Title: The Christmas Mystery
Chapter: 3/3
Genre: Shounen ai aka slash, Mystery, General; told from Mitsui Hisashi's POV
Warning: Mild OOC, a number of grammatical errors, (possibly) a lousy plot, sappiness, character bashing
DISCLAIMER: Slam Dunk and its characters belong to Takehiko Inoue, not Hikaru R. Kudou.
Author's Notes: The final chapter, where the mystery will unfold. So sorry if I didn't leave enough clues to work on. God, I just hope the ending is not disappointing…

{Part Three}

            Loud gasps, jaws wide open as we gawk at the figure of Rukawa Kaede. He looks at us coldly.
          "I didn't," says he. He seems to be beseeching in confusion himself. "I swear to God."
          "That's what all the thieves say when they're found out," says Akagi menacingly. "You're caught, Rukawa, with the necklace in your possession. I never expected—"
          "Captain, really—"
          "How do you explain this?" Akagi holds the necklace right in front of Rukawa's face. "You said you didn't move out of your seat. True…you only have to hide it beneath the cushion. You were hoping to retrieve it when we are not watching!"
          Rukawa lets himself fall to the floor as Akagi glowers over him.
          "Out! Out of my house!" Akagi yells. "I'm going to report this to Coach Anzai!"
          "I…"
          Min-kun examines the necklace closely. He pulls my sleeve, signalling to me that the necklace is genuine.
          Rukawa Kaede? The thief?
          From everyone's expression, all of us are perplexed. The person we least suspected (kind of)…Even Haruko stares at her dream-guy wordlessly.
          "He's not the thief! I AM!"
          I tear my eyes away from the ace. "Sakuragi? What are you saying?"
          His fists are clenched, his brows are knitted together. Sakuragi finally looks up. "Yeah! It's me! I'm the thief!"
          "Sakuragi Hanamichi?" Ayako and Miyagi blurt out. Haruko says "Sakuragi-kun?". Akagi is frowning crossly and says, "YOU!!"
          Min-kun and I cannot find the suitable word to say. Sakuragi Hanamichi? He's the thief? He stole it?
         
"It—it can't be him!" I stammer. "The necklace is found under Rukawa's seat—"
          "Simply because I put it there!" cries Sakuragi. "Yeah, that's it. You all know I hate him. That's why I want to make him look like the criminal!"
          More gasps. Rukawa is frozen like a statue on the floor, his eyes staring at Sakuragi in astonishment.
          Things are getting out of hand. Akagi is punching Sakuragi mercilessly, blood trickling on the redhead's lips. That does not stop Akagi from attacking the freshman to murder him.
          Before I can stop them, Rukawa pulls me aside. The look on his face shows urgency.
          "Rukawa?"
          "The captain got the wrong man. He's not the thief."
          "How can you—you have proof?" I have never seen so much emotion on his icy façade before. Now if only I have a camera with me..
          Oi, oi! Focus, Mitsui Hisashi, focus!
          "The blackout—it's true that neither of us budged from our seats. We remain seated all the time—as Hana was kissing me."
          WHAT?? HANA??? "What? You and him—" Fortunately for me I don't have a weak heart. I am too young to die.
          "We don't want to make a fuss about it. Hana's afraid it might ruin my future in basketball."
          "This is outrageous! That idiot is shielding you—your lover's going to die any minute now if Akagi keeps on punching him like that!"
          Akagi is cursing Sakuragi. "I'm going to teach this bastard a lesson he'll never forget!"
          Haruko, unable to do anything else, runs to the kitchen, crying.
          Sakuragi, with the back of his hand, wipes his cracked, bloody lips. His left hand holds his chest, grimacing in pain. A few ribs might have cracked. And his back…
          But I can see he is signalling Rukawa not to interfere. Rukawa, on the other hand, is in two minds.
          "Akagi!" Min-kun calls. "Let Sakuragi explain. There's one thing that's bothering me. If Sakuragi wants to discriminate Rukawa, why on earth did he own up?"
          Akagi, as I expect, cannot provide a satisfactory answer to Min-kun's question.
          I do not pay so much attention to the scene before me. I am too busy thinking…
          What if Rukawa is telling the truth? What if both he and Sakuragi did not move from the settee?
          That would mean…
         
