Standing outside of the school's administration building, I anxiously tapped my foot against the ground as I awaited the news. Eventually, Reisen exited and my hopes were immediately dashed as I noticed the defeated look on her face.
"No dice?"
She shook her head. "Yukari said there was nothing she could do. We missed the deadline and that's that, we won't be allowed to continue the investigation any further."
I let out a groan of frustration. Of course, the one time Yukari had to be a stickler about the rules was right now. Maybe she really did have it out for me.
"Couldn't we just… keep going regardless?" I asked.
Reisen didn't even glance at me. "I'm sorry," was all she had to say.
"...God damn it." I sat on a nearby bench and took a deep breath as my mind began to race. Well, at least it wouldn't be me getting expelled, right? Besides, Joon wasn't exactly a saint, she was probably a year or two from getting kicked out of Gensokyo High regardless.
But no matter how hard I tried to justify it, the pang of guilt in my chest wouldn't go away. The fact of the matter was, Joon couldn't have been responsible for the thefts. And yet, she was still getting punished for it.
Because of me, because I wasn't fast enough.
Reisen sat next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. We sat there in silence for a minute, drinking in our failure, before the sound of the school's bell interrupted our sulking.
"We should probably head to class."
"Yeah…"
However, as soon as we got up, Reisen and I were startled by an enraged shout in our direction.
"You!"
I felt Reisen grab me by the shirt, my vision becoming a blur as she shoved me behind her. She secured herself into a combative stance and made a finger gun gesture with her hand. Reisen then aimed her index at the one who had yelled, Shion Yorigami.
Suffice to say, the poverty god looked furious. Her eyes were pink and swollen, her face morphed into a scowl. Even her hair looked angry, as it waved around in wild directions, almost akin to flames. Shion stomped towards us, the air around her seeming to distort with some kind of invisible energy. It didn't exactly take a genius to figure out what it was: pure, concentrated misfortune. If that got near us, Reisen and I wouldn't even be able to make it home without at least twelve different cars hitting us.
"Shion, stop!" Reisen ordered.
"You… you…" Shion either ignored Reisen's warning or was so mad she didn't even notice it, continuing to advance at us with absolute rage.
An incredibly fast bullet suddenly fired from the tip of Reisen's finger. Shion stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide with shock, as the bullet missed her head by less than an inch. A warning shot, and judging by Reisen's cold expression, there would not be another.
Finally, Shion seemed to calm down a little, or at least she stopped trying to get close to us. The distortion around her abated as she fell to her knees, her anger replaced with despondent sadness. Nevertheless, Reisen did not relax her posture, no doubt ready in case the god decided to try something.
"It's all your fault…" Shion breathed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
After a tense beat, I decided to speak up. "Shion, we… we didn't want this to happen."
"Yeah, right. I bet you thought she was guilty from the start, just like everyone else! You're all the same, I hate you!" Shion bitterly replied, before standing up. "Joon may not be the best, but she didn't do anything that they're accusing her of! This…"
Shion sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her arm, as a new wave of tears began. "This was the only place we had left…"
With that, Shion turned and ran away, sobbing all the while.
Reisen let out a relieved sigh and loosened up a bit. "That was a close call." She brought her attention back to me. "Um… just let me know if she tries to start something with you."
"R-right. Thanks." I realized I found myself thanking Reisen a lot lately.
"No problem. I'm gonna head off, okay? See you later."
"Right, bye."
Reisen gave me one final look, her eyes devoid of the bubbly friendliness that I had come to know, before leaving.
I stalled for a second, lost in thought, then headed to my next class.
"Surprise!"
I jumped as I opened the door to the Chess Club room and was instantly met with confetti and the sounds of party poppers. Piled high on the center table were multiple pizza boxes. Most of the Chess Club had party hats on, some appearing to be more pleased about this than others.
"Finally, what took you so long?" Reimu grumbled, cranky as ever.
"Hey, ze! Glad you showed up!" Marisa exclaimed with a wide grin, as she slapped a party hat on my head. "Congrats on solving your first case!"
"Indeed, I'm quite impressed, human," Remilia stated, in her usual smug tone. "Although, I'm sure Reisen was the one who pulled most of the legwork, so good job to you," she praised the aforementioned rabbit.
