Chapter 9: Wandering Girl
Tokyo, mid-November 2006
Lin took a sip of tea, then placed his mug down next to his laptop on the dinner table.
They were very close to deciding between three office spaces in Shibuya.
Two of those were located in calm and secluded areas of Shibuya, far away from the Shibuya station and hidden in narrow lanes. A new office space recently opened up in Dougenzaka. In a street to the left of Shibuya 109, which was just a short walk away from the famous scramble crossing in front of Shibuya station. That particular place would have been a good option if not for the busy road located just outside the building. After all, Dougenzaka was a trendy area full of restaurants, pubs, karaoke, and shops.
Even so, Madoka insisted on using that office space over the other two.
Noll had protested over the Skype call; he preferred an office in a calmer street.
However, nothing could change Madoka's mind. Not to mention she had the final say on the matter, given her major involvement of opening the branch office. The location was easy to reach, the rent was reasonable, and the place was accessible. If the branch office was to accept potential cases, it would be sensible to keep the client's anxiety in mind.
Lin stared at the boy opposite of him. Noll stared down at his notebook with a dull expression.
He had totally given into Madoka. They would visit the place sometime this week.
Suddenly, the door of their apartment opened.
Lin turned to look into the direction of the hallway.
Gene appeared into the doorway. He dropped his bag on the floor, then threw himself facedown on the sofa.
When he let out a curse, Lin frowned.
"What's the matter?"
"I was careless," Gene said.
He lifted an eyebrow.
"Careless?"
Gene didn't respond. Instead, he repeatedly struck his fists against the armrest.
Noll closed the notebook and sighed.
"Stop being so juvenile."
Gene pushed himself of the sofa, facing his brother with an angry expression.
"I'm not being juvenile!"
"Calm down," Lin said. He turned in his seat to face him. "What happened?"
The boy sat up and put his hands against his head.
"There was a young girl outside. She looked lonely, so I talked to her and..."
He paused.
"And?"
"It turned out she was possessed." Gene bit his lips. "I didn't realize until the spirit possessed me."
Noll sighed. "How could you not have noticed?"
Gene groaned.
"I know, I know. I should have noticed!" he said. "Her strange way of speaking, that odd look in her eyes..."
"Then why didn't you see it?"
Gene shook his head.
Lin sensed there was something else going on, and so did Noll, apparently.
"...You didn't want to see it."
Lin blinked and looked at Noll. He was glaring down at Gene.
"Noll, that's-"
The boy gave a careless shrug.
"No, he's right," Gene said with a bowed head. "I saw the signs, but I didn't want to acknowledge it."
Lin frowned.
"Why?"
Gene remained quiet. He was hugging his legs on top of the sofa. Lin looked at the other boy. Though he seemed disappointed, Noll didn't speak either.
There must be something... The reason why they, no Gene, insisted on coming to Japan.
"I see," Lin said. "Does it have something do with school?"
Gene shook his head again, still not looking up.
"Your friends?"
Still no response.
Noll sighed. "He simply doesn't want to see, Lin."
Lin gazed at Noll's blank expression.
Is he telling me not to pry?
Gene finally spoke.
"...Christopher found me. He happened to see me fainting."
Noll lifted an eyebrow. "Christopher?"
"My classmate. The one whose father runs the donut ship, remember? I think I might have given him a scare," Gene said. "The spirit communicated to him."
"How did he react?"
"Christopher thinks I talked like that and fainted because... I'm stressed out."
Lin sighed.
Of course. Christopher doesn't know...
He was beginning to understand Gene's issue.
Neither Noll or Gene spoke, but the former looked impatient.
Lin tried to change the subject.
"But aren't possessing spirits usually visibly attached to the person they possessed?"
Gene lifted his head before answering. His eyes looked weary.
"It depends... Sometimes they cling to their subject, and other spirits hide deep within," Gene said, putting his feet down. "It's more obvious in the astral plane."
"Why did it possess the girl?" Noll asked.
"They seemed to have similar circumstances."
