all connected in a great big circle”
Kazuki’s fingers trembled as he typed his reply.
Sara: That’s a beautiful secret code, dish! ✩
Harukappa: It’s a sign that we’re connected!
After he read Haruka’s reply, Sara-Kazuki hugged the phone tightly against his chest. Then he lifted his face, all traces of doubt gone now.
Real or not, Haruka and I are still connected.
The fifth and sixth floors of the 5656 Meeting Hall were one giant, open area, an enormous room with a stage that was called Tokiwa Hall. There was a line of fans at the entrance, waiting for the venue to open.
Enta stood beside Haruka and his parents. He glanced down at the boy, who was gazing intently at the screen of his smartphone. “Haruka, what are you watching?”
“It’s today’s lucky selfie horoscope!” On the tiny screen of the device, Sara was announcing the item of the day.
“You must really like her to be watching this when you’re about to meet her in person in a few minutes.”
“Yeah! I love her!”
Behind the screen, Sara’s dreamy voice intoned, “Now then, what will today’s lucky selfie item be? It’s a sachet, dish! ✩”
Haruka looked back at his mother and asked, “Hey, what’s a ‘sachet’?”
“It’s a fragrance bag, filled with scented potpourri.”
“A fragrance bag…” Haruka echoed. A tremor seemed to run through his body, though it went unnoticed by both his parents and Enta.
Enta cut in and said, “S-so Kazuki didn’t come with you guys today?”
“No,” said Haruka’s mother. “Kazu-kun left early this morning.”
“O-oh, okay…” Enta pasted a strained smile onto his face to mask his inner panic. What the heck are you doing, Kazuki?! If Haruka finds out the truth, it’s all over!
“Okay then,” came Sara’s voice from Haruka’s phone. “Have a wonderful day, and may lots of luck be dished your way! ✩”
Scene 3
AN IMPOSING HUSH settled over the large conference room at the Asakusa Police Station, where a meeting was presently underway. A paper on the outside of the door read: Asakusa Suspicious Death Investigation HQ.
The chief’s voice echoed inside the dimly lit room. “We have identified the body we found early this morning: unemployed thirty-five-year-old Nioino Fukuro.” His profile revealed that his name was written with the kanji for “fragrance bag.” “Six months ago, we arrested him as a suspect in connection with the Asakusa Protected Species Fragrance Bag Incident. He was released after we failed to bring charges against him. We’ll be investigating his death as a homicide.”
There was an audible ka-chik as the projector flipped through photos of multiple Japanese giant salamanders—listed as a protected species—that had been unlawfully abducted and imprisoned in cages. These same salamanders were, of all things, being fed curry so their sweat could be extracted.
The prevailing mood in the room was pretty much, Come on, there’s no way a potpourri with their sweat could make for a good fragrance bag. There was a fiery energy in the room.
In the midst of all of this, two people abruptly stood up—Reo and Mabu.
“We’re the ones who sniffed him out!” said Reo.
“It was yesterday’s sachet!” said Mabu.
Yesterday evening, to be precise. The incident took place at the police box where the two worked.
“This is a stinkin’ false arrest!”
“For those souls without beginnings or ends, those unable to connect…” Mabu held up a photo of Nioino at the scene of the crime, feeding extremely spicy curry to a giant salamander sitting in a bucket.
“Now, let us open a door…” Reo aimed the barrel of his gun at the man. “Is it desire?”
“Or love?”
A large taiko drum appeared above Nioino’s head.
“Desire Extraction!”
Nioino was absorbed into the drum and disappeared completely.
“This is where we’ll do the shoot. Please go on in.”
The man in the kappa mask brought Sara to a nearby building, called Asakusa Kannon Hot Spring. The vines covering the building’s exterior gave it a solemn atmosphere, but it had actually closed its doors for good. Behind the creaking entry lay a dark, vast skeleton of a once-booming business.
“Ooh… This feels like something straight out of a horror move, dish. ✩” Sara, who was not like other idols, stepped inside without an ounce of suspicion. And as soon as she did, the door slammed closed behind her.
The culprit, of course, was the man in the kappa mask—Toi. He wrapped a heavy chain around the outside of the door, then inserted a key into the giant lock on the front, effectively sealing the girl inside.
“I’ll let you out as soon as the handshake event is over. If you wanna hold this against anyone, hold it against him, not me.” Feeling satisfied that his work was done, he glanced behind him to discover—
“A complately successful escape! ✩” There stood Azuma Sara, in her trademark pose.
“What?! Why—how did you get out?!” He glanced back, but of course the padlock and chain were perfectly intact.
Toi chased after her, and soon found himself trapped in a cat-and-mouse game with him trapping her and her slithering free. He tried sealing her in a telephone box, a large coin locker, and finally even a magic box with swords sticking out of it. But no matter where he locked her up, she always snuck out to declare, “A complately successful escape! ✩”
Toi, who had some experience in criminal activity, lost all of his confidence at this utter defeat. “Just what the heck is she?!”
“And now we’ll commence the meet-and-greet with Asakusa’s very own idol, Azuma Sara-san!” The announcement echoed throughout the event hall, finally heralding Sara’s long-awaited appearance.
It was Enta’s first time ever seeing her in person, and his nerves made him lose sight of his original objective—to prevent Kazuki’s secret from being revealed.
At least until he saw Sara-Kazuki appear on stage.
“Good morning! ✩ It’s me, Azuma Sara, dish! ✩”
Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you seriously doing this?! Enta was completely flabbergasted, unable to believe that Kazuki would resort to something like this. But he quickly remembered his mission. No! Haruka’s going to realize the truth!
Just as he outstretched his hands to try to cover the younger boy’s eyes, Haruka exclaimed, “It’s Sara-chan! She’s sooo cute!”
“Huh?”
It wasn’t just Haruka either; cheers erupted from all over the audience.
Th-they’re all buying it?!
Sara-Kazuki responded to their encouraging shouts with a smile. “I am so glad you all came here today, dish. ✩ I was really looking forward to meeting you as we—huh?!” His eyes met Enta’s. He was clearly shaken by the sight of his friend in the crowd.
Enta used the hand signs they created back when they played soccer together to send a message. Haruka doesn’t know. Keep going. Who would have guessed they’d ever use those signs under these circumstances?
The meet-and-greet proceeded smoothly, until at last it was Enta’s turn. Haruka was waiting behind him.
“I’m cheering for you. In more ways than one…” Enta said sincerely, offering his genuine support.
“I-I appreciate that, dish… ✩” Sara-Kazuki smiled awkwardly and shook his hand.
Their father pushed Haruka forward in his wheelchair, until he was sitting right before Sara-Kazuki.
“Sara-chan!” Haruka tightly gripped both of Sara-Kazuki’s hands, their warmth the same as they had been that day.
Scene 4
UNABLE TO SHAKE OFF the unease he felt since his grandfather’s death, Kazuki began playing soccer. He had no particular love for the sport; he just wanted an excuse not to be at home. It worked better than expected, since he became so immersed in the game that he could forget about everything else.
Regardless of why he started playing, Kazuki still developed a genuine love for the sport. Soon, his and Haruka’s shared bedroom was covered in soccer merch and posters of overseas players.
Playing gave him the strength to stop wearing matching outfits with his family. The season was changing, and with it, the clothes everyone wore. Kazuki wondered what his parents must have thought when he threw the striped outfit into the trash.
He spent the rest of the day playing soccer by himself at the park in front of their condo complex.
“Kazu-chan!”
He somehow knew it would be Haruka that came to get him.