"Yeah… thanks," Reisen replied, emotionlessly.
Alice frowned. "Are you all right? You seem quite down."
"That's impossible," Meiling interjected. "No one can be sad when pizza is involved."
"What the? Hey, get your paws off of that, ze!" Marisa yelled, slapping Reimu's greedy hands away from a pizza box she had sneakily tried to nab.
"But whyyyy?!" Reimu whined. "You were the one who made me skip lunch! I'm starving right now!"
"It pains me to say it, but Marisa is right," Sakuya said. "We cannot eat until the final guest arrives, it is common courtesy."
"Didja really have to add that part at the beginning, ze?"
I rolled my eyes and took the party hat off my head. "Guys, you really don't have to-"
The whoosh of the door swinging open interrupted me.
"Ah, I'm never letting you go again!" Koakuma sang, as she nuzzled a very agitated-looking Patchouli.
"Unhand me this instant or I will reduce you to ashes," Patchouli warned.
"Eep!" Koakuma squeaked, leaping away in fear at the threat.
"Hey, Patchy! Glad to see our resident Jesse James is outta the slammer!" Marisa stuck a party hat on Patchouli's head, which Patchouli promptly removed and then incinerated.
"I'm going to assume this was your idea, as usual," Patchouli growled.
"Yup!" Marisa chirped. "This was either gonna be a 'congrats on not getting expelled' party or a 'sorry you got expelled' party, depending on how everything went."
"I, for one, am happy it turned out to be the former," Alice said.
"Indeed," Remilia agreed. "I believe you owe Reisen your gratitude, Patchy… and Coates too, if you're feeling generous."
Patchouli regarded me and Reisen with a brief, half-lidded gaze. "Thanks," she mumbled, before quickly taking a seat at the table and burying her face in a book.
An awkward silence filled the room.
"Can we eat now?" Reimu asked, boredly.
Marisa let out a disappointed huff. "Always thinkin' with your stomach, ain'tcha Reimu? Well, why not? Dig in!"
With the exception of Reisen, Patchouli, and myself, everyone proceeded to do just that.
"Ugh, I don't know how anyone can eat this greasy dreck," Remilia declared, while halfway into her pizza.
Marisa chuckled. "Kinda ruins your point when you've already had more of it than the rest of us, ze."
"W-well, it'd be pointless if it went to waste!" Remilia stuttered, her face flushing. "Hey, wait just a moment! I have not eaten more pizza than any of you!"
"Oh, really? Then let's do some basic math, ze. From what I can see, there are eleven slices of pizza missing. Sakuya, Alice, Koakuma, and I grabbed one. Reimu and Meiling grabbed two. And Adam, Patchy, and Reisen didn't grab any. That leaves three slices that just mysteriously disappeared. Now, where do you think they could ha-? Gah!" Marisa's speech was cut off, as Remilia flung forward and tackled her to the ground.
"What do you know, you stupid witch?!" Remilia screamed, her face red like a tomato. "You wouldn't know anything about math if it hit you on the head!" She emphasized her point by bonking Marisa a few times.
"R-Remi- ack! I was jus- ack! Sto- ack! I was just kiddin- ack!" Marisa managed to choke out between bouts of laughter and Remilia hitting her.
"Will you two keep quiet? I'm trying to read," Patchouli murmured.
"Can't we ever have a meal in peace?" Alice complained. "Ah, I nearly forgot. I won't be able to walk you home today, Adam, as I promised to tutor a student after school. May I ask one of you to do so in my stead?"
"Absolutely not," Reimu answered, curtly.
"His home is not particularly close to mine, and I have work later." Sakuya bowed slightly. "So I won't be able to, my apologies."
"I've got pretty much the same situation," Meiling concurred. "Sorry."
"Um… I have to help Patchouli get caught up on the work she missed while she was in detention," Koakuma stated, sheepishly. "B-but, I'd be more than happy to walk you home after that! It's the least I could do to repay you for proving Patchouli's innocence."
"It's fine, Koakuma," Reisen assured, with a strained smile. "Adam's house is right on the way to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. I can walk him home without any issue."
