[Summary: Her mind set, Nanako returns to school and throws herself into a new investigation.]
[7/14: Thursday]
Nanako kicked open the door to 2-2, interrupting that harlot of a teacher, Kashiwagi, talking about—who knew, who cared? All eyes were instantly looking in her direction instead.
"Class started ten minutes ago," Kashiwagi snapped at her, trying to regain the class's attention, but the room was full of surprised mutterings and whispers. Kashiwagi looked her up and down. "And that uniform is hardly regulation. Are you even in the right place?"
Part of the commotion was due to Nanako's new wardrobe. Gone was the short uniform skirt, replaced by a long one that flowed down to her calves, its band tied high on her waist like a kimono. The blouse was modified, too, shorter and loose around her body. Her hair flowed free; the uniform's yellow scarf was tied around her head so that it resembled a hairband.
Nanako tilted her head, considering the teacher. "Regulation or not," she answered evenly, "it's what I'm choosing to wear from now on."
Kashiwagi held her fingers against her cheek in thought. After a moment, her expression brightened. "Well, the boys are hardly going to be interested in that. Go take your seat."
Nanako stared at her. As if impressing boys was the point to life... What a disgusting woman Kashiwagi was. She shook her head and walked with calculated strides to her desk. Before sitting, she tapped under Yosuke's chin with a capped pen to get him to close his mouth, which had probably been hanging open ever since she'd entered the room. She took her seat, making eye contact for just a moment with Chie in the seat next to her.
"I didn't even know our uniform had a long skirt option," Chie eventually whispered.
Nanako's lips turned up for only a moment.
"'From now on'?" Yosuke squeaked behind her. "Wha—"
"We'll meet together at lunch," Nanako interrupted. "Until then, shut up."
Nanako didn't respond to any questions about her appearance, and there were plenty from the few people brave enough to approach her during the breaks between classes. When asked, she simply shook her head, her mouth a thin line.
Yosuke remained speechless, and Chie also seemed somewhat worried. Yukiko, on the other hand, told her that she'd always wanted to try wearing the long skirt. "I imagine that it'd make you feel strong!" she said.
"It is empowering," Nanako admitted. Since it was lunchtime now, she turned her head slightly and told Yosuke to go get Kanji and meet her at the school's roof. He essentially fled the room. It almost made Nanako smile. Almost.
A few minutes later, she sat herself down on one of the metal outcroppings present on the roof. Yukiko and Chie sat together kitty-corner to her. Neither said anything, and she didn't have anything to say to them, not really, and so they waited in silence until Yosuke arrived with Kanji.
Yosuke had also brought her a drink, which he held out to her gingerly like a peace offering. He quickly retracted his hand when she took it from him. She set the drink next to her, wiped her hands on her long skirt, then looked up at Kanji who was looming before her.
Kanji took a seat right next to her. "Senpai!" he said. "That outfit's awesome. You give 'em what they're asking for."
"I'm glad you approve," Nanako replied. "But it's not important."
"It's n-not important?" Yosuke stuttered. Unlike the rest of the squad, he hadn't taken a seat. He was still standing there by his lonesome. "You're dressed like a girl gang leader!"
"It's not important," she repeated. "What is important is finding Mr. Morooka's murderer."
"Well, y-yeah," he said, "but..."
"Are you going to help or not?" she interrupted.
"Of course I am, but..."
"Then sit down, shut up, and listen."
He blinked at her in dismay, but then walked over to Yukiko and sat next to her, rather far away from Nanako.
Whatever. It was time to get down to business. "The police already have a suspect," she informed them. "Adachi-san admitted it last night."
"So the culprit slipped up?" Yosuke asked, relieved despite his discomfort. "They're finally on the serial killer's trail..."
"They're not," she corrected. "What, you think Mr. Morooka was killed by the serial killer? Please."
"But... who else could have done it?" Chie asked. "We figured that since Yukiko and Kanji-kun were saved, the killer got desperate and killed the next victim in our world instead."