"The similar circumstances?"
"The spirit is a girl of around elementary school age. She was abandoned by her father, and she was unhappy that it made her mum sad. That's why." Gene folded his hands together. "That's why she possessed me."
"You said that you were possessed," Lin said. "How did you manage to convince the spirit to leave?"
"I told them I got adopted, and about Martin." Gene gave a weak smile. "She decided to leave, because she realized my situation got better."
"It seems like she is trying to feed off the negativity of others," Noll said. "It could become troublesome and malignant."
Lin nodded.
Noll put a hand against forehead and looked at Gene.
"Do you think you can purify the spirit?"
Gene shrugged.
"I'm not sure. It might not be easy if she's angry at me."
"You're useless," Noll muttered. He turned to Lin. "What do you think?"
"It's best if we take care of this spirit. The sooner, the better."
"It might be better if Lin takes care of this one," Gene said. "It seems like she died somewhat recently."
"Would you, Lin?"
Lin cupped his chin. "I could do that, but I'd need more information. Where did you encounter her?"
"In front of the gate." Gene said. "She was familiar with the donut I gave her, so she probably lived close by."
Lin exchanged glances with Noll.
"Could it be in this flat?"
The flat building was known for renting out to foreigners, but the low rent was suspicious. Something had obviously happened here, but their landlord had not spoken a single word. He was possibly afraid that they might move out after learning the truth behind the low price.
It didn't seems so strange how none of them had noticed anything off about the flat they'd rented. The place had been stripped clean. It came without furniture and without visible possessions from the previous renters. Noll had no way of sensing there was anything off and Gene didn't see any spirits lingering in the flat itself.
On top of that, his own shiki didn't notice anything odd or dangerous.
Noll headed to the box with paper disposables next to the dinner table. He searched though the scrapped notes, many letters and advertisements from the post.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for something we can use." Noll stopped searching and got up. "This will do."
He handed an envelope to Lin. It was a letter addressed to a certain Koujima-san. The subject matter seemed to be commercial in nature.
"Lin, why don't you talk to Nishikubo-san?"
A few minutes later he found himself in front of the door of their neighbour.
Nishikubo was a chatty middle-aged lady. She seemed to know everyone on their floor and was the first to talk to them. After learning that Lin was from Hong Kong, she had exclaimed her fondness for Chinese martial art films and food. Even if Lin and the twins didn't talk to the neighbours that much, at least he could count on Nishikubo's favour.
"Oh, Lin-san. Nice to see you again."
"Excuse me, do you happen to have the new address of your previous neighbours?" Lin showed her the envelope. "We received a letter for them the other day."
"Oh my." Her eyes widened. "Didn't the landlord tell you? They have passed away."
Bingo.
"...No, I am hearing this for the first time."
"Of course he wouldn't tell you!" Nishikubo huffed. "He must have feared that you would move away if you learned of this accident."
"Accident?" Lin prompted.
Nishikubo nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek.
"Koujima-san and her daughter were truly unfortunate. After the husband left the family, their daughter Misa fell from the balcony. She was such a sweet girl!" Nishikubo sniffed and pulled out a tissue. "Apparently, Koujima-san blamed herself and..."
She shook her head, unable to speak anymore.
"My condolences," Lin said. "I assume it happened recently?"
"Yes, at the end of November last year."
They'd have to check the newspapers for more information, Lin thought.
"It might be a strange question, but is there anything I should know? Perhaps, rumours..."
She blinked.
"Rumours? Actually..." Nishikubo paused. "No, never mind. It was an accident. That's what the police told us."
Strange. She seemed unwilling to divulge more.
Lin decided to back off.
"I see. Thank you for the information."
After saying his goodbye, Lin returned home and found the twins waiting for him at the dinner table. Gene looked anxious.
"What did you find out?"
"A little, but apparently not the whole story."
Lin told them what Nishikubo had said, and her reluctance to share more.
"I see." Noll noted down the information. "Let's try to find out more about this woman and her daughter."
Lin nodded.
