Out of everyone in the Gensokyo High Chess Club, Reisen Udongein Inaba had the distinction of being the most "normal". Her level-headed, casual, and friendly personality made her fairly popular, and she was always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. That being said, her loyalty and eagerness to please also made her a bit of a doormat, but that's not to say she didn't have her limits.
Reisen had the ability to manipulate wavelengths, be they light waves or sound waves. She mostly used this ability to create illusions or make herself invisible, but that wasn't the limit of her power. Her main method of offense involved manipulating people's brainwaves in order to make them go insane. As a result, anyone who made the mistake of getting her mad would likely be rewarded with a nice, long stay in a mental ward.
There was a caveat to this ability however, in that the source of it was her eyes, hence her place on the "Don't Make Eye Contact" list.
As far as personal information, all I knew was that she lived in a house in the middle of a small bamboo field in Gensokyo called the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. She lived with there Mrs. Yagokoro and a fellow rabbit-student named Tewi Inaba (who, despite the name, was not her sister). They weren't a "family" per se, Reisen was just under the mentorship of Mrs. Yagokoro so that she could pursue a career in medicine somewhere down the line.
However, there was also a rumor that she had come from the moon along with Mrs. Yagokoro, fleeing from some sort of hidden society. Again, I never put much faith in those types of stories. The people who trusted conspiracies like that were probably the same ones who thought the landings were faked or that the government put mind control serum in the water. I mean, a hidden society on the moon? Come on, no way that was true.
"So, what made you want to join up?" I jumped at the sound of Reisen's voice, interrupting my thoughts.
"Oh… uh, I didn't really want to join," I replied, picking up my pace as we walked.
Reisen cocked her head. "Huh? Then why did-"
"Look, I had my reasons, okay? Those reasons are getting ever more unclear to me as this hellish day goes on, but nonetheless, I'm stuck with you guys and you're stuck with me. So let's cut the small talk and solve the mystery or whatever."
Reisen frowned. "Geez, you're grumpier than Reimu on a bad day. Are you that upset about being in the Chess Club?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Why?"
I rolled my eyes, I was getting tired of having to explain this. "Normality. Or rather, the lack of it," I said, plainly.
"Yeah, I guess we are a little abnormal. But is that really so bad? Besides, I'd say making a detailed list of everyone in the school is also a bit strange, right?"
"Oh please, don't try to group me up with you. You guys are like magnets when it comes to abnormality, we're nothing alike."
"If you say so." Reisen shrugged. "Regardless, Remilia gave me the task of teaching you how to properly investigate and that's what I'm going to do. As of right now, we're partners, whether you like it or not."
I sighed. "Fine. Then what's the first step?"
Reisen grinned. "That's easy! We're already on our way there."
"Huh?"
"You'll see." Reisen hurried past me down the hall. I rushed to catch up to her.
I couldn't quite place it at the time, but for some reason, it felt like we were being watched…
Yellow police tape barricaded the hall from both directions, and it was clear to see why. Several lockers hung open, having obviously been broken into if the large dents on them were any indication. Of course, this was hardly a surprise, given what Koakuma had told us earlier. What was shocking though, was the presence of multiple uniformed police officers swarming the area.
"Well, the first step would have been investigating the crime scene. But it seems we were beaten to it," Reisen said, thoughtfully.
"I mean, it's a given that the police would show up, right?" I reasoned, but it was hard to deny that something about this was off.
"But the theft happened yesterday, didn't it? You'd think they would have gotten what they needed and cleared out by now. Not to mention the number of officers that are here," Reisen noted.
"Oh, maybe they think this has something to do with Mr. Wakabayashi's death!" a new voice interjected.
Reisen and I looked towards the newcomer, only to be met with two faces that I never expected to see here,of all places.
"Mai! You ruined our dramatic entrance! You were supposed to say, 'I can answer all your questions,' in a cool and mysterious voice," Satono Nishida, student and professional lapdog of Okina Matara, complained.
Mai Teireida, student and experienced ass-kisser of Okina Matara, rubbed the back of her head abashedly. "Whoops! I guess I went a little off script, huh?"
"What are you two doing here?" Reisen asked.
"What are we doing here?" Mai echoed. "What kind of question is that? We go wherever Mrs. Matara goes!"
"But Mrs. Matara isn't here," I pointed out.
"Oh? Is that right? Then where am I, if not here?" another voice spoke up from behind us (Seriously, why did people keep doing that?).