"You're telling me the serial killer dragged Mr. Morooka's body all the way up to the roof instead of shoving it into the nearest TV? And strung it up with bungee cords himself?"
"Maybe he didn't have a TV handy?" Yosuke suggested.
Nanako sighed. She looked up at Kanji. "Please tell me, Kanji-kun, that you don't think the same."
Kanji shook his head. "Nah. The serial killer has a truck, right? Probably keeps a TV in the trunk. Would've been helluva lot easier for him to bring a body down to the parking lot than up to the roof. Doesn't make sense he'd go to all that effort."
"Yosuke, Chie." Nanako sighed. "We're dealing with a copycat killer who didn't even do a very good job hiding the fact. Bungee cords, really?"
"A copycat killer," Yosuke repeated. "That does make sense, considering how different the methods were. Mr. Morooka died of a head wound. They could've used a poison or drugs to mimic the other murders. Who'd be so careless to copy it so poorly?"
"A high schooler," Nanako answered, not bothering to hide her contempt. Yosuke looked downcast at her tone, but she didn't care. "Anyway, DEATH Squad. We have a rat to weed out now. You've lived here longer than I have. Any murderous-looking kids in Yasogami High? Or someone who you remember from middle school, who knows? Or someone who's conspicuously absent because he's on the damned run from the police at this very moment."
"I can't think of anyone," Yukiko murmured after a long moment.
"Me neither," said Chie.
"Think harder," Nanako demanded.
"Uhh, Senpai," Kanji said cautiously. "Is it all right to judge by looks? I mean, people tell me I look murderous, but I'd never kill anyone."
His remark softened Nanako, if only for a moment. "You're right," she said. Then the moment ended. Nanako slammed her fist into the metal outcropping so hard that it would leave a bruise. "There has to be something we can do to find the bastard!"
"Uh, I think you need to calm down, Nanako," Chie said, her eyes wide.
"Y-yeah," Yosuke followed up. "If the police already have a suspect, they're pursuing him, right? Should we even get involved?"
"Calm down?" she asked. She rose suddenly to her feet. "Calm down? Mr. Morooka was killed! Someone clobbered him and hung him up like holiday lights! That someone is going to pay for this—"
Her phone rang. Derailed, she checked the name and her countenance brightened. It was Naoto! He was far more reliable than these people.
She stalked away from her friends to answer the call. "Yeah? What've you got?" she said, ignoring formality in her hunger for information.
"I've discovered the name of the private school the suspect in Mr. Morooka's death attends." Naoto proceeded to relay the name and details. "I'll soon have the student's identity narrowed down."
"Why are they not telling you who it is? It's ridiculous!"
"I won't argue that point," Naoto agreed. "Regardless, I will keep you informed."
Nanako ran her thumb idly over the cracks in her phone's screen for several moments before putting it away. Then she returned to her friends. She hadn't been on the phone very long, but they had started to eat lunch without her. She wasn't hungry at all and it kind of annoyed her that they were. On some level she knew she was being harsh towards them, but she wasn't in the mindset to care in the least.
She informed them of the suspect's school, but none of them knew anyone who went there. Very frustrating. She was stuck waiting on Naoto for further information. What the hell could she do on her own?
She could check out the crime scene, but that had to have been picked over by now. She could corner Adachi-san at Junes and demand answers. She could...
"Uh, Senpai? The bell just rang. We gotta head back to class."
She blinked. Kanji was standing near her, scratching the back of his neck. The others seemed to have elected him to be the one to approach her. "Yeah, sure."
"Senpai, uh..."
"Yes, Kanji-kun?"
"We gonna meet up after school or anythin'?"
She shook her head.
"It's just," he went on, "we got exams next week, so... Yukiko-senpai and the rest were thinkin' of having a study group again. If you weren't, uh, having any other plans."
"They can study," she told him.
"You're invited too, Senpai."
Study... Mr. Morooka's last words to her were to exhort her to study. She scowled at the memory. Yeah, she had to do better on her exams. She'd promised. "Yeah, fine. At Junes?"