"I'll see what I can do."
"And me?" Gene pointed at himself. "I don't have anything to do today, so..."
"Go rest," Noll said. "You look tired."
"What?"
"Listen to your brother."
"You too, Lin?"
Lin smiled.
"You've had enough excitement for the day. Go take a rest."
Gene spent the first hours of the night worrying himself sick, rolling around in his bed until his brother complained about the noise. The bad memories of his previous school. previously stuck in the back of his mind, were dragged up again.
Eventually, Gene managed to fall asleep somehow, but his anxiety kept him from having a good night rest. He woke up several times. During each interval he remembered having dreamed about a woman, who seemed to be taking care of a child. Her kindness faded with each sequence until she was an empty shell. The dreams weren't terrible, but there was something sad and lonely about these experiences. The last dream featured the woman with a man, and for some reason, a feeling of anger boiled inside of him.
After Gene felt groggy when he woke up. His eyes had been stained with tears, but he refused to let the other two take note of them.
Gene wanted to help them with searching for clues, but Lin and Noll told him to concentrate on school, rather than the impromptu case that had been thrown at them. They would go the library first thing in the morning, before checking out an office space in Dougenzaka.
Gene decided to go to school at their insistence.
His classmates greeted him as usual, and to his relief, he didn't sense any disingenuity in their smiles.
Gene found Christopher in the back of the class.
"Hey. How was work?" he asked.
"Just fine," Christopher said. "People were asking for you."
"Really?"
"I told them you weren't feeling well. You okay now?"
"Yeah." Gene smiled. "Thanks for filling in."
"No problem."
Then, the day continued as if nothing had happened. Christopher did not ask any questions, and though he seemed close to Devi and Owen, not even they seemed to be aware of yesterday's incident. Susanna flirted with him during lunch hour.
In other words, it seemed like no one knew.
When Gene returned from school to his part-time job, his boss Taichi welcomed him with a 'get well' donut. Gene almost teared up at this gesture. He owed Christopher a lot.
Upon returning home, Gene found Lin and Noll around the dinner table.
Lin had already prepared the materials out in front of him.
"I suppose you found out what you needed," Gene said.
Noll nodded.
"We found the names, and the dates of birth and death of both mother and daughter, Koujima Mitsuko and Misa," he said. "They were aged 36 and 7."
"What did you find out?"
"According to the newspaper articles, Misa's fall from the balcony was ruled an accident. She lost her balance while hanging the laundry."
That was strange.
"...Was she helping out her mother?
"It seemed she was alone on the balcony," Noll said. "In any case, Mitsuko jumped shortly after. The police assumed that she was unable to cope with her daughter's death and any possible repercussions that would follow. Given her daughter's young age, she would have likely been blamed for her carelessness."
That made sense. Leaving a young child alone on a balcony was asking for trouble.
"I see." Gene looked down at the wooden human effigy on the table. "For the mother?"
"Yes," Lin said. "Our plan is to lure the spirit, and have her be reunited with the mother."
"But... How do we lure her?"
"We find her and bring her to a secluded place."
"We?" Gene pointed at hmself and looked at Noll. "You mean, you and I?"
"Who else?"
He frowned. "She might possess you too."
"It won't happen."
"You never know," Gene said. "Ghosts can't tell the difference between twins."
Noll shrugged.
"You chased off the spirit. It won't happen again."
In the late evening, after dinner, they headed downstairs. Lin waited with the effigy in a small park nearby. Gene suspected that the girl did not particularly like being in her former home. It did not feel like she was trying to find her way back. Misa seemed the type of spirit who craved attention and was desperate to find others like her.
The twins searched together in the area around the flat building. Not many people were out this late in the dark, so they could search around freely. It didn't take long for Gene to find the girl.
(I see her!)
(Where?)
(At the corner of the building. Stay behind me.)
Like yesterday, Misa was clothed in a school uniform consisting of a dark blue jacket, a black skirt and crew socks, as well as a yellow hat and a red leather backpack. The hat and the backpack were a common sight in the streets. However, most elementary school students did not wear a uniform, but it seemed like some schools appeared to require them.
