Satoshi bit his lip in frustration as he stepped into the Executive Committee's classroom, the answer to the mystery Houtarou had created sitting on the tip of his tongue with nobody to tell it to. It was only by some twisted providence that he was the Executive Committee member assigned to represent the club that mediated the activities of other clubs on the day he would have been stuck at school anyways. There wasn't going to be much to do, not with the threat of the impending rainstorm scaring everyone into avoiding leaving their homes. Emphasizing this was the fact that Satoshi was alone. "Not that I'm complaining," he told the room as he made his way to the records cabinet in the back of what was normally a senior classroom. "Makes it easy to confirm my hypothesis."
It had only been for a brief moment, but Houtarou Oreki had shown interest in something exactly one time since he had failed to determine the truth behind the filmography club's movie mystery. This single moment had been witnessed by Satoshi and nobody else, which in his mind made him the sole proprietor of the truth behind this morning's incident. That had to be the case, given that Houtarou had bothered to show Satoshi the draft of the manuscript in advance. Satoshi found himself shaking his head at the thought. Leave it to Houtarou to forget the human element of things. Or ignore it, I guess. Leaning against a window, Satoshi observed as Houtarou from the past manifested by the clubroom's entrance in monochromatic grey, accompanied by a colorless Satoshi. "You can't do this to me, Houtarou!" Satoshi complained as he closed the door behind them. "Come on, you owe me one, don't you?"
"I don't recall," Houtarou brushed off, pacing towards the observing Satoshi. "Over here, right?"
Other Satoshi sighed dramatically. "Come on. I have to watch you mope around for a month, and then when you get interested in club politics of all things, I'm left in the dark?"
The grey boy said nothing, instead opening the cabinet with a key received from his friend and beginning to rifle through the files within. Both Satoshis felt a pang of irritation at being ignored, but only the colorless one said anything over the sound of papers smacking into each other rapidly. "You know, a thank you is usually the easiest way to get people to want to keep helping you, right?"
"Thanks," Houtarou thanked without looking up, continuing to pursue his quarry casually.
This did not amuse other Satoshi, who then tried to peek over Houtarou's shoulder to identify his target. Houtarou simply held the folder he'd selected a bit closer to his chest, preventing other Satoshi from seeing it. At this, Satoshi left his spot on the window and made a mental note of which folder Houtarou was holding. "Bingo," he muttered with a small smile.
There was no more need for theatrics, particularly when there wasn't an audience around. If he was to savor this experience, it would have to be from the sidelines anyways. A database doesn't draw conclusions. It only collects information, and that's the only reason I want to be right. Any further fixation would ruin things for everyone. This sentiment could have carried Satoshi all the way through the day had he not noticed the memory in his head was continuing to play without his consent. "Look, Houtarou, I didn't want to have to be the one to say it, but how long are you going to mope about that movie?"
"Don't," Satoshi whispered, forgetting his goal for a moment as he froze between himself and Houtarou.
Houtarou rose up to his full height, impassively eyeing the Satoshi he could see. "I'm moping?" He asked in a tone that implied he didn't want an answer.
Satoshi shook his head at himself, but his past self wouldn't stop. "Um, yeah. This is the most you've said since we told you that your solution was wrong. Chitanda-san had to stare at you for a full minute just to get you to notice her yesterday. It was like double your previous record. Don't tell me your head got so big that you thought you knew more than a database?" It was a prideful statement, one Satoshi a year ago would have had no problem saying and one Satoshi now despised.
The stinging retort Satoshi was expecting for his claim never came. Instead, Houtarou slid the file in his hand back into the file cabinet and rose silently. "Maybe," he admitted, turning towards the door.
Caught off guard, Satoshi got out of the way as Houtarou started walking away, straight through current Satoshi. "Hey now, this isn't what I expect from you, man," Satoshi tried to laugh off Houtarou's awkward response. "I-"
"Is there a reason for you to care?" Houtarou suddenly snapped, eyeing Satoshi angrily. "You shouldn't expect anything of me. I just got lucky and figured out a few things to get Chitanda-san off my back."