"S-secret headquarters, Senpai!" Kanji corrected.
He was trying to cheer her up, but she only nodded in response and then headed down the stairwell to return to class.
[7/16: Saturday]
Another rainy day. The Midnight Channel would be on tonight.
Hmph. As if that mattered.
According to Yosuke, it had showed a blank screen on Tuesday night. Nanako doubted that was going to change. She wasn't going to bother watching it tonight, although she might be awake in time to tune in. Her sleep schedule was still a bit haywire from the beginning of the week.
Her focus was fixed on the copycat killer. Studying with her friends the last two days had been partly a ruse. She'd used the opportunity to search Junes up and down, but apparently Detective Adachi was no longer wasting his time there. Good for him, finally getting his ass in gear and trying to solve the damned murders. There was a limit to how sympathetic she could be, and after Wednesday night, he'd crossed it. But it inconvenienced her, because she couldn't corner him and extract further information if she couldn't find the damned guy.
On the bright side, she had an appointment with Naoto right after school today. She was to meet the boy at his apartment. He lived near the police department, which meant he lived south of Junes—Nanako passed the superstore on the way there. The apartment complex had two floors, but the detective lived on the first. His room wasn't difficult to find, and she didn't hesitate in knocking on the door.
"Ah, Nanako-san. Surprisingly punctual," Naoto said upon opening the door for her. A grim little smile crossed his features.
Nanako stared at him. Was that supposed to be a joke? "You of all people should know I'm serious about all this," she muttered.
"I thought you might arrive late due to your friends," he explained. "I'm aware through Kanji-san that you have exams next week."
"Oh. Right." Nanako hadn't given her friends any thought when school let out today. She'd made a bee line straight for the detective's apartment.
"Well, do come in," Naoto invited.
In contrast to her expectations on what a detective's living space should look like, the apartment was open, airy, and uncluttered. Well, minus the tea table, which was covered in so many stacks of paper that its surface wasn't visible. The living room was rather empty overall—a cardboard box in the corner reminded Nanako of her own room at the Seta residence since she still had a few moving boxes lying around. It would have been lit by natural lighting from the large window set in the eastern wall if it wasn't for the rain. Instead, a standing lamp in the corner did the job.
Naoto directed her to sit at the tea table. At a glance, the papers were related to the case. "I'm sorry. I don't have a second cushion," he said. "Please make do with the pillow. In fact, I've never entertained a guest here."
The detective excused himself to another room, promising to be back in a moment, and before she had a real chance to look through the nearest stack of papers, he returned with a tea tray. He served her tea in a cup that was ceramic and probably expensive.
"You looked like you could use a cup," Naoto murmured after sipping his own.
"You too," Nanako said. Now that the detective was sitting, she could see that he hadn't much sleep, and his hair under the cap seemed to be even more unkempt than usual.
"Indeed. Shall we get to business?" Naoto set his cup down on a saucer on the table. "I mentioned before that I'd been preparing an evidence portfolio, a collection of data that indicates this recent murder was a copy-cat killing. I'd like to review it with you since you are equally invested in the end result."
He slid a manilla folder in front of her. Without a word, she opened it and began to read.
It began with an in-depth report of the facts regarding Mayumi Yamano's death, including pictures from the crime scene that Naoto must have acquired from the police department. Nanako hadn't seen them before, so it was quite interesting to discover how exactly the body had been strung up by, well, the inscrutable inner workings of the TV World. How did the body exit the TV like that, after all? And how did the TV World decide where to put the body? It didn't seem to have any relationship to location in the real world, unlike the dungeons. Teddie had no idea, of course. Nanako sighed to herself. The once-interesting layers of mystery now only served to frustrate her.
The next few pages detailed the similarities between Naoki Konishi's death and the announcer's, including the coroner's testimony and several pictures of the crime scene that were marked up with Naoto's notes. Nanako read through the analysis carefully. She pointed out a minor grammar mistake, and Naoto made a note to himself on a notepad to fix it later.
