"Come on, it has to be here somewhere. Well… I suppose it is a rather rare find as of late."

"Maybe you should ask the shopkeeper if it's in stock."

"No… I'm always in bookstores. I might even be willing to bet that I know my way around most of them more than their owners themselves… Ah, here it is."

I reached my hand into a small crevice in the endless rows of books at Yomenaido Bookstore in the southern Shopping District. Making sure not to pull out any other books in the process, I fastened my fingers around a displaced book stuck horizontally behind the others and pulled it out. A smile parted on my face when I scanned its front cover, admiring my treasure.

"I have been looking for this book for a long while," I said, delicately cracking open its binding and running my fingertips over its smooth, silky pages. A shiver ran down my spine which tingled with delight at the feeling. "'The Night Bells of Koroshi.' I started reading it as a child, but unfortunately I lost the book before I could finish it. I never stopped thinking about it, though. I have developed multiple theories as to what the answer to the case might have been. Now, I can finally see if any of them have been correct."

I noticed that I had been rambling, pursed my lips in a tiny, nervous laugh, and scratched the back of my head. "I apologize. I'm probably being somewhat annoying. I don't mean to ramble like this. It's stupid."

"It's not stupid," said Yu-san from where he stood beside me.

"...Are you sure you don't think so?" I asked.

He simply nodded with a reassuring grin.

I looked longingly back at the cover of the book. Its glossy, black cover served as an elegant background for the golden characters that made up the title. "...The story takes place in a town called Koroshi, where, on certain nights, the ominous sound of bells can be heard. Every time those bells ring, a corpse is found the very next morning. The main character is a specialized detective who has been called in to investigate the town, much like myself in this case. It's a truly fascinating and riveting read. Thank Heavens I finally found it… Inaba really does seem to have everything."

"Do you want me to buy it for you?" asked Yu.

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, no. I appreciate it, but I'll take care of it. ...You know, now that I think of it, the case in this story seems awfully similar to the one we're investigating at the moment."

"People hear or see something in the middle of the night, and people are found dead the next day…"

"Precisely," I said, "But as far as the verdict for both cases goes…" I flipped the pages quickly through my fingers. "I'm just going to have to keep on reading to find out."

At least, I wished that I could have still been there at the bookstore with Senpai as I had the night before this day. Now, I stood, wide-eyed, staring at the poster on the billboard before me that Rise-san had hastily dragged me to.

The Miss Yasogami High Pageant!

Come see some of Yasogami High School's most bodacious beauties!

Starring:

Noriko Kashiwagi

Yukiko Amagi

Chie Satonaka

Rise Kujikawa

Naoto Shirogane

Hanako Ohtani

However, my eyes never reached Hanako-san's name. They latched themselves onto my own name, and would not seem to let go. A sour feeling boiled in the pit of my stomach, and I felt for a brief moment that I was going to vomit, or even faint. I desperately held on to my breakfast and tried to keep my composure as I felt my face go white as a sheet. Why my name was on the list, I did not understand, but what I felt from seeing it was an immediate sense of danger. I tried to keep my cool, however, and thought about the situation. This had to be some sort of mistake… But when I realized that the names of the other females of our group were on the list, I deduced that this must be some sort of sick and childish prank. Rise-san had obviously come to this conclusion as well.

"Those stupid jerks!" she wailed, her face almost as red as her hair, "This must have been the guys' idea! I'm sure of it!"

I was silent for a long time, unable to force a single syllable out of my throat. All I could feel was an intense sense of terror.

"You guys saw it too?!" I heard Chie-san bellow from behind me. Sure enough, she plowed her way through the crowd of students around us, leading Yukiko-san, who seemed to be just as frustrated as herself. "Those bastards... It was the guys who did this, you know!" she growled savagely. "I'm gonna kill them!"

"Yeah," said Rise-san, "It has to have been them! Who else would do such a stupid thing!? Ugh, those idiots!"

"Obviously!" Chie-san continued to growl, "They're seriously gonna pay! I'll kill them all a thousand times over!"

"They will burn in the most fiery depths of Hell," said Yukiko-san, calm, yet also scary, in a sense.

"Yeah," said Rise-san, "We gotta chew them out for this. And then we need to get OFF of this list."