"Do you have any idea how much I want to expect nothing from someone like you?" Satoshi snapped back before remembering he was talking to an empty room.
Colorless Satoshi had nothing to say to that, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, I guess not. I'm just trying to say I expected someone like you not to care about something like this for this long. Did being wrong upset you that much?"
Houtarou paused one more time by the door. "You of all people shouldn't be saying that."
Both Satoshis knew they'd been bested, allowing Houtarou to leave the room with no more than a small wave. Despite this, Satoshi still felt compelled to punch his colorless self in the face for giving up so easily. The memory disappeared as Satoshi grunted in pain, having stubbed his toe on a desk by swinging at air. "Moron," he berated himself as he leaned against the desk with a small smile. "What's done is done. You can go crazy later."
Satoshi had wanted to pursue the issue further at the time, but even now he could tell that there wasn't much of a point in someone without color trying to talk sense into someone living a colorful life, even if that color was grey. He'd been trying to get Houtarou to open up, even a little bit, for over a week now, and nothing seemed to shake him, all his actions pushing him in the opposite direction. This was at first to get his primary teasing target back, and now for the sake of the club and Eru more than anything else. Though she'd done her best to hide it in their few meetings over the summer, Eru had been by and large the most concerned about Houtarou's shift following the movie incident. Certainly there was a tiny part of Satoshi that derived pleasure in knowing that he'd suddenly become the most reliable man in the club, but he shunned that part of him away whenever he felt it rising up within him. Anyone but him could have seen that answer was wrong. Maybe he wanted to change who he was too. At least grey is a color. Shaking the odd thought off, Satoshi refocused on his original objective.
At the time, Houtarou had asked for secrecy regarding his actions, a request strange enough to compel Satoshi to comply until now. The self-proclaimed database withdrew the folder Houtarou had pulled out himself days ago, a committee alumni folder. Databases don't draw conclusions, get involved, have friends worth getting involved over. Yet here I am, Houtarou.
After pausing a moment to wave away the oppressive heat with the folder in his hand, Satoshi rose and opened up the file he presumed Houtarou would have been looking at. "Sekitani Jun… you were always closer than we thought, huh?" he spoke to himself as he looked over the file. How did it escape our, no, my notice that Jun Sekitani was on the executive committee too? More importantly, how did Houtarou come to suspect this and why didn't he tell anyone? I'm sure that's what Chitanda-san is really curious about. She stopped caring about the manuscript the second we mentioned why it was like the way it was. Maybe she thinks this is her big chance to bring Houtarou back. Well, nobody will miss this for a day or two. Pocketing the file in his backpack, Satoshi began to think his next move aloud as he stared out the dreary windows.
"If it were me trying to solve the case, I'd presume that Houtarou somehow found out Jun Sekitani was on the executive committee and from there decided that it was an important enough detail to warrant changing his whole perspective on the man. After failing to do the same with the writer of the filmography club's movie, he started doubting himself, especially for an important task like this one. Therefore, Jun Sekitani must be a hero, one so humble that he would diminish his own accomplishments for the greater good of the student body. His explanation of events to young Eru Chitanda probably reinforce that fact. Well, that's what I would think, if I wanted to consider it." This deduction Satoshi didn't make took far less time than he'd anticipated, leaving him with nothing to do until a club came to him with a request. "Or Chitanda-san comes back," he reminded himself, unlikely as the possibility was. If she somehow convinced Houtarou to come back, the mystery part will be solved anyways.
