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!