"Quick, Rukawa, tell me! Did you hear anything when the blackout occurred? Perhaps, a sound something like 'Whoosh'? You should know…You were on Haruko's right!"
          Rukawa stares at me, somewhat quizzically. "How did you know? I did hear that sound—I didn't think it has anything to do with this—"
          So my idea is proven correct. I dash across the living room, out of house. I search in the garden, and I find what I am looking for on the grass.
          I smile. Yes, this is it. The evidence. I pick it up with my handkerchief. I run into the house.
          "I don't care! Sakuragi confessed to it, that makes him the thief!" Akagi is arguing with Min-kun.
          "Akagi, please! What happened to your logic?" argues Min-kun. "You can't just accuse him like that!"
          "Yes, I can! Watch me!"
          "Akagi, tell all of us first how did Sakuragi stuff the necklace underneath Rukawa's seat?"
          "That's easy. Don't you remember? Before the present-exchanging session, Sakuragi was on Rukawa's left. But afterwards—they switched places."
          "Akagi," Min-kun sighs. "You said it yourself. Before the present-exchanging session—they only swap places when we were sitting down! Meaning way earlier, before Haruko opened her present."
          Akagi halts for awhile. He resumes," That means both Rukawa and Sakuragi are in this together!"
          Oh, boy.
          "What? Why would they steal Haruko's necklace? Why didn't they steal Ayako's bracelet?"
          "It's easier to steal Haruko's, since she placed it on the table—Ayako is wearing hers."
          "What I'd like to know is—why didn't Haruko wear her necklace right after she saw it? And how could Rukawa and Sakuragi plan the heist when they weren't certain of the opportunity?"
          Min-kun can still be patient as the debate goes on. I salute him. If I were in his shoes, I might just blow up on the spot.
          "But you can't change it, Kogure," says Akagi. "We found the necklace under Rukawa, and Sakuragi admitted to have committed the crime. That's proof enough."
          Rukawa glances at me. I give him an assuring smile. He relaxes—a bit.
          "The case is over. Now, leave! Except you, Sakuragi! I'm not done yet with you!" He boxes Sakuragi again, when the redhead is barely standing.
          Sakuragi falls, his head knocking the marble table behind him. He groaned in pain.
          In a matter of seconds Rukawa is standing between an injured Sakuragi and a furious Akagi. Akagi is about to deliver one more blow that will definitely seal Sakuragi's fate forever, but it hits Rukawa instead. This force pushes Rukawa down, next to Sakuragi.
          "Rukawa!?" ejaculates Ayako.
          Sakuragi is evidently horrified. "Idiot! What are you doing?"
          "I don't want you to get hurt," answers the raven-haired boy.
          "Akagi! Yamette kudasai!" says Min-kun.
          "I won't let him lay a finger on you," Rukawa assures his lover.
          "Get out of my way, Rukawa!" Akagi barks.
          Rukawa stands up, glaring straight at Akagi. "No."
          "Are you two…?" Miyagi cannot finish his question. I can't blame him—it's no easy task talking with your mouth wide open.
          "Very well! I'll send you both to hell!" Akagi bellows.
          "Min-kun, let's go," I say slowly.
          "Hisashi? We can't leave yet. Sakuragi—"
          "I have failed. Let's just go back."
          "Your first sensible act tonight, Mitsui," scoffs Akagi. "Mysteries are not your cup of tea. You're no Sherlock Holmes."
          I pull Min-kun and together we exit the house. I unbolt the front gate and after making sure no one is watching, I hide myself in the shadows, instructing Min-kun to do the same.
          "Hisashi?"
          I put a finger on my lips. "We're going to catch the real criminal ourselves."
          "I knew Sakuragi didn't do it," whispers Min-kun. "But why are we outside?"
          "Wait and see—ah! I see someone! Quick, Min-kun, where's your torchlight?"
          Even without light I can make out a figure of someone moving in the garden. Aiming the torchlight at the person crouching on the ground, I flick the switch on.
          "Voila! The real thief!" I cry, with a smirk.
          "My goodness!" ejaculates Min-kun when he sees my catch of the day—err, night.
          My catch was too shocked to even move a finger.
          "Go and get the rest," I tell Min-kun. "I don't have a black tuxedo to wear to Rukawa and Sakuragi's funerals, so you'd better hurry up."
          Efficient must be Min-kun's middle name. In less than one minute, they are out of the house.
          "Ladies and gentlemen," I say. "May I have the honour of introducing you to the actual thief, the person who arranged our seating positions, the mastermind behind this whodunit drama—behold, Akagi Haruko!"
          Haruko does not budge. She says calmly, "Mitsui-sempai? I dropped something in the garden this evening. That's why I'm here—to search for it. It's preposterous that you accuse me of the theft because of this."
          "Indeed? What did you lose?"
          "My notebook."
          I shake my head, smirking wider. "You won't find what you're looking for." I hold my left hand up, in it my napkin. "You were looking for this!" I reposition my fingers, and something white fall from the folds of the handkerchief, dangling until it comes to a halt. "I took the liberty of putting it away. It'll get dirty should it stay on the soil, will it not?"
          Needless to say, they gasp for the—I lost count.
          "I'll be damned!" cries Miyagi. "It's the necklace!"
          "Then, the one I have with me…?" Akagi stares at the necklace on his palm.