We turned back around, though I already had an idea of who we would see.
What was there to say about Okina Matara? Well, not much, and that was how she liked it. Her past was a mystery and she rarely ever made public appearances. In fact, I was pretty sure no one had ever seen her outside of school at all. Personality-wise, she was a lot like Mrs. Yakumo, except she was twice as intimidating and actually acted like a principal, despite only being the school's counselor. Because of this, she was known as the "Secret God of Gensokyo High".
Mrs. Matara's ability allowed her to open doors on the backs of anyone and anything. Through these doors, she could siphon or add energy to whatever she pleased. The doors also allowed her to get around fairly quickly, though not as efficiently as Mrs. Yakumo's gaps. Allegedly, there was even an entirely different realm beyond the doors, but that was never confirmed or denied, not even by Mrs. Matara herself.
Overall, Mrs. Matara was a secretive, remorseless, and terrifying individual who served as the closest thing this school had to an actual authoritative figure. Though she apparently had her charms as well, if Satono and Mai were willing to stick to her all the time.
"You know, I'd heard of the phrase: 'the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime'. Though I hadn't thought someone would actually be foolish enough to do so until now." Mrs. Matara leaned on the armrest of her wheelchair, a cruel smile plastered on her face as she scrutinized me.
"What?! You think I did this?!" I asked, in shock.
"Of course. Do you take me for a fool? You were here after school yesterday with Patchouli Knowledge, who has already admitted to breaking into and stealing from one of the lockers. It falls to reason then, that the ransacking of the other lockers was your doing as well. Am I wrong?" Mrs. Matara sneered.
"W-well…"
"Nope! You're not wrong!" Mai exclaimed, cutting me off.
"Yup! Absolutely correct!" Satono supported.
Mrs. Matara rolled her eyes but chuckled all the same. "Yes, yes. Thank you, girls."
"L-listen," I stuttered. "I don't know what you think I did, b-but…"
Mrs. Matara leaned forward. "Oh? Do you have an explanation? An alibi? Let's hear it, then," she said with a condescending smirk. I couldn't even bear to look at her as I struggled to explain myself.
Crap, why does she have to be so frightening?
"Ahem." Reisen cleared her throat, drawing Mrs. Matara's attention away from me. "Excuse me, but I don't appreciate you threatening my partner with baseless accusations."
Mrs. Matara stared at Reisen for a second before laughing. "Partner? Do you mean an investigative partner or a romantic one?" she teased.
However, Reisen didn't budge. "Investigative. But never mind that, I think you're barking up the wrong tree, Okina."
"Oh? Really?" Mrs. Matara asked, now solely focused on Reisen. "Do tell."
"Well, first of all, it seems you neglected to observe the manner in which these lockers were opened." Reisen gestured to the crime scene. "These were clearly forced open with some sort of tool, a large crowbar if the dents are any indication. Why would Patchouli and Adam need to use something like that when Patchouli's ability allows her to dissolve metal with ease?"
Mrs. Matara hummed. "It is true that one of the lockers was opened in such a manner. But so what? Perhaps Patchouli simply got tired or ran out of magic, so she had her boyfriend here use a crowbar."
"Well, I'm actually not her-"
"Yeah! That explains everything!" Satono shouted, interrupting me.
"Yeah, everything!" Mai repeated.
"Everything?" Reisen smiled confidently. "I'm not so sure." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the newspaper that Remilia had given her.
"This photograph, taken on the day in question, shows that neither Patchouli nor Adam were in possession of a crowbar or similar tool," Reisen explained. "Their bags are also much too small to fit such a thing inside without it being obvious, so don't bother using that as an excuse."
"This photo? You mean that one that clearly shows the two of them assaulting a teacher?" Mrs. Matara asked with a cocky grin.
"I never took you for someone who liked to play dumb, Okina. You know Wakabayashi was far from just an innocent school teacher. Besides, this isn't about him." Reisen was, once again, unyielding.
For the first time since we'd arrived, Mrs. Matara's arrogant smirk faded.
"So the only proof you have are some dents on the lockers and a picture taken by a school reporter?" Mrs. Matara asked, glowering at Reisen.
"No. I also have witnesses, three in total. All of whom can confirm that neither of the two had any sort of contraband on them at the time of the incident. That being Eirin Yagokoro, Yukari Yakumo…"
Reisen crossed her arms and glared at Mrs. Matara.