"We can't," said Chie, "I already tried talking to Kashiwagi about this! She wouldn't even listen, claiming she was 'too busy getting ready for the event' to have time for this! And when she WOULD give me the time of day, she said that once people are signed up, they can't back out!"

"Are you serious!?" Rise-san squealed, "Ugh, Kashiwagi, that bitch!"

"T-this is quite a predicament indeed," I said, pulling the brim of my hat low, "I honestly don't know how to react… Even if this is only intended to be a practical joke, i-it's just not right for someone like me to be featured in this sort of event!" I noticed that I had begun to shiver.

"Come on," Chie-san said, "We gotta let 'em all have it at lunchtime. Everyone meet on the roof as soon as the lunch bell rings. I'll let the guys know." she squinted as she slithered off in search of them, Yukiko following vengefully behind her.

"Stupid boys," said Rise-san, "I mean, I've been in these kind of things before, and being on stage is second-nature to me, but…" She stared, almost with a hint of longing, at the poster in front of us before swallowing hard. "Forcing me into something like this without my consent… Ugh, it's like there's no difference between here and my job." She sighed heavily when she turned to me, and her expression softened when she noticed my trembling. "Aw, Naoto-kun, are you shaking?"

I suddenly froze in place, and my white face began to redden. "Uh, w-well, I…"

"Are you scared?" she asked.

Scared? It was such a cowardly thing to admit to, and I considered denying it. However, as I thought, I realized that this was the truth, and I could not deny the truth to such a good friend as Rise-san. "Y-yes… I am scared."

"Don't you worry," she said, "We'll get our revenge. I know it. Chie-chan sounded so angry that I wouldn't be surprised if she ate them all alive." After a few moments of silence, the two of us burst out in laughter.

"I could actually picture that happening," I said calmly.

"I think anyone who knows Chie could," she added.

Lunchtime finally came around, and the seven of us met on the roof of the school. We made sure no one else was around before Chie finally confronted the three boys.

It was like cannonfire when she let her anger unfurl. "You'd better have a damn good explanation for this!"

Yosuke seemed surprised. "F-for what?"

"The beauty pageant!" Chie growled, "You wrote down our names without telling us, didn't you!?"

"N-No!" Yosuke-san stuttered, "It wasn't me! Why do you automatically blame me!? I-I mean, if you don't wanna do it, you just say no, right? Like it was just a joke."

"We wouldn't be so pissed if we could do that!" she cried, "With Kashiwagi planning this year's event, even those who got entered by other people can't back out!"

"Seriously?" said Yosuke, "Must've been something in the fine print I overlooked…"

Chie-san's expression became even more enraged. "So it was you!"

"Oh crap…!"

"Hey…" Rise-san said to Yosuke, surprisingly calm, "Do you want us to take part in the beauty pageant?"

"W-Well yeah," Yosuke-san admitted, "I mean, you guys know how popular Yukiko is here. And on top of that, we have an idol and a Detective Prince. What's the point of having a beauty pageant if all these incredible heroines aren't going to take part!?"

"So where do I fit in!?" Chie-san barked. Everyone was silent for a few moments, before Chie realized that the guilty-looking Yosuke had intended for her to be an element of comic relief. "Well, excuuuse me for not fitting in!"

Yosuke suddenly averted his eyes from Chie-san and looked suggestively at Kanji-kun. "Hey, you want them to be in it too, don'tcha, Kanji!?" He flashed a quick glance at me. I didn't understand what he was implying.

"Huh…?" Kanji-kun seemed clueless. "I ain't interested in that stuff…"

Yosuke-san looked over at me. "Naoto-kun… Kanji-kun says that he really wants you to be in it."

I blushed slightly. What? He hadn't said that, had he?

"Wha-!?" Kanji-kun was flustered. " I-I didn't say nothing!"

"What about you?" he turned to Yu-san. "You want them to be in it, right?"

"Of course I do," said Yu.

W-what!? Surely Yu didn't approve of this childish prank! I felt somewhat betrayed. Ugh, even though I longed to be male, the disgusting inability that men had to control their urges repulsed me.