"Take a deep breath," Naoto said suddenly as she began to turn to the next page. She glanced up at him for a moment, but, focused on the report, didn't take his advice.
Maybe she should have, because she blanched and nearly pushed the entire folder away.
She should have known that Naoto was so thorough that he would procure several pictures of Morooka's dead body.
She probably should have turned right past the page, gone straight to the next one, but she was nothing if not stubborn. And if she really wanted to be a detective, too, she had to be able to be objective even when faced with something so personal.
Naoto made several notes on the location of the fatal head wound. The severity of the blow, the angle of attack.
"If it helps, death was likely instantaneous." Naoto's voice was soft.
"It was premeditated," Nanako stated. "He was taken by surprise."
She didn't look up from the report, but she saw Naoto nod at the edge of her vision. "That's my belief as well, but the evidence as it is can't be taken as conclusive. It's possible that Mr. Morooka had been speaking with his assailant before the attack, and then turned away, giving the culprit an opportunity that he couldn't resist."
"The murderer was a high schooler," Nanako murmured.
"A former student of his, or perhaps a fellow resident at the apartment complex. I've looked into that possibility, but all of my attempts at progress are being severely hampered." The look on Naoto's face was not a pretty one. "As a result, I've been focusing on this report for the time being."
Knowing Mr. Morooka, he'd probably railed against the kid before. Maybe about his appearance or his activities or maybe without any reason at all. He'd enjoyed ranting at anyone under twenty just because he could. The killer shouldn't have taken it personally. Morooka had been fairly indiscriminate in his personal attacks during class, although Nanako couldn't remember a time he'd singled out Yukiko, but that was probably because she was a good student more than anything.
Something had made the killer snap. Maybe it wasn't even Morooka's words to him, but some desire for fame or attention. A shut-in whose own parents complained about his hobbies but never bothered to try to change them, only making him more bitter towards life.
Nanako would be sympathetic if he hadn't allowed it to result in murder.
"Well, I don't see any flaws in your analysis," Nanako told the detective. "It's thorough."
"Thank you. I'll be presenting it to the authorities soon. Is there anything further you wish to discuss with me since you're here?"
It didn't even cross her mind to ask him personal questions. She simply shook her head.
Nanako couldn't stop thinking about Morooka on the walk home. If he'd known he was going to die, would he have changed his attitude at all? No, he probably would have shrugged and said, "That's life." Here one minute, dead the next.
The very thought made her heartsick.
What would he say about his death? She wasn't very well versed in philosophy. There wasn't any myth about someone being clobbered to death, was there?
With these dark thoughts at the forefront of her mind, she walked right by the Seta residence before deciding she really didn't want to go home at all. She stopped and stared up at the rainclouds, listened to the patter of the rain on her umbrella.
She started walking again and turned into the central shopping district and headed straight for the Moel gas station.
It was almost as if Izaya was waiting for her. He touched the brim to his baseball cap and adjusted it on his head slightly, the only greeting he gave her when she joined him under the station's high awning. As usual, there weren't any customers around due to the rain, so they were alone.
They stared out into the rain together for a long time.
"There's something different about you," Izaya eventually commented.
"Don't you ask about the skirt," she said sullenly. "Getting enough of that everywhere else."
"Acrimony," Izaya remarked, snapping his fingers. "That's what it is. The fire within you... it's different today. Something's happened to anger you." He put his hand to his chin and regarded her.
She looked coolly back at him. "Remember how you talked about, y'know, revenge?"
He tilted his head as if to say, 'go on.'
"I kind of want it," she told him frankly.
"Intriguing," he said. "Revenge... or justice?"
She paused. What was it she really wanted...? Truth and Justice? That wasn't it at all. "Revenge. I want to catch the murderer with my own two hands."
"And then what? Give him a taste of his own medicine, as they say?"
She nodded. That was it exactly. "What do you think of that, Izaya-san?"