"And me, Reisen Udongein Inaba."
A moment of stunned silence passed. Both Satono and Mai looked flabbergasted, no doubt completely unaccustomed to seeing their idol receive such backtalk from a student, of all things.
Reisen and Mrs. Matara, on the other hand, continued to size each other up… before Mrs. Matara started chuckling.
"You know, I've always wondered why Yukari puts so much faith in a group of hormonal teenagers."
Reisen said nothing in response, maintaining a firm expression.
"Well, I suppose it may not be entirely misplaced," Mrs. Matara conceded. "I would hope, however, that you won't make a habit of talking back to your superiors like that. Lest you wish to face the consequences." Her expression shifted once more, giving Reisen a stern gaze.
"Friday.''
Reisen's eyes widened. "But that's two days away!" she protested.
Mrs. Matara shrugged. "That's all I can give you. I hope for your sake that you find the true culprit in that time."
With that, Mrs. Matara beckoned Satono and Mai to follow her as she left the building.
As soon as they were gone, Reisen let out a long exhale and sank to her knees. "Oh, God. That was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life."
"I bet it was," I said, still a bit shaken up. "You'd make a hell of a lawyer, but maybe next time you should bring up the witnesses first."
Reisen let out a strained laugh. "Ah… well, at least it was dramatic, right?"
"Yeah…"
I approached Reisen and offered my hand, which she took after a brief moment of hesitation.
"Hey, uh… thanks for saving my ass back there, and sorry for being such a dick to you earlier." I hoisted Reisen to her feet.
"Ah, so you only apologize to someone after they've proven themselves useful to you?" she asked, playfully.
I blushed. "I guess I am kind of selfish, aren't I?"
Reisen giggled. "Well, at least you're honest about it. Still, you're going to need to learn how to defend yourself from slander like that in the future." She winked. "I won't always be around to save you, you know."
"Y-yeah, thanks again," I replied, embarrassedly.
"You're welcome." Reisen took one last glance at the crime scene, then started walking back the way we came. "Come on, let's head to the club room."
"Oh, are we done already?" I asked, surprised. "That was quick."
Reisen nodded. "I've seen everything I need to see."
She looked down, deep in thought.
"This is not going to be easy."
"So, there really aren't any fingerprints? Are you absolutely sure?" Reimu asked.
"Believe me, nothing can escape this rabbit's eyes," Reisen said. "The police won't find anything on those lockers, whoever stole from them must have been smart enough to wipe them down afterwards." She went back to scarfing down her lunch which, predictably, solely consisted of carrots.
"Well, obviously any good thief would know to do that, ze," Marisa bragged, earning many suspicious stares from those in the club room.
"So does that mean there really is no hope of proving Patchouli's innocence?" Koakuma whimpered, with tears in her eyes.
Alice shook her head. "Not quite, Koakuma. We may have gleaned all we can from the crime scene, but we can still… actually, Adam, can you guess what the next step is?" she asked.
"Uh… questioning the suspects?" I guessed.
"Sorry, but that's wrong, we have no suspects at the moment," Sakuya corrected. "Unless you count Marisa as one," she added while eying the aforementioned witch.
"Hey! I got an alibi!" Marisa insisted. "'Sides, I wouldn't steal from some dumb ol' lockers."
"Right, you're much more interested in stealing from my library, aren't you?" Remilia asked with a scowl, to which Marisa just laughed.
"It does strike me as odd," Sakuya said. "Most students don't keep valuables in their lockers."
"Most students," Reisen pointed out. "Perhaps the perpetrator knew who did and who didn't. The lockers weren't open in any particular order from what I could see."
"Oh! Then the person who did it must be really popular!" Koakuma exclaimed.
"Or just really observant," Reimu suggested.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I guess you're right. Gosh, this investigator stuff is hard," Koakuma lamented.
"Regardless, you were half right, Adam. We don't need to question suspects, but witnesses," Alice explained.
"Cops probably did that part for us already. I reckon they didn't get all of 'em though, not everyone's gonna wanna blab to a pig," Marisa noted, leaning back in her chair.
"If it happened after school there aren't going to be that many," Reimu said.
"And so, the hard work falls to the Chess Club once more," Remilia spoke with a mix of pride and annoyance. "Considering the tight timetable, I suppose the rest of us should handle rounding up the witnesses."
"Right, you can count on us," Reimu affirmed.
