Under that were four names: Sousei Takarai, Asumi Shiramori, Hina Shigee, and Yukisada Hayashi. It looked like they had each signed it themselves, as the handwriting was different. Asumi’s handwriting was cute, and Moena’s was dynamic but well balanced. Yukisada might have studied calligraphy, as his was the most beautiful.
Kuchina reread the letter many times.
After that, she folded it and put it back inside the envelope, which she returned to her bag.
She absentmindedly rummaged around in her bag for something—but then suddenly stopped.
…What…am I looking for?
Kuchina spaced out for a few seconds, then took out a small notepad and her pencil case.
The notepad had a solid white cover with pages that could be easily torn out. It had caught her eye for some reason while she was buying notebooks to use at school, so she’d ended up buying it at the same time.
After she bought it, she had tried tearing out a page. She just wrote on it to test it out and then burned the page to get rid of it. She hadn’t used the notepad since. After all, Kuchina didn’t take notes. Any matters she couldn’t afford to forget, she just remembered using the memory techniques she’d been taught. Writing things down could end up as evidence.
For those reasons, Kuchina didn’t have anything she needed the notepad for. She had thought she might never use it.
It was unnecessary, but it wasn’t clutter. Kuchina tried not to keep things she didn’t need. That notepad was one of the few exceptions.
Kuchina took a ballpoint pen out of her pencil case and tore a page from her notepad. Even with her gloves on, she didn’t have any trouble ripping it out. It came out easily and neatly.
Sousei Takarai wanted to become a normal high school student like everybody else.
I think that all the time, but…
On mornings like this, he couldn’t help but wish even harder for it.
I want to wash my hands of that kind of work and live an honest life…
As he was holding the hanging strap on the subway, for a second—just for a second—he lost consciousness.
Even when the train stopped at Tsukasachou and the doors opened, Sousei didn’t let go of the strap for two or three seconds. He wasn’t sleeping, though, just spacing out.
After he went through the ticket gate, someone said something to him, and he gave a half-hearted reply. He went up to street level and tried to remember who it had been, but he couldn’t say.
His head shouldn’t be this foggy just from one all-nighter. He’d committed the huge mistake of letting his main target, Tohru Hakayama, escape, and there was a good chance the mysterious naked man might still be in the area.
Sousei had also wanted to run away like Hakayama had, but he hadn’t been able to. Someone might have reported the damage to the police if the scene hadn’t been cleaned up by morning, and putting a request in to the cleaners was his sister’s job. That meant he couldn’t hide his mistakes from her, so he’d had to confess his failure. He’d expected her to get angry—and in fact, she’d been furious.
He couldn’t care less anymore. It didn’t matter. But if he told her that was how he truly felt, his sister would kick his butt. In the end, Sousei had had no choice but to sit there and take the lecture. The job wasn’t over. He hadn’t been able to finish it. He’d probably have to find Hakayama somehow and finish him off. There was also the issue of the naked man. Just who was he? Sousei would have to find out and get rid of him, too. He’d have to kill him.
Sousei wasn’t physically tired, but mentally, he was exhausted. Thanks to that, he’d ended up leaving the house late. It seemed like he’d be able to avoid being late to class, but he couldn’t shake the feeling there was something he was forgetting.
At the shoe cubbies, he put his hand on his indoor shoes and tried to remember.
What is it…?
Sousei crouched down.
—What am I forgetting…?
Before he realized it, he’d closed his eyes.
There’s still time…
Time for what, though?
I don’t know…
He was holding something in his hand. He opened his eyes to check. Even that seemed unbearably bothersome to Sousei in the moment. It was his own hand. He shouldn’t have to look at it to know what he was holding. There was no way he didn’t know what was in it.
…Shoes. That’s it. Right. It’s shoes. Uhhh… Huh? But I’m wearing shoes. I’m not barefoot. Ah… Is it because I haven’t taken them off? That’s right. I was going to change my shoes. These must be my indoor shoes…
“Fwaaah… Mohorning, Lil Sou…”
Someone was approaching him, their shoes making pitter-patter sounds on the floor. Sousei mustered up all his strength to open his eyelids and look up. Yoh Mishima was waving with his too-long sleeves. It looked like he’d just arrived at school.
“…Morning, Mishima. I mean, Mishii.”