Misa noticed them from afar, but did not budge from her location when Gene approached.
"Hi, I need to talk to you." Gene stopped in front of her and gestured at the figure behind him. "This is my younger brother. His name is Noll."
She frowned.
Gene sighed. The girl didn't seem very happy to see him.
"I'm really sorry for what happened last time."
Misa pouted.
"You lied to me."
(Ack, she's angry.)
(Keep trying.)
"I didn't lie. You know that, you must have felt it," Gene said. "Martin adopted me. My real father... he never came back for me."
She continued to glare, so Gene turned around with a somewhat desperate smile.
"Right, Noll?"
"Yes."
The girl pouted again.
"Okay, so... Can I ask you a question?"
Misa held her tongue.
Noll groaned audibly.
(You already asked her a question.)
(Shut up smartass.)
Gene let out a sigh, then smiled warmly again.
"Misa-chan, why were you waiting in front of this building?"
She blinked at the mention of her name.
"How do you know?"
"Well." Gene paused. It was always hard to break it to spirits, but even more so to young children. They often did not know what death meant. "Do you know that you're dead?"
Misa tilted her head. "Dead?"
"Yes... Do you know what it means?"
A pensive expression appeared on her face.
"I was on the balcony... and then... I was here, outside." Misa paused. "But... I think I do understand."
"I see." Gene kneeled in front of her. "How do you feel right now?"
She shrugged.
"I don't know. I'm just wandering around and no one noticed me." Misa looked at him. "Until you came."
"Then... how did you feel at home?"
She replied instantly.
"Unhappy."
"Then what would make you feel happier?"
Misa looked down at her feet.
"My mum, I wish I could see her happy again... I keep waiting for her to pick me up."
Gene smiled.
"Do you want to see her?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, she's waiting for you."
"You're lying. My mother never picks me up at school. She keeps giving me all these excuses about how she's too tired, and she stopped smiling after daddy left us! And she only smiled when that stupid man came around."
"I'm sorry."
Gene knelt down in front of her. Misa showed a sad expression on her face.
"You feel hurt, don't you?"
She pursed her lips and nodded.
"That's too lonely." Gene gave her a warm smile, and held out his hand. "Come with me. Let's have a walk in the park."
Though hesitant at first, Misa reached out to him. Her hand was cold. She meekly walked alongside him into the direction of the small park. Noll followed them at a short distance.
"Will I really see her?" she asked with a small voice.
"You will. I promise you."
In the park, Gene could see Lin's shadowy figure hiding behind a tree at the back. A few metres ahead of him was a smaller tree, where a woman stood.
They walked up to the woman.
"Mum?"
The woman smiled kindly.
"Misa."
Misa turned to look at Gene in disbelief. Her eyes sparkled.
"There she is, your mum. Go home together with her."
She let go of him with a smile and ran up to the figure next to the tree.
Then, a light engulfed them, and it faded away along with the woman and child.
Lin appeared from behind the other tree, and went to pick up the effigy.
Gene let out a sigh of relief.
"Well done, both," Noll said with a smirk.
He showed a weak smile in return.
"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you."
A week later, Gene received a message from his parents about their Christmas holiday trip to Japan. Martin and Luella had been curious to see how their sons were living in Tokyo, and wanted to pay them a visit. Apparently, Madoka had decided to join them as well, since Noll was about to decide on which office he would use. Madoka insisted on throwing a housewarming party in the office upon their arrival. Gene was looking forward to that, but the other two looked like they wanted to bury their heads in the sand after being told of her intentions.
Gene gazed at a female classmate in one of the rows ahead of him. He sighed happily. In the past week, he had managed to flirt with Susanna on multiple occasions. Eventually she responded in kind and asked him out on a date to the cinema on Saturday. He immediately agreed. Susanna was bold and he liked it. His time at this school was about to blossom into a rose-coloured romance; his head was in the clouds.