The freshman's eyes drifted towards the window displaying abandoned school grounds. Though he'd seen the odd student pass by here and there, Satoshi still felt like the building was completely empty. "Should be a good storm. Mayaka and I are going to get rained on. Not much to be done about that. Maybe I should head home early." This logical idea wasn't acted on as Satoshi slumped into a desk. "Or I could wait to see how things play out. Can't let the Executive Committee look bad if someone comes asking for us." Every member present in the clubroom agreed with the database's logic.
No mention was made of the Houtarou case in Satoshi's mind until after the announcement declaring the end of the school day brought his attention into the present. As he contemplated what to do with this new information, his phone buzzed. "Hello? Chitanda-san?" he asked, noticing the first drops of rain starting to fall on the windows.
"Fukube-san, Mayaka-san told me what was going on. She said you didn't want to come, but I thought I'd ask myself, just to be sure."
"Come where?" Satoshi asked, though his mind had already guessed where Eru meant.
"Oreki-san's house," Eru responded, confirming Satoshi's suspicions. "I'm here with Oreki-san's older sister. She said Oreki-san will be here soon, and that we can to him about this mystery when he gets back. Please, will you come?"
The choice Satoshi had been trying to put off was again flung into his face. He couldn't see Eru, but he was certain she was making the face she always made when she was trying to get Houtarou to pursue one of her curious urges. But I'm not Houtarou. I shouldn't get more involved. But if I don't, there's a chance everyone could get hurt because Houtarou refuses to tell the truth. If that chance exists on both sides, I should just do what I want. "Alright, I'll be there soon," he informed Eru, hanging up before he could change his mind. I want to have friends, but I don't want to have them get too close. I can't fixate on them, but if I don't pull through here, I could lose them. There's only one solution then.
With this sentiment in mind, Satoshi gathered his things and jogged towards the front entrance. Since Mayaka hadn't contacted him, he could only presume that the girl was attempting to deal with everything herself, a quirk of hers that was endearing if not annoying at the most inconvenient times. Thinking of Mayaka reminded him exactly why he had mentally resisted him getting further involved in the first place. She wants to solve the case, but solving this would mean getting Houtarou to open up. Doing that would require me getting invested. If Mayaka notices that, she might start asking questions about our relationship again. Even then, losing the club would probably be worse for both of us. It would be nice to know if I was right or not though. Satoshi's answer to this request was coming across a pink dot yelling into a grey landscape just outside the front entrance of the school.
The few students Satoshi had seen around were long gone, having left at the first sign of the downpour, leaving Satoshi alone to watch the dot he recognized as Mayaka yell out stress he hadn't realized she had into a void. Part of him wanted to interfere, but he couldn't bring himself to be there for her, not quite yet. Only when he was sure she was done did he approach. "Need directions?" he asked, pretending he hadn't been watching.
Mayaka looked at Satoshi sharply. "I thought you went home already," she half-accused, the slowly building rainfall and her hoarse voice making it difficult to hear her.
"I was busy with some Executive Committee stuff," Satoshi lied simply. "Are you sure you don't want to wait things out? Home isn't going anywhere."
"But Oreki might," Mayaka countered, stepping back into the building to make herself more easily heard again. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I already called Chii-chan about it. You're still here, so you were interested in the truth too, weren't you?"
Satoshi shrugged, Mayaka's accusations raindrops falling from his shoulders. "I like knowing the truth as much as anyone else. I was curious to see if Houtarou actually wrote the truth or not, and when Chitanda-san told me what you were doing, I thought I'd tag along."
"And do you think he did write the truth?" Mayaka pressed, unwilling to give up.
This was the question Satoshi had been trying to avoid. To commit to one answer or another was highly dangerous. What does a database think? What would Mayaka want to hear? Does that matter? I know what I want to hear, but does that even matter? Ugh. Damn you, Houtarou. Making everything complicated again.
"I think only he knows the answer," Satoshi decided, dodging the question.
Mayaka's shoulders sagged low enough to make Satoshi feel bad immediately for his response. "I see. Well, I'm going to find the truth," she decided, turning back towards the entrance. "You can come if you want, but I can't let it go like this. This is our story."