"I know a few guys who like to hang out around school after hours, they might know something," Marisa proposed.
"I can ask Yukari if anyone has come forward," Alice offered. "Though the odds are probably slim."
Reisen beamed. "Thanks, guys!"
"Yay! We're gonna save Patchouli!" Koakuma celebrated.
"You do realize I'm also in danger here, right?" I asked.
"Oh, right! Sorry," Koakuma apologized, sheepishly. "Then, we'll save Patchouli and Adam too!" She repeated, though far less enthusiastically this time.
With that, the decision was made that we would all meet up again tomorrow, where the rest of the group would (hopefully) have some useful info ready for us. After that, Reisen and I would need to take care of the rest on our own, since this was still meant to be a learning experience for me.
After a bit more small talk, the bell announcing the end of lunch rang, much to a certain someone's displeasure.
"Aw, man. I don't wanna go yet…" Marisa bemoaned.
"Come on, we don't want to be late." Reimu dragged a distraught Marisa out of the room by the arm. "See you later, guys."
"We should take our leave as well. Let's go, Meiling," Sakuya said, only to find the aforementioned bodyguard with her head on the table, sleeping soundly.
A surge of what had to be at least fifty butter knives all flew towards Meiling, who ran out of the room screaming as they violently ricocheted off her body.
"Oh no you don't! You aren't getting off that easily this time!" More butter knives appeared in Sakuya's hands before she vanished.
Remilia humphed and pouted. "Unbelievable, she left before I could tell her what I wanted for lunch tomorrow."
"Don't you always just ask for filet mignon?" Reisen deadpanned.
"Don't you always just eat carrots?" Remilia snapped. "Honestly, I'm shocked your skin hasn't turned orange."
"Oh, Adam, I'll meet you after school to walk you home," Alice informed me. "Don't try to run," she said, with a knowing glare.
I groaned in annoyance. "Fine, whatever."
"I understand you may not like it, Adam. But we-"
"I get it, I'm a ticking time bomb. No need to remind me for the billionth time." I grabbed my stuff and headed for the door.
"Wait a second, Coates!" Remilia called out to me.
I turned back around. "Yeah? What is it, vampire?"
"I just thought it might be useful for us to exchange cell phone numbers." My heart sank as Remilia reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
"Good idea! Then we can stay in contact about the case," Reisen said, fishing out her own phone.
"So? What is yours?" Remilia asked.
Everyone in the room looked at me expectantly, but I stayed silent. I desperately weighed my options as I struggled to figure out how to best get out of this situation.
"Uh, hello? Earth to human?" Remilia's voice fanned the flames of my anxiety. I knew I had to do something, it was now or never.
After a short beat, I made my decision.
Remilia sighed. "I swear, why does everythi-"
"I refuse."
My lungs burned as I struggled to catch my breath. It felt as though I had just run a marathon, but as far as I was concerned, it was worth it. Under no circumstance was I ever going to hand my number over to anyone at this school, least of all the Chess Club.
Having my phone number meant that they would be able to contact me anytime they wanted, night or day. Maybe they would even spread it around to their friends, who would in turn spread it to theirs, like some kind of disease. Soon, the entire school would know my number and I would never be able to use my phone in peace again. I shuddered at the thought of everyone on my "Don't Make Eye Contact" list constantly calling and texting me. Truly, a living nightmare.
Thankfully, it seemed as though that dystopian future had been avoided, at least for now. I had by some miracle managed to outrun the Chess Club, or so I thought.
Slowly creeping out of the bush I was hidden in, I kept an eye out for any undesirables. I wasn't fully convinced I was alone just yet, the feeling of being watched from earlier had not gone away. In fact, it had only gotten worse.
I carefully stepped out and observed my surroundings. There was no one there, maybe it really had been my imagination…
"Gotcha!"
I cried out in surprise as someone tackled me from behind. Although, whoever it was, they were light enough that they didn't manage to knock me over. Instead, they just kind of awkwardly hung off my back.
"What the?! Get off of me!" I yelled.
"No way!" a high-pitched, childish voice responded. "You're my ticket into the Chess Club!"
"Chess Club?! Wait a minute, don't tell me you're…?"
"That's right! I'm-" I stumbled forward as they kicked off me, finally letting me go. I whirled around to see…
"THE STRONGEST IN GENSOKYO HIGH!" Cirno, the dumbest in Gensokyo High, announced.
"Oh, god dammit."