However, there was one person that kept his feet on the ground.
Christopher barely talked to him these days.
He seemed distracted and there always a hazy and distant look in his eyes. Whenever Gene tried to interact with him, Christopher answered awkwardly. Their conversations had become brief. No one else seemed to notice anything off about Christopher.
So is it just me?
There was a telepathic knock on Gene's door.
(We have the keys.)
(Already?)
(Yes.)
(So when can I take a look?)
(Come whenever you're finished with school. I'll be there.)
(Great. Pass me the address.)
Gene listened to what his brother had to say, and wrote the information down in his notebook.
After school ended, he headed to Sangen-jaya station right away since he had a day off work. The station was a five minute walk from The British School.
"Gene?"
He turned around and found Devi walking behind him. She caught up with him.
"Heading to the station?"
"Yeah, I need to drop by in Shibuya."
"Oh, me too," Devi said. "I'm going to buy some clothes for the winter season. I've grown out of my old ones."
Gene blinked.
That was something he should do for both him and Noll too. They had brought little clothing of their own to Japan. If they were growing out of their current clothes anyway, there was very little point in bringing them along.
So far, Noll had spent his time switching between a few shirts and trousers.
Luckily, Gene had his school uniform, which was basically a suit, so he wasn't that bothered with the lack of clothes in the first place... but it would be nice to expand their wardrobes, and of course he needed new and hip clothes for his date on Saturday.
"How about you, Gene?"
"...Oh, I'm visiting my brother at his office."
"Yeah, you told us something about that a while ago? A researcher, isn't he?"
Gene nodded.
They hurried into the station and quickly entered the first train into the direction of Shibuya.
"By the way, how's part time work?"
"Great! I'm enjoying it much more than I thought I would."
She grinned.
"Chris told me the cafe gained a lot of female customers after you started working there."
Gene chuckled.
"I don't know about that. Could be a coincidence?"
"Well, for a while they didn't seem to be doing so well... They used to do better a year before," Devi said. "Has Chris told you about what happened?"
"Huh?"
Devi put a hand against her mouth.
"Oh, nevermind." She shook her head. "I probably shouldn't..."
Devi nervously fumbled with the phone in her handd.
"Um, okay?"
Gene tilted his head in confusion.
What was that?
She forced a smile.
"A-anyway, I never mentioned it, but you really coped well even though you were a month behind. It's amazing."
"Not really."
Gene smiled, going along with her change of topic.
"And your brother must be really smart too. Will you be a researcher like him?"
"Haha, no. It's not my thing."
"Really?"
They continued to talk about school until they parted ways at their destination.
"Well, see you tomorrow."
Devi waved a hand and set off.
Gene watched her go, then made his way to the main street in Dougenzaka.
What was Christopher supposed to tell me?
His friend obviously knew something. It had to do with the Arakawa family's silence on a particular subject, and why Christopher knew where he lived... It may have been a coincidence, but Misa knew of the donut shop. So...
Without thinking, he found himself in the front of a red brick building. As expected, it was very easy to find and quite accessible. There was a small fountain on the plaza. The cafe on the first floor seemed like a nice place to have lunch.
Gene took the escalator leading to the first floor. After making sure he was at the right address, he knocked on the door without a nameplate.
"Hello?"
(It's open.)
Gene grabbed the door handle and opened the door.
His first impression: it was surprisingly spacey.
He found his brother sat on the floor against the wall with his laptop.
"Lin went to get some furniture."
"You're letting him do all the work?"
"I'm not interested in decorating the place."
Gene sighed.
"Geez, you work him too hard."
Noll shrugged.
Gene took a quick look around the place. There was a small kitchen and some leftover furniture in the smaller rooms.
"And you got this for that price? Not bad," he said, "But where's the toilet?"
Noll pointed at the exit. "There's one on this floor."
"Okay..."
The lack of a bathroom seemed inconvenient, but at least they didn't have to clean if it was a common bathroom.
He looked out of the window. "Nice view too."
When Noll didn't respond, Gene turned around.