The word story sparked a thought in Satoshi, one he attempted to suppress as strongly as he could to no avail. Only when he saw Mayaka was about to leave did he finally open his green umbrella he'd offered her over her head. "I can walk you there," he suggested. "You needed directions, right?"
Mayaka's faint blush was somehow brighter to Satoshi than her raincoat. "I could find it myself, but, uh, yeah. Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Satoshi smiled, leading the way with Mayaka under his umbrella.
Though it may have been Satoshi's imagination, the rain appeared to lessen in intensity the farther away they got from the school. Mayaka took no notice of this, sticking closely to Satoshi's side under his green umbrella despite having her raincoat on. Satoshi alone noticed the irony of the situation and lamented his ability to do anything about it. Well, I invited her. I chose to let her in, to go against the progress I've made this past year. I don't want to care too much, but if I'm here, I might as well go for it. What's the worst that could ever happen, right? The question's answer was obvious, but Satoshi asked anyways. "Why'd you join the Classics Club?" he asked loudly enough to be heard over the rain.
Mayaka's piercing red eyes turned sharply towards Satoshi. Avoiding the past wasn't the only reason Satoshi tried to avoid getting too involved with Mayaka. Whether he liked her or not, she knew exactly how to pressure him in a way he presumed Houtarou felt around Eru. "Where's that coming from?" she asked, her voice surprisingly lacking compared to the look she was giving her friend. "I joined because you joined. You know that."
"Then why did I join this club?" Satoshi continued, not entirely sure why he was pursuing the point himself. Another lie. I can see the answer I want to lead her to, but I'm pretending I can't. Obscured by the rain.
Mayaka shifted her gaze outward at the sheet of water in front of them. "Dunno. You never mentioned it. I'd guess it's because you found Oreki's problem solving skills interesting, or you were just looking out for him as a good deed or something. After all, he was supposedly forced to join the club by his sister, wasn't he?"
Satoshi nodded thoughtfully before plastering on a smile that the revealing rain surely would have melted away if it could reach it. "Ding ding ding, correct. You see, I've been thinking about that a lot since what happened with the movie, and while a database doesn't draw conclusions, it does get bothered when it feels like it's missing something. Don't you?"
It took Mayaka a moment to figure out what Satoshi was talking about. "You mean why Oreki is still in the club," she clarified. "Isn't that just because he can't say no to Chii-chan?"
A frown formed on Satoshi's mouth. That's true, but it's not what I'm getting at. How do I get her to make the connection herself? "Just Chii-chan?" he proposed quietly.
Another pause broken up by the sound of rain silently falling on the umbrella. Nobody else dared to brave the elements like the two high schoolers making their way to their friend's home. "No, not just Chii-chan," Mayaka echoed as her eyes widened softly. "He likes feeling needed, wanted. He went to much further lengths than anyone else to solve that mystery. When he failed, he felt like he lost his purpose. If he wrote the paper like this, someone probably put him up to it."
Satoshi nodded, satisfied with the deduction. "Interesting. I hadn't thought about it like that, but it's not out of the question. Who, I couldn't say, but I agree that Houtarou wouldn't do this without some external motivation. That's why he suddenly decided to dig around in the executive committee records for Jun Sekitani's history, why he wrote the story differently. All that's left is the who, the real criminal here."
"Is it really that simple?" Mayaka cut in as they rounded a corner while glossing over Satoshi's revelation. "Are you sure he isn't just being difficult for the sake of it like he has been all month?"
One more shake of the head and a spark in Satoshi's eyes steered their conversation off track right in time with Satoshi turning them towards the shade of a building to avoid the rain. "The legendary Houtarou Oreki? So renowned for his energy conservation prowess that his brain has become far more powerful than it should have as a result? If he truly feared the loss of his deductive abilities, he would be doing what he does and more to ensure that he never loses them again!"