"Great." I groaned. "So all of you do know where I live, then."
"It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out. Alice is your neighbor, after all," Patchouli pointed out, without looking up from her book.
"And I curse fate every day for it," I replied.
"You know," Marisa began as she and Remilia stood up, their scuffle apparently over. "I expected Patchy to act like a grouch, but what's up with you two?" She pointed to Reisen and I. "You've been actin' like someone died ever since ya got here."
"It pains me to say it, but I once again agree with Marisa," Sakuya said.
"Okay, seriously! Knock it off with the 'it pains me to say it' crap, ze!"
"Yeah, shouldn't you be happy? You solved the case, didn't you?" Koakuma asked, worriedly.
"Well, in hindsight, maybe the culprit was a little obvious," Meiling offered.
Reimu scoffed. "Honestly, how stupid does Joon have to be? She's already a known thief, I don't know how we didn't suspect her earlier."
"Well, you know what they say: 'once a thief, always a thief'," Marisa quipped.
Remilia raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure you should be the one preaching that saying?"
I sighed, dejectedly. "Yup, some people never learn, I guess." With that, I got up from my chair, gathered my things, and walked to the door. "Text me when you're ready, Reisen. I'll see you guys later."
"Adam? What's wrong? Hey!" Alice called out to me as I made my exit.
The room was dead quiet after the newest member of the Gensokyo High Chess Club made his sudden departure. For a while, no one uttered a single word…
"I'd like to make a confession," Sakuya spoke up, drawing the others' attention. "I ate a second pizza while in stopped time."
"What?! Why didn't you speak up sooner?!" Remilia yelled. "See? I told you I didn't eat the most pizza!"
"Wait a minute!" Marisa peered over the table. "Why are there twelve slices missing now?"
Everyone immediately turned towards Remilia.
"Oh, come on! It wasn't me, you dolts!"
"The police won't find anything on those lockers, whoever stole from them must have been smart enough to wipe them down afterwards."
"My coat is made of the finest silk, nothing like the putrid rags you're wearing! It only tore because some dimwit stepped on it during drama class the other day!"
"A ski mask, black hoodie, black pants. You know, the usual kind of stuff a thief would wear."
"I'm sure you'll make the right decision in the end, whatever it may be."
I sat on a railing near the entrance of the school, looking up at the clouds above. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop reflecting on the investigation, the evidence, and everything that had transpired.
…
When had I started caring so much? Why had I started caring so much? Four days ago, I wouldn't have even batted an eye if a youkai got expelled. Hell, I probably would have celebrated, to be honest. Maybe this was all the result of some kind of horrible curse that had been placed on me. Yeah, that had to be it. But even so, who could have hexed me?
"Hello."
I flinched in surprise and spun to see what turned out to be Patchouli, who was wearing her usual, uninterested expression.
"Oh, it's you."
"Indeed."
We stared at each other for a solid minute, as if neither of us was sure of what to say or do. The school was almost completely empty of students at this point, only the occasional straggler passing by. This almost reminded me of the start of this whole fiasco, it felt like a lifetime ago, despite it actually having only been a few days.
"Um, I'm not very good at this."
Looking back at Patchouli, I saw that she was averting her eyes and blushing faintly.
"Good at what?" I asked.
"This." Patchouli gestured around herself. "Consoling people."
"O-oh… well, you don't have to."
Patchouli hummed, idly.
And just like that, the stillness between us returned. The wind howled, and occasionally, a bird would chirp in the distance. For a moment, I wished I was a bird, if only so I could escape this dreadfully uncomfortable encounter.
"So, if you could tell me what's wrong, that would be nice."
"N-nothing's wrong."
"Don't give me that, if we stay like this much longer I feel like we'll both explode from the sheer embarrassment."
Well, she was certainly right about that.
"I don't think Joon is guilty," I blurted.
Patchouli seemed briefly taken aback, before exhaling in relief. "Ah, I figured as much. Thank God you finally said it, I don't know how much more of that I could have withstood." She shuffled a bit, before pointing to the space next to me. "May I sit?"
"Sure." I scooched over, allowing Patchouli to join me on the railing.
This time, the silence between us wasn't as suffocating, but it was still a little awkward.