"Say, have you decided on a name? That alias of yours, Shibuya... something."
"Lin wrote it down for me."
Noll pulled out a paper from his notebook and handed it to Gene.
渋谷一也
Shibuya Kazuya
Gene frowned.
"But this," he pointed at the short horizontal line, "is the kanji for 'one'."
"Apparently."
"But I'm the older brother!"
Noll shot him a glare.
"I can't accept this," Gene said.
"It's my office."
"Ugh, never mind." Gene turned around and started to pull at the curtains. They looked dreadfully boring and old-fashioned. "Hey, you should really try to make this place more comfortable for visitors."
"I don't think it's essential."
"I'm going to mention this to Lin. Maybe he'll agree."
"Do whatever you want."
Gene sighed and picked up his school bag from the floor. There wasn't anything left to do here. Perhaps he could take a look in the shops in the area.
He gazed down at his brother's legs. Noll was definitely growing out of those trousers.
"Just so you know, I'm going to revamp my wardrobe."
Noll looked up at him.
"Should I buy clothes for you too?" Gene pointed down at his legs. "Your socks are showing."
Noll moved his gaze down.
"Fine."
"Good. I'll get stuff for you too. Any colour preferences?"
"Black."
Gene lifted an eyebrow.
That's all?
"...Anything else?"
"That's it."
Gene frowned. Where did he get the idea of using only one color?
"What's with the black? Are you going to dress for a funeral?"
Noll shrugged. "I don't want to think about color combinations."
Gene grimaced.
"Look here, Noll. I don't want us to be known as the 'black twin and the color twin'."
His brother sighed.
"I don't care what people think."
"...I can deal with the black trousers, but I'll get you some grey and white shirts at the very least."
When Noll sighed, Gene pointed a finger at him.
"Hey, don't complain! Be thankful I'm not getting you yellow and pink shirts!"
Gene headed out of the office and closed the door behind him. After descending from the escalator, he passed the cafe and looked down the street. Suddenly, there was a vibration in his pocket. Gene pulled his cellphone out and looked at the screen.
Christopher had sent a text.
Hey, Gene. Do you have time today? There's something I need to tell you.
Christopher insisted on meeting up with Gene in Shibuya. He wanted to explain everything, so they chose to meet in a cafe down the street.
After sitting down and receiving their drinks, Gene started.
"Let me guess. Devi scolded you?"
Christopher grimaced.
"A little. What did she say?"
"She asked me if I knew what had happened before I worked in the cafe, but she changed the subject when I said I didn't."
He smiled awkwardly.
"Ah, you see. Devi didn't feel right about talking to you about that. That's why she called me," Christopher said. "And she was right. I should have told you about that way earlier, but something got in the way."
"And that something is?"
"When you got hired, I had planned on telling you about it after a while, but then I found out that..." Christopher paused. "That you lived there."
Gene raised an eyebrow.
"Our flat?"
His friend shifted uncomfortably. "Yes... Were you aware of what happened there?"
"More or less. A neighbour told us this week."
Gene explained briefly what they found out from Nishikubo.
"I assume you didn't hear about the incident before?"
"No, we didn't. The landlord didn't tell us anything."
"I thought so..." Christopher sighed. "Did you ask the neighbour after hearing the story from that girl? I think she's one of the dead girl's classmates."
Gene blinked.
"The girl..."
"The one who talked to you before you fainted? For some reason, she shows up every once in a while in front of the flat building," Christopher said.
"Well, yeah. I told my brother and housemate. They wanted to know more about it too."
"I see. How did they react? ...Were they repulsed?"
Gene wanted to say that they were used to these occurrences, but he didn't want to bring that up right now.
"Not at all. They didn't seem affected, and I don't mind it either."
"My dad and Yumi were convinced that you'd move away and leave, so they urged me not to tell you. I thought they were wrong, but I kept hesitating..."
Gene smiled. "It's fine. I don't want to move out, and I'm sure the other guys agree as well."
"That's good to hear."