"Ahh…" Rise-san smiled flirtatiously at Yu. I was surprised at this reaction. "I thought you might be a little jealous, not wanting me to show off to other guys. But I guess you're not that uptight." Did she have something going on with Senpai? I felt some sort of underlying tension, but I didn't understand what it was. I decided not to think about it.

"Hey…" Chie-san said, "You guys are inching onto the bandwagon with Yosuke, aren't you?"

" So long as there are people looking forward to seeing me, I might as well put on a show for 'em." Rise-san seemed to be a whole lot more open to the idea than she had before. I was slightly confused by this change in attitude. "Of course, there's no need to involve my agency in this."

"Th-That's right!" Yosuke stuttered hopefully, "That's the way to go! Teddie's looking forward to it too. Actually, I think he was more excited than anyone. It was him who was pushing me to sign you all up."

"Ugh," said Chie, "So Ted's behind this too…" I could feel the annoyance resonating off her.

"We're in an awkward position…" I said, still feeling slightly shaky, although I was coming to terms with my fate. "If we can't refuse, I suppose there's no sense in arguing the point…" I still felt frustrated and nervous. I imagined in a brief moment having to step out on a stage in front of so many of my peers, but I suddenly lurched back to reality when my imagination took me farther than I wished to go. "But it seems ill-fitting for someone like me to get up on stage… I wonder if there's any way I could take it up with the school authorities…"

My eyes fell on Kanji-kun, who looked rather uncomfortable. He kept looking as if he wanted to say something, almost like the words he was retaining were regurgitated material rising in his throat. "I-I… don't think it's a problem at all," he finally let out. I looked questioningly at him, wide-eyed, as if I was saying "You can't be serious! Not you too!" He continued after flashing a glance at me. "I-I mean, just do it! Ya know… Seriously!"

...What!? Why did he want ME to do it!?

"Dude…" Yosuke raised his eyebrows, "Looks like your blood's boiling even more than usual…"

Rise-san giggled. "Silly Kanji," she said, "Just tell her you wanna see her on the stage." She turned to the rest of the girls. "So it's a deal? the four of us will be in the beauty pageant?"

I was seriously confused. What in the world had caused such a quick change of Rise-san's heart? "W-what are you saying!?"

"Um…" Kanji said nervously, "I beg you, please be in it. If you do, my uh, doubts will finally be cleared…" He suddenly let out a burst of frustration. "C'mon! Make me a man!"

"Doubts…?" I said, blushing intensely and taking a step back, "What are you talking about?"

"L-Look, just do it, dammit! I m-mean, you're an ace detective, aren't ya!?"

What in the world was he trying to say…? "Wha-!? What does that have to do with a beauty pageant!?"

Kanji, who was extremely flustered, stood there and hyperventilated.

"Jeez, Kanji," said Rise-san, "What's gotten into you?"

"F-fine!" I snapped, "If it's that important to you, a-and if everyone else seems so intent about it, I guess I have no choice! I-I'll participate in this foolish beauty pageant, but I'm definitely not going to enjoy it in the least! A-and I'm not going to try very hard!"

"As long as you're in it," said Yu-san.

"W-whatever," I said, feeling my cheeks grow hot, "I hope you all are happy..."

I stayed after school that day for a few hours, helping my class set up for the dance club we had planned to hold for the festival. While the lot of the students were helping to clear away the desks and set up the lights and effects, as well as the speakers and sound systems, I was scribbling all over the chalkboard with a dazzling array of glow-in-the-dark neon chalk that a few of the students had found and thought would be suitable for the event. I wasn't particularly skilled with technical equipment, but since my handwriting was likely the best out of the class, they had elected me to decorate the board. I wrote in huge, decorative characters across the black sheet of slate: "Class 1-1 Dance Club" before standing back and admiring my work.

"No, no, nooo," I heard a small voice from beside me. When I looked, I saw that the voice had been that of the girl who had suggested that our festival event should be about me. My heart thudded nervously in my chest. "You gotta do it with emphasis!"

"W-what do you mean?" I said.

"You have to add exclamation points!" the girl said, "That way, it'll be more in-your-face and exciting!"

"Oh," I said, before hesitantly chalking up two neon exclamation points after the characters I had drawn. "Like this?" It now said "Class 1-1 Dance Club!"

