It had all started in the lobby of Marron Veterinary Clinic, four days earlier.
Hinata had come home from school and quickly headed back out the door with his partner, the Shiba Inu named Chris. Before they headed off on their walk, he stopped by the veterinary clinic on the ground floor of their home.
“I’m back, Dad!”
“Welcome home, Hinata. What’s that, Chris? Are you going out for a walk? Who’s a lucky boy?”
“Woof !” replied Chris happily, pulling against his pink leash.
Yuusuke, the large man waving from the back of the office, was Hinata’s father. He was the clinic’s nurse and groomer, and he took care of everything from helping the doctor with treatment and managing each animal’s health to giving haircuts to dogs.
“You took a while to get home, Hinata,” said Rui Takeuchi, one of Hinata’s classmates. He was seated on the sofa in the lobby, a large tabby cat named Chachamaru resting on his lap.
“Y-yeah… I started looking at an animal picture book in the library,” Hinata admitted awkwardly, “and before I knew it…”
Hinata was shy and felt a little nervous even around his classmates.
“I see. I went home ages ago and brought Chachamaru here. His ears seemed itchy, so I wanted to have Dr. Suzune take a look.” Rui grinned, pushing his slipping glasses back up his nose.
“Hinata, Chris, let’s go for a walk!” came a boisterous voice from over Hinata’s shoulder. “Oh, Rui Takeuchi. You’re always here, aren’t you?”
The voice belonged to Hinata’s childhood friend and classmate, Mayuka Yoshizawa, who’d just walked into the clinic. She was even more energetic than usual, and her pigtails bounced with excitement. She almost always tagged along for Hinata and Chris’s daily walks.
Rui was a little miffed by her comment. She was here even more often than he was!
“Chris,” Mayuka said excitedly, “let’s go practice tracking criminals at Tenso Shrine!” Hinata lifted a finger and shushed her in a panic, but it was too late.
“Mayuka, you promised not to do anything dangerous.” Sure enough, Yuusuke narrowed his eyes at them from behind the counter.
Hinata, Mayuka, and Chris, a former police dog, had already had plenty of adventures, from catching jewel thieves to arresting a gang of burglars. Chris’s ability to track scents and find clues, combined with Mayuka’s boundless energy and Hinata’s logic and intuition, had managed to crack both cases.
But seeing the trio involved in such dangerous incidents worried the adults in their lives.
Helen Mehito, the mastermind behind both incidents, was still on the run. What’s more, Chris had the key to information she wanted, and it was very likely that she was still out there, waiting for a chance to get back at them…
Given all of that, it was no wonder that the adults were concerned.
“That’s right,” Rui whispered to Mayuka. “You two always run headfirst into danger without thinking of the consequences… You do remember that I was the one who called for help both times, right?”
Mayuka shrugged. “Yeah, yeah! We owe the great Rui Takeuchi a heavy debt. Don’t worry, Mr. Yuusuke. We won’t do anything dangerous.”
“Uh-huh… But don’t you always say that, Mayuka?” admonished Yuusuke. “And you just said you were going to practice tracking criminals…”
The sound of the door opening cut off Yuusuke’s lecture. A tall, slender girl had just entered the waiting room with a man.
The girl had long, straight black hair and wore a loose track jacket and pants. The man wore glasses and a well-fitted suit and was clutching a large object to his chest. It appeared to be a birdcage with a rounded top, covered with a black cloth to hide the interior.
“Oh? Mito?” Mayuka stood up from her seat on the sofa.
The girl came to a startled stop, and her expression hardened.
“Hello. Is this your first visit?” said Yuusuke from behind the counter. “…Do you know her, Mayuka?”
“Y-yes,” Mayuka said hesitantly. “Mito’s our classmate…”
The other girl turned away in a huff and said bluntly, “‘But she barely comes to school, and I’ve never spoken to her’…right?”
Yuusuke looked to Hinata for help. “Does she have complicated circumstances or something?” he asked with his eyes.