"Ah, by the way, I've made significant progress towards a solution to your… situation."
I snapped my head towards her. "You have?!"
Patchouli chuckled. "Yes, with any luck, we'll have that artifact out of your chest before the end of the semester."
"Seriously? That's great!" I beamed, my mood quickly improving.
"I'm glad to see the news has uplifted you somewhat," Patchouli said, with a rare smile.
"Speaking of which, why are you so dead set on helping me? Not that I'm complaining."
Patchouli's face hardened. "Because I promised to do so, so that is what I am going to do." Her expression shifted, appearing crestfallen. "That and I still feel guilty for getting you into this position in the first place."
"Yeah… I guess we both feel guilty."
Maroon leaves gently cascaded all around us, with a graceful elegance that would make even the most talented dancer jealous.
"Have you tried going to Yukari? Perhaps she could lend you some extra time."
"That was the first thing we tried, it was a no-go."
Patchouli hummed once more, though this time it was more pensive. "Do you know why I broke open Aya's locker?" She suddenly asked.
"You wanted to get something to record Mr. Waka, right?" I guessed.
"No. Well, yes. But there's more to it than just that." Patchouli shifted to face me better. "It was because I knew that if we allowed Wakabayashi to get away, the consequences would be far more dire than some damaged school property and detention."
"Yeah, expulsion probably wouldn't look good on anyone's record," I mused.
"That wasn't my main concern," Patchouli asserted. "I don't have the full details, but I do know that Wakabayashi planned to hand the artifact off to some other party, likely the same people who gave him his abilities. Even just by himself, the damage he could have done with it would have been catastrophic, there's no telling what this group had in mind for it."
"So, what you're saying is that you stole from that locker for the greater good?"
"I wouldn't put it in such dramatic terms, but yes." Patchouli removed herself from the railing and gave me a blank stare. "Not everyone will agree, but I am of the belief that there are times where it is necessary to break the rules, if it means doing the right thing."
I contemplated Patchouli's words, before a familiar voice called out to us from above.
"Adam! There you are!" Reisen exclaimed as she touched down. "How are you feeling?"
"Uh… I don't really know, honestly." I shrugged.
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry for taking so long," Reisen apologized. "I would have gone after you myself, but Patchouli insisted on speaking to you alone."
"H-hey! He doesn't need to hear that!" Patchouli shouted.
"Is that right?" I smirked and turned to Patchouli. "Wow, I thought you said you weren't good at consoling people."
"Ah, well… I-I just remembered that Koakuma is waiting to help me get caught up! Goodbye!" With that, Patchouli rocketed towards the sky, flying away faster than anything I had ever seen.
"...Anyway, are you ready to head home?" Reisen asked, nonchalantly.
I paused, before hesitantly nodding. "Yeah, let's go."
As Reisen and I started walking, I began ruminating. Surely, it wasn't worth getting in trouble just to prove Joon innocent. Besides, Joon was a natural crook and nobody even liked her. Hell, people were cheering when she was being taken away earlier, and it wasn't hard to see why. She belittled and made fun of everyone she met, and she was proud of being hated. Even if she was being framed, how long would it have been before she used her ability to start scamming people again? Yeah, there was no reason to go back, no reason to resume the investigation, no reason to-
"Adam?"
I blinked. At some point, I had stopped walking without realizing.
"Did you zone out? What's wrong?" Reisen inquired. Although she acted composed on the outside, I could see it. The doubt and indecision that ate away at her mind, just as it did in mine.
I learned a lesson that day: actually giving a damn was really, really annoying.
"Are you satisfied?" I asked.
"What?"
"Are you satisfied?" I repeated. "With the results of the case, are you satisfied?"
Her eyes widened, before drooping. "It doesn't matter anymore, we didn't-"
"Reisen," I interrupted her. "Yes or no, are you satisfied?"
Her mouth hung open, uncertainly. She started scanning the ground, as if the answer could be found there. In reality, there was only one option, there had always been only one option, right from the very start.
"No." Her tone was firm. In an instant, her eyes lit up and flared with determination and confidence. "I'm not satisfied, there are still far too many unanswered questions."
I grinned. "Then let's get to work."