"Anyway, about the incident... Can you tell me more?"
Christopher looked down at the table.
"Well, where should I start..."
"Our neighbour told us it was an accident," Gene said. "Is that true? She seemed hesitant."
"Yes, it was an accident, according to the police." Christopher sighed a little. "But there are... rumours."
"Does it have something to do with your father? The thing you don't want to tell me about."
"Well, indirectly, yes."
"Indirectly?"
"You know Kawamoto-san, right?"
"Yeah, your dad's friend..."
"My father, Kawamoto-san and Koujima-san attended the same high school, but grew distant after graduating. After Koujima-san moved back into Setagaya, they became friends again."
Gene widened his eyes.
"You mean, they were lovers?"
Christopher shrugged.
"All I know is that Koujima-san's husband divorced from her about a year after they moved here. Their daughter grew up to not look like her father. Everyone could see that Misa was a child out of wedlock. Sure enough, Koujima-san admitted that she had an affair in the city they used to live in."
"...She's not Kawamoto-san's child?"
"No, probably someone else's. Misa didn't look like him either," Christopher said. "Anyway, Kawamoto-san supported Koujima-san emotionally during this time... But after a few months he stopped coming to her house. He realized she was relying too much on him."
"I see..."
"I also heard from my dad that Koujima-san paid far more attention to Kawamoto-san, than her own daughter. Misa hated him, so he decided to back out for that reason too. But by then the rumours had already started."
"Rumours?"
"Kawamoto-san is a married man and very well known in the neighbourhood. People were noticing that he came over a little too often."
"Well, he should have drawn a line somewhere," Gene said.
"My dad and I think so too." Christopher paused to take a sip from his drink. "Shortly after, Misa fell from the balcony. She died on the spot."
"...How? I've seen the balcony, the railing is quite high."
"According to an eyewitness, she fell down while putting up the laundry or playing on the balcony. After hearing a scream, Koujima-san came out and found Misa's lifeless body on the pavement."
"God."
"I think she lost it back then. She jumped."
"...That's terrible."
"Either way, the police found some possible marks of abuse on Misa's body."
"What?"
"The police assumed it had to be Koujima-san, but the other possibility is that some of the marks were caused by her former husband." Christopher grimaced. "The man himself blames his ex-wife and her 'new lover'... So some people believe that it could be Kawamoto-san. The rumours didn't help either; it was well known that Misa disliked him.
"Is that why people stopped coming to the donut cafe?"
"That's because Kawamoto-san and my dad still talk to each other, as you know. My dad knew both of them quite well, and he suspects that Koujima-san jumped because she could be sued for child abuse on top of neglect."
"And what do you think?"
He shrugged.
"Yumi and I don't think it's Kawamoto-san either, but... we don't like that he keeps coming over. It took a hit on the shop's income, but my dad says he doesn't care. He doesn't want Kawamoto-san to be alienated from the community he's lived in since childhood," Christopher paused, then looked up at him. "Gene, is it wrong to think like Yumi and I do? He may have made some mistakes with Koujima-san, I know that, but there's a good chance that he's innocent."
Gene thought about the situation, and tried to recall every instance he interacted with Kawamoto in the shop.
"From what I've seen, he doesn't seem like a bad person at heart. When he smiles, it's genuine, and when he looks sad, it's not fake," Gene said. "What was he like before this mess?"
"Well, Kawamoto-san used to be a very popular man in the neighbourhood. He's friendly and warm. My sister and I used to look up to him, like an uncle." Christopher paused for a moment. "...Actually, he reminds me of you."
Gene blinked multiple times.
"Me?"
"Kawamoto is the type who loves to help people out and makes them feel like they're... special," Christopher said, giving Gene a look. "But some people, especially women, may take it the wrong way."
Gene had to chuckle. "Really?"
"Yes, for real." Christopher gave him a weary stare. "Yumi thought you were into her too."
His jaw dropped.
"What?"
Christopher sighed.
"I told her you behaved like that with other girls too."
Gene groaned. "Sorry about that..."