“You voice sounds all scratchy…” Yoh grabbed his indoor shoes, his sleeves still covering his hands.
He doesn’t roll them up…
Sousei absentmindedly watched Yoh change his shoes.
“Hrrrn…?” Yoh tilted his head and blinked in surprise. It was only then that Sousei realized.
“…I have to change my shoes, too.”
“Are you still half asleep, Lil Sou…?”
“Nah… It’s not that…”
Sousei slowly changed his shoes and put his outdoor pair in his shoe box.
He tried to remember something, but he couldn’t.
…What could it be?
Yoh patted Sousei’s shoulder with a hand completely hidden by his sleeve.
“Shall we go to the classroom…?”
“…Yeah. Let’s.”
Sousei walked alongside Yoh. It might have been because Yoh seemed to sway as he walked, but Sousei also felt his steps become a little unsteady. He was really having trouble walking in a straight line.
“You sleep deprived, Lil Sou?”
“…Mm. Yeah…I guess so. A little…”
“Me toooo! What a coincidence!”
“…You seem pretty lively, Mishii…”
“I’m sooo sleepy. I often help my father with work at night, though, so I’m used to it.”
“Huh? You do…?”
“I guess it’s sort of a family business.”
“Oh, so it’s like you’re self-employed…? That’s really admirable of you, helping out with your family’s business.”
“It’s admirable, huuuh? Yaaay! I got a compliment!”
“…But, Mishii, don’t you always come to school early?”
“I ended up being late today because a crush job came in.”
“You mean a rush job…?”
“Yeah, that. There was still a lot to do, though, so I had to leave partway through. Dad told me to go to school.”
“That sucks…”
“Sex… Sucks and sex. Don’t you think they sound kinda similar?”
“Yeah…”
Just as Sousei and Yoh got to their classroom, the bell rang.
“Yooo!” Kouichirou Wakuya called out. Wakkuu had given his salute-like gesture, so Sousei desperately returned the salute with all his might.
“Yooo…!”
Doing that ended up repelling the majority of his classmates, but Wakkuu only gave him a thumbs-up and a wink.
“Nice ‘yooo’! I could really feel your ultra soul in it!”
“Sousei?! I thought you were going to be away today!” Asumi had apparently been worried about him. How could he make her worry like that?
“Takarai.” Moena held up her phone.
Sousei needed a little time to figure out what she was trying to say. Was it the group chat? He’d gone home to change his clothes and was sure he’d checked his notifications before taking a shower, but he probably hadn’t looked at his phone since.
“You look really sleepy. Are you all right?” Yukisada asked. So even he was concerned about Sousei.
Sousei wanted to assure him that he was perfectly hale and hearty, but he didn’t have the confidence to do that, so he ended up giving an ambiguous “Kinda…” in response.
Before he got to his desk, Sousei glanced at the seat at the back of the classroom by the window. Kuchina was looking outside with her chin on her hand.
What was it…?
He felt like he’d be able to remember. Like he had to remember.
Sousei put his bag on his desk, pulled his chair out, and sat down.
Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Oohira, entered the classroom, but all he got out was “Now, let’s get—” before Tadeshina gave the command.
“Stand. Bow.”
“Mooorning.” “Mor-mooor.” “Morning grande!” “What is that?!” “Hey heyyy.”
The students each called out a greeting. Standing half-heartedly out of his chair, Sousei also murmured a feeble “Good morning.”
“You’re too quick, everyone…” Mr. Oohira was baffled as always, even though it happened every morning.
Sousei sat back down and sighed. He had to check his phone. He couldn’t do it now, though. Morning homeroom was starting. He’d do it after.
Umm, other than that…
His bag was on top of his desk.
Right… That’s it. My notebooks and textbooks and stuff…
Sousei went to open his bag. That had been his intention at least, but for some reason or other, he’d stuck his hand into his desk. Something was in there. His fingertips brushed against it. It was thin. Probably a piece of paper.
Sousei pinched the object between his fingers, and sure enough, it was a piece of paper. It wasn’t especially big, so it didn’t seem to be a worksheet or anything like that, and it seemed to be folded in half.
Mr. Oohira was in the middle of saying something.
Sousei took the piece of paper out from inside his desk. It looked like an A6 page from a notepad that had been folded in half. He opened it.