XV

Sunday

April 14, 2013 — Early Morning

Clear Skies

That morning, Shou came down early for breakfast. He expected to find an empty lounge, or perhaps Yuto watching cartoons. Instead, he found Kumiko-san at the dining table, having tea with . . .

"Good morning," said Detective Shirogane.

Shou came to a dead halt.

What was she doing here? Was he in some kind of trouble? Had something changed between yesterday and today?

"Ah, good morning, Shou-kun," said Kumiko-san. "I was just chatting with your friend Naoto-chan."

Shou winced at the informal mode of address.

Shirogane, however, didn't appear to mind. She sipped her tea, a faint smile playing across her lips. "This is delicious, Kumiko-san," she said. "Wherever did you find it?"

Kumiko-san beamed. "You have excellent taste, Naoto-chan," she said. "I grow this gyokuro tea myself. I have a small garden out back. I come from a line of tea leaf farmers, you see. While it's only a hobby for me, I've inherited the skills, and some of the old equipment." Her smile deepened. "You should come back next month for the tea from the first harvest."

"It would be my pleasure," Shirogane replied.

Shou gaped at the two of them chatting like old acquaintances.

"Now, Kumiko-san," said Shirogane, rising from her seat, "I'm afraid I must excuse myself. Tanimoto-kun and I have an appointment."

An . . . appointment? What was she talking about? Had he done something wrong yesterday? Had Yu said something?

"An appointment?" Kumiko-san laughed. "That's an . . . interesting way of putting it."

Oh no, Shou thought in horror. Was Kumiko-san implying that he . . . and Shirogane-san were . . . ? He felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment, and fought the urge to hide his face in his hands.

Shirogane, however, was unfazed. "Our relationship is strictly professional, I assure you," she said. She bowed her head. "Thank you for the tea, Kumiko-san."

"You're welcome," Kumiko-san said. She looked completely baffled.

Shirogane paid her confusion no mind. She began to walk toward the dormitory exit, then turned back to Shou. "Are you coming?" she asked. By her tone, "no" wasn't exactly an option.

Shou nodded, and rushed to follow her.

Outside, the day was bright, and a hint of summer's coming warmth was in the air. They walked along the pathway toward the classroom buildings, and for a minute or so, the young detective said nothing; she simply stared out at the surrounding trees, the hint of a smile on her lips. "It's quite peaceful here," she remarked at last. "But I've no doubt you've noticed that much yourself." She paused at a bench. "Please, sit."

Unsure what else to do, Shou complied.

She took a seat next to him. "I apologize," she said, "for the abruptness of my visit. However, after talking with Yu, I realized that it was imperative we speak further."

Shou asked her why.

"In order to teach you logic; reasoning; deduction. Investigative awareness. How to separate real clues from the chaff. In short, the basics of detective work."

Shou stared at her. "Detective . . . work?"

"Yu explained to me that he and I won't be able to involve ourselves directly in this case. As for the school itself, Principal Takahashi made it clear to me yesterday that he won't relinquish school records without a court order. We lack the evidence to obtain one. Essentially, we're powerless. " She looked directly into Shou's eyes. "So, instead the burden falls on your shoulders."

Shou blanched.

"If your friend Tachibana is correct," Shirogane continued, "and there is indeed another killer like Adachi Tohru, using Shadows as his murder weapon . . . Then it is vital this person is indentified, as quickly as possible. To that end, I've decided the wisest course is to train you in the skills you'll need to find the culprit."

Adachi . . . ? Shadows as his murder weapon? Shou thought about the Inaba story again; suddenly, it had become a lot more mysterious. However, he didn't