          "I'll start with the method. During the blackout, you perceive, we didn't—and couldn't—see anything. We were made to believe that the thief grabbed the necklace in the dark and hid it under Rukawa's seat. Am I right so far?"
          Miyagi and Ayako nod, confirming what I have said.
          I chortle again. "It's amazing how simple the truth really is. Ok, Ok, I won't keep you waiting. Listen, this is what happened in reality!
          "The lights went out, undoubtedly planned by the real perpetrator of this theft. What actually took place was—before the blackout, the thief had placed the necklace under Rukawa—I mean, Sakuragi's seat; I said Sakuragi, since they only switched places before the present-exchange. Yeah, so when the lights went off, the 'thief' grabbed the necklace in the box and tossed it outside the window! That was why Rukawa heard the whooshing sound—I heard too, but only faintly—I didn't, like Rukawa, think the sound is involved in this mystery. I dismissed it as being a mere imagination on my part.
          "This necklace is proof enough. Of course, we'll have to bring the authorities in so that they can conduct further investigations. One of the easiest proofs to find—fingerprints. The necklace you're having right now, Akagi, can't have Sakuragi or Rukawa's prints—or the rest of us here—since none of us, except you and Haruko, touched it!"
          "But which is the real necklace?" asks Ayako.
          "The one Akagi is holding," explains Min-kun. "Haruko wouldn't throw the real one outside. The necklace with Hisashi is a duplicate, a paste."
          "Everything is explained now, don't you think?" I continue. "Why Ayako's bracelet didn't get stolen, although at the first glance one can tell hers is more expensive than Haruko's; Why Haruko refused to shut the windows; Why Haruko didn't wear the necklace straight away—she won't have enough strength to tug it forcefully.
          "By the way, if you want more evidence, we can try asking that shop down town which sells fake jewelry whether this—" I point to the necklace in my grip, "—came from there, and to confirm the buyer—in this case, Haruko. The receipt will do too. If we search Haruko's room, we might find the same wrapping paper as the one on the box of this necklace."
          "So Haruko knows from the start that she'll be getting the necklace?" Miyagi guesses.
          "Precisely, Miyagi! She quietly replaced the genuine necklace with this fake one, re-wrapped it, and put it back where Akagi 'hid' it."
          Haruko sobs, but nobody pays any heed to the girl.
          "But what's the motive? Why would she go through all this trouble?" asks Min-kun. "I can't figure that one out."
          "This is merely a guess, but I think it's because of Rukawa," I go on as everyone turns to him. "Well, frankly, that's all I know. Haruko, what say you tell your story now? You've been awfully quiet since the minute I exposed you. I was right, wasn't I? It's because of Rukawa, isn't it?"
          Haruko straightens. "And Sakuragi too."
          Oh, so it is no longer 'Sakuragi-kun'?
          Sakuragi, who seems too weak to stand up, is leaning on Rukawa for support. He does not say anything, neither does Rukawa.
          "I'll tell you why I did it!" Haruko says, her voice full of hatred. "Sakuragi knows I have my eyes on Rukawa-kun, so why must he interfere?"
          So that is the reason. Jealousy. Revenge. Not money.
          "I asked Sakuragi to deliver a letter I wrote to Rukawa-kun. But I never knew what happened to it after that."
          "Care to explain, Rukawa? What did you do to the letter?" ask I.
          "Threw it away without reading it," responses Rukawa. "What else?"
          "When I questioned Sakuragi, he only told me it's useless for me to pursue Rukawa-kun anymore. It turned out that Sakuragi wants him all to himself. I saw them making out in the gym one night."
          Miyagi whistles. "Wow."
          "So it was you…" says Sakuragi.
          Haruko ignores him. "Sakuragi has been fooling me all along! I thought he wanted me! I didn't know it was a mere blind!"
          I cannot help sweat-dropping at that.
          "Chigau," says Rukawa. "Hana—Sakuragi wants to keep our relationship a secret."
          "I…I did have a crush on you, Haruko-san," murmurs Sakuragi. "And not more than a crush. I—I'm sorry."
          "You must've felt satisfied seeing your brother beat the crap out of Sakuragi," says Ayako, gawking at Haruko, a tinge of disgust in her tone.
          "I fell in love with Hana ever since I first saw him," murmurs Rukawa to me. "I—I told Hana to tell her not to go after me anymore. He only did what I asked him to." He squeezes Sakuragi's hand.
          "So, what are you going to do now?" Min-kun asks Akagi. No answer.
          Haruko let herself fall on the ground, crying her heart out.

          I leave the house with Min-kun right after that. That is why I never know what Haruko did after that.
          "Hisashi, I told you that you're not stupid!" Min-kun smiles at me. "Congratulations on your success."
          I nod gravely. "It's a sad thing, though. To perform this act on Christmas night."
          Min-kun nods with me in agreement. "So, Hisashi, now you know what you'll be doing if you're not playing basketball as a profession, huh?" He smiles meaningfully.
          I ponder about it. Private Detective Mitsui Hisashi and his assistant Detective Kogure Kiminobu. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
          "Maybe," I grin enigmatically.

{End of Chapter Three – Conclusion of Story}

Author's Notes: Erm, so the story sounds a tad pathetic. I told you it's my first time in mystery-writing. Oh well, there's always room for improvement…No flames, thank you! And now I shall make my grand exit before any Haruko fan decides to teach me a lesson or two…Ta-ta!