"Yes, of course, you've solved the mystery," Mayaka congratulated sarcastically. "In case you haven't noticed, he's been regressing more and more into his bad side all month. We might as well-"
"He's been exactly who he's always been," Satoshi interrupted sternly before blinking.
Mayaka was so startled by Satoshi's outburst in stark contrast to his opinion earlier that morning that she stumbled out a few steps into the rain. Almost instantly, the light coat of water that had clung to her doubled in weight, pulling her features down and giving Satoshi pause Mayaka could ill afford. Though Mayaka recovered quickly, the image of her alone in the pouring rain stuck with Satoshi long enough to prevent him from saying much more than a mumbled sorry that Mayaka half-heartedly reciprocated. Though she was back under his umbrella, the distance between them had increased exponentially. But that's what I wanted. I don't want to get close, because then I'll ruin things by getting too fixated on them. If I want to solve this problem, I have to let her do it. All of these platitudes failed to remove the image in Satoshi's mind of Mayaka staring at him in surprise from the rain.
Once a few moments had passed, Satoshi decided he'd had enough. Gripping Mayaka's shoulder to prevent her from startling, he yelled out into the falling rain. "I miss old Houtarou too!" He exclaimed, jolting Mayaka to attention. "Even if I hate that he always figures things out before me and I think he's wasting his abilities!"
When she'd finished gaping from the smiling Satoshi's outburst, Mayaka tilted her head. "What was that?"
"My apology," Satoshi explained, removing his arm from Mayaka's shoulder. "I heard you yelling to yourself and thought I'd let you know how I felt to return the favor. I… expect more from Houtarou than what we've gotten this past month."
For a moment, Satoshi was petrified that he'd pushed Mayaka away again. Instead, she appeared to be almost relieved. "Well I expect nothing of him, but if he's going to try and kill the memory of my friend's uncle like this, he's going to have to explain himself to me first. If rewriting the paper will bring the guy back, then I'll do what I have to do." She paused before giving Satoshi a small smile. "I'm glad you're feeling like yourself too."
Satoshi caught color appearing on his cheeks and looked away for a moment. "Hey, I think we're almost there," he pointed out, but by the time he turned back, it was too late.
All at once, color returned to Satoshi's vision. The red in Mayaka's eyes sparkled brilliantly enough to light up everything around her, the pink rain coat no longer another meaningless color against the clear rain. It was as if every raindrop returned life that Satoshi had been ignoring to the world around him. Were Mayaka not there, he might have spent an hour just standing there looking around at what he'd been willfully ignoring for so long. But if she wasn't here, I wouldn't be feeling like this in the first place. Turning back to the softly smiling girl, Satoshi found his resolve. Just this once, I'll be involved. If it'll bring things back to normal, I can fixate on this, try to go for the best outcome I can. "Let's get our resident energy conservationist back," Satoshi declared before striding off a bit faster towards the house that had come into view.
He made it all of three steps before a tug on his jacket sleeve stopped him. Though he knew what was coming, Satoshi still had to mentally prepare himself to turn around and see Mayaka's smile melt into something more concerned. "Fuku-chan, if you mean that, does that mean you, uh, have your answer?"
Never had Satoshi been more tempted to give in and surrender to the cacophony of color and sound assaulting his senses before this moment. The only thing that held him back was the knowledge of what would come of his ill-thought-out response in the long run. "Not quite yet," he told his friend. "But I'm getting closer, I think. You have to solve mysteries one step at a time for the conclusion to matter, right?"
It wasn't Satoshi's greatest quote to come up with on the spot, but the fact that it seemed to placate Mayaka was more than enough for him. Hiding her expression, Mayaka took the lead back from her friend. "Alright. This can be enough for now. Let's make that moron pay for dragging us out in the rain." With that, Satoshi and Mayaka proceeded to march into the grey lion's den as the encroaching rain melted their footsteps away behind them.