He scratched his chin, taking some time to answer. "The serial murders are a popular topic around these parts. People are so curious about the killer. Who is he? Why did he do it? And everyone has their own ideas. It's all pointless speculation, and yet no one can seem to let their opinions go."
"If the media didn't report on it every minute," Nanako said, "then maybe there wouldn't even be a damned copycat killer."
Izaya shrugged. "The media only reports on what people find the most interesting. They are capitalizing on human nature, and that won't change unless the heart can be changed." He paused, looking at her. "Yes, fickle though the heart is, the worst parts of it have remained constant over the eons. Foolish pride, burning hatred, envy and greed... They capture attention because they are so deep-seated in the soul."
"And even when the murderer is dealt with, people are just gonna move on to the next sensational scandal," Nanako commented with a sigh.
"'Dealt with.' That's an interesting way of putting it. I'm curious now. How exactly do you plan on 'dealing with' him?"
"Oh, don't worry about the details, Izaya-san. Just know that he'll deserve everything I'll do to him."
"Everything?" Izaya queried with a thin smile. "Hmhmhm... Whether it's justified or not is subjective, you must realize. Whether you strangle him to death because it makes you feel powerful or because you think that's the punishment he deserves—it's ultimately unimportant. The fact that you strangled him... Have you heard that actions speak louder than words?"
Her brow knit together in thought. "What are you getting at? That real justice would be letting the bastard live, putting him in prison and letting society mete out its own brand of punishment?"
"Not at all. I am saying that you could go ahead and kill him in the most painful way imaginable while claiming justice. And who could claim otherwise? Who has the right to? It's justice to you." He chuckled humorlessly. "Ah, Nanako. The purpose of your actions can only be decided by you. You should take the time to determine it—for your own sake. You don't want to live with regrets."
She wasn't going to regret a damn thing. The murderer was going to feel justice. Nanako-brand justice. Rule #1 was out the window a long time ago.
Lost in her thoughts, she was completely unaware of the large grin on Izaya's face behind her.
After bidding farewell to Izaya, Nanako trudged north through the shopping district.
Up ahead, she saw a man standing in the rain without an umbrella. Her heart leaped into her throat. She'd just left Izaya, there was no way he could've gotten ahead of her like this—
It wasn't Izaya. Upon closer inspection, the man had short, dark hair. He was staring down at the ground a few feet away from him. His shoulders were hunched, but other than that, he didn't seem to notice the rain soaking into him at all.
She stopped to stare at him and wondered if she should approach. She wasn't feeling particularly sociable at the moment, but no one stood out in the pouring rain like this without a reason.
She ignored him for the moment and went into the general store. She bought a cheap umbrella from the old lady, and then approached the man. "Excuse me. Umm."
The man slowly looked up at her. She almost jumped in surprise; she recognized him from the news—Taro Namatame, the man who'd been having an affair on his wife with Mayumi Yamano. That's right, he was supposed to live around here.
His soulful eyes made him look almost like a sad puppy. "Err," she said, "well, I thought you might want an umbrella." She handed the spare out to him.
He stared at it. A puppy? No, he was more like Souji right now... But finally he took it. "Thank you," he said simply.
She thought of offering some encouraging words, but it was obvious that nothing was going to help this guy. He'd probably heard it all before.
As she walked back home, she considered how she needed to deal with Morooka's killer quickly so that she could return her focus to the serial killer.
[AN: Nanako's new wardrobe is a sukeban's garb. The word 'sukeban' means 'delinquent girl' or 'boss girl.' They don't have a good reputation—think of how people react to Kanji's appearance and apply it to her. And remember that Morooka had once called her a delinquent.
An equivalent in other media is the 'yankee' Arisa Uotani in Fruits Basket, who wears the same kind of long skirt that Nanako has now adopted. Another example is Makoto Kino in Sailor Moon.
Thanks again Dusk Clark and Gilgamesh The King of Heroes for reviews~ But don't worry so much about Souji! He's stronger than he looks, hehe. He'll be in the next chapter, I promise.
Next Chapter: Lost and Found
Exam week ends on a bittersweet note.]