Hinata didn’t know what to say, so Rui took the initiative. “Mito Sugisaki is a violinist. She’s busy with lessons and concerts, so she’s often absent from school,” he explained.
“Wow, so you’re learning the violin?!” Yuusuke exclaimed, impressed.
Rui shook his head. “I wouldn’t say she’s ‘learning’ it.” He turned to Mito. “I believe you won a junior competition, right?”
Hinata was stunned. He knew that Mito was often absent from school because she was busy practicing. But he’d had no idea that she was so accomplished.
Mito glared at Rui through narrowed eyes. “And?” she said coldly. “So what if I’ve won things?”
The air in the room turned to ice. Even Chris hid his head behind Hinata’s legs.
“Uh, no… I mean… That’s quite an accomplishment!” Yuusuke hastily interjected. “Aren’t you the same age as these three?” He waved his pointer finger at the other children. “My son, Hinata, can’t even play it cool, much less play the violin, ha-ha-ha…”
The chilly atmosphere was now as frigid as the South Pole.
The man carrying the birdcage said, “Stop that, Mito. We’re here to have Popo examined, remember? My apologies. I’m Mito’s father, and this is our bird…”
Mr. Sugisaki pulled back the black cloth to reveal a yellow parrot standing on a perch. The feathers atop its head were long and pointy, and its cheeks were a brilliant shade of orange.
Chris poked his head out from behind Hinata’s legs as if to ask, “Who’s that?”
“Ah, a cockatiel,” Yuusuke said with the calm tone of an expert, finally on more familiar ground. “Please bring it over.” He beckoned them to the counter.
Mr. Sugisaki strode over and placed the cage down in front of Yuusuke. “It had a bit of a freak-out just a little while ago and hurt its leg. There was blood…”
Yuusuke carefully examined the bird in the cage. The cockatiel stared back at him and peeped.
“It’s a very cute bird. Our vet will take a look at it in just a moment, but given that it’s staying on its perch, I don’t think there’s anything to be alarmed about. It probably just had a cockatiel fright.”
“Cockatiel fright?”
“Yes, cockatiels are easily frightened. Loud noises, earthquakes—many things can set them off and cause them to panic and act out. Episodes like that are called cockatiel frights…”
Mito shoved herself in front of her father and said crossly, “Popo is not a coward! It grew up listening to me play the violin, so loud noises are no problem.”
“But, Mito, when you were practicing earlier…,” her father began timidly.
She scrunched her nose up and shouted, “I know, I know it’s my fault! My pizzicato execution wasn’t good enough, and I kicked over the music stand in frustration!”
Oof. Hinata drew his knees up on the sofa. She kicked over her music stand? Mito seems a bit scary…
But Mayuka’s eyes widened in wonderment. “Wow, really? I guess violin practice is harder than I realized. I thought it was really cool that you could play the violin, but I guess it’s not so easy, huh…”
This surprised Mito. She hesitated, then swept a strand of hair out of her face and said, “Have you ever even touched a violin? Of course you have no idea what I deal with!”
Mayuka wasn’t intimidated, however. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about it. I’ve never even seen one in person. But I wish I could someday. I bet it would sound beautiful up close.”
Mito’s expression softened. It seemed that Mayuka’s boundless innocence had won her over. She exhaled slowly, stared Mayuka right in the face, and said, “Then…maybe someday…”
“Wow, really? I can’t wait!” Mayuka bounced up and down and clapped her hands.
At that moment, the sliding door to the examination room opened, and an old man with a dog came out.
“Take care, Dachs!” Suzune called out after them. She took a look around the waiting room and winked at Rui. “I’m guessing it’s Chachamaru’s turn next.”
Suzune was Hinata’s mother and the Marron Clinic’s veterinarian. She was short and had a round face. Her examination style was thorough and careful, but her personality was warm and friendly.
Rui picked up one of Chachamaru’s paws and waved it at her. “Dr. Suzune, you can save us for later. Please take a look at that cockatiel over there first. I think they’re in a hurry.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, and looked over at Mr. Sugisaki, who had his hand on the birdcage.
He bowed to Rui. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you. And your name is…?”