"It's fine. She never thought of you that way."
"Good."
"Let's keep that between us, okay? Yumi will kill me if she finds out I told you."
"Of course."
"Back to Kawamoto-san, what do you think his situation?"
"Well..."
Somehow it reminded him of the situation back in his old high school. There was a certain hierarchy in the class, and Gene didn't notice its existence until he got pushed off from the top.
He showed a bitter smile.
"I think... When you're that popular, there will always be people who hate you and want to take advantage of your weakness. Hence the rumors."
"...That makes sense."
"About Misa, she probably craved for her mother's attention when it became clear that her dad return. So I can understand that she'd react badly when her father got replaced by a complete stranger. I think Misa wanted her mother's emotional support, but she didn't get it."
Gene looked down.
"Right, she was having a hard time too."
"Yeah."
Christopher shifted in his seat.
"Hey... Does this remind you of anything?"
"Huh?"
He looked up at Christopher. He seemed a little hesitant.
"On Monday... you said were upset about your father. He didn't come home or something like that. And I sort of realized that your circumstances might be similar," Christopher said.
"Ah..."
"Back then I thought you had a break down and assumed it was something else. Looking back at it, I shouldn't have done that..."
"You're curious?"
"I mean, you don't want to answer-"
"It's fine." Gene leaned forward. "Remember when I told everyone I was born in Boston?"
Christopher nodded.
"Well, my brother and eye were born in a different family," Gene said. "Our original name isn't Davis."
His eyes widened. "So you're adopted?"
"Yeah, my brother and I were neglected too," Gene said. He had told this story many times to other people, so his tone wasn't affected. "Our mother died from binge drinking, but we didn't know what death was, so we just waited for her to wake up. A few days later our dad came home, but then he just left us to rot there."
Christopher dropped his jaw.
"He didn't help you guys?"
"No, he left us with her body in the middle of winter. We almost died of hunger and cold. They didn't find us until after ten days or so," Gene said. "Then we spent about a year in the orphanage until our adoption parents came along."
"Holy shit, what an asshole."
"I hate him. ...Both of them, actually."
"Is your brother doing okay?"
"He's... fine. It's just me. ...I empathize too easily. I like to think I've gotten over it like he did, but... it's hard sometimes."
"Well, ...that explains a lot. Why you fainted, I guess."
It wasn't entirely true, but...
"I'm sorry for keeping it a secret. I just don't like to draw attention to that part of my life."
"That's understandable. This isn't something you can tell on your first day of school."
Gene smiled weakly. "Still, I should have told you earlier...
"Well, me too. So we're even?" Christopher said, grinning. "But I didn't expect a story like that."
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"At least I'm still here, and I have great adoption parents. They're honestly the best thing that happened to me."
"Yeah... Anyway, thanks for telling me."
Gene laughed a little. "No problem~ I'm glad I could tell someone."
It felt like they had grown closer. He was happy that he could tell Christopher a little about him, even if it wasn't everything. Perhaps, one day...
"So, you're actually American."
Gene grimaced.
"Please don't ask me if I can do an accent. I barely knew how to speak English before I got adopted."
Christopher laughed.
"No, seriously. Last time I told that to people, they kept bugging me to do an accent. I can't do it!"
"Alright, alright. Shall we go? I've kept you here long enough."
They left the cafe.
"Going home, Christopher?"
"Yeah, how about you?"
"I'm going to shop for some clothes."
"Oh right," he said. "I heard you're going on a date with Susanna?"
"Yes!" Gene beamed, then blinked. "...Uh, wait, how did you know?"
"...The whole school knows. The walls have eyes and ears."
"Seriously...?"
They walked into the direction of the station, but parted in front of Shibuya 109.
"Anyway, good luck," Christopher said, "and see you tomorrow."
"See you."
Gene headed into the direction of Shibuya 109's men's mall, then stopped. He turned around to look at Christopher's distant figure.
"Good luck with what?"
Author's note
The first arc ends in the next chapter... ;) Look forward to it!