"Hmm," the girl said, "Still needs a little extra to make it more welcoming! You should add some drawings. Like…" She took a neon pink stick of chalk from the box and began to scribble away. When she stepped back, I saw that she had drawn a picture of a dancing cat. "There! Stuff like that!" She turned and looked up at me with a confident smirk. "My name is Jin Hashimoto, by the way. I've been a big fan of yours for years!"

"I-I could tell," I said, pulling down the brim of my hat subconsciously. To avoid conversation, I quickly began scribbling on the chalkboard again, drawing a small, dancing dragon in somewhat of the same style as Jin-san's cat. "So… Like this?"

"Yeah, you got it!" said Jin-san. She continued to draw more of these cartoons as well, and we both proceeded to decorate the board.

When the board was filled with these festive drawings, we both stood back and looked at each other's work. Jin-san had drawn an array of cute animals, including a mouse, a dog, a bird, and a horse. My drawings included a bull, a wolf, a snake, and a tiger, and of course, the dragon I had drawn earlier. She cocked her head and giggled a bit while looking at mine. "You draw such fierce animals, Naoto-kun. I mean, they're still cute, but…"

"Oh," I said, "I-I do? I didn't even notice…" I shrugged. "Those are just the ones I thought of..."

Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket. When I took it out, I saw that I had received a text from Chie-san. I hastily opened the message, thanking Chie-san in my mind for saving me from the situation. The text read:

"I came up w the most perfect idea. Meet me Yukiko n Rise 2day at the gate after u finish setting up. The guys r gonna pay!"

I grinned, relieved that I had an excuse to leave. "I hope you'll excuse me," I said to Jin-san, "Since I'm done with my portion of the setup, I need to go meet with a friend to discuss something."

"Oh," Jin-san said. I noticed she had been blushing slightly. "Alright."

I hurried out of class 1-1 and dashed down the hallway, which was crowded with students who were busy setting up colorful decorations for the festival. After grabbing what I needed from my shoe locker, I exited the building, spotting Chie-san and Yukiko-san by the gates, just where Chie-san had said they'd be. I approached them, curious about the "revenge" Chie-san had mentioned.

"Good afternoon," I greeted them both.

"Naoto-kun! You came!" said Chie, sporting a devious grin on her face. She was holding her hands behind her back, and I was sure that she was concealing an element of the revenge she was plotting.

"Hey, guys," Rise-san said as she approached us from behind me. "What's this 'idea' you have, Chie?" She wore a devious expression similar to that of Chie. "I wanna know all the juicy details."

"Okay," Chie said, "You guys ready for this?" She suddenly whipped out the object from behind her back, which turned out to be a poster for one of the events that were being hosted during the Culture Festival. I had glanced at it occasionally in the halls, though I had never given it much thought.

Sign up today for the "Miss" Yasogami High Pageant!

Time is running short! The event will not be held if not enough contestants enter!

Entries due October 27th!

"No one has signed up yet for the cross-dressing pageant!" Chie said excitedly, "Well, no one HAD signed up yet! I just went and wrote all of those jerks' names on the sign-up sheet!"

"Ahh," said Yukiko-san, "I see, an eye for an eye!"

"Woah," Rise-san seemed as if she were in awe. "Nice work, Chie-chan! That seems like quite the recoil!"

I let a sinister grin slither across my face, and I felt certain that my expression, half-hidden by my lowered hat, looked rather devilish. A guilty sense of sadistic pleasure stirred inside me. "I suppose that karma is in our favor."

"You bet it is," said Chie, "Man, they're gonna be so pissed when they find out! I can see Yosuke's face right now! It'll be priceless!"

"I should bring my camera," said Rise-san.

Yukiko-san suddenly burst out giggling. "I can see it now! Yosuke wearing a dress!" She could barely spit out the words through her laughter. "Oh, and Kanji… Kanji!" She tried and failed to contain her amusement.

"It'll be the perfect payback," Chie-san said as if prepared for battle. "Just you guys wait. Tomorrow, we'll see their stupid faces as they crumble in horror! Particularly Yosuke."

"I usually try my best to stay out of situations such as this," I said, "But in this case, being forced to do something like this, revenge will most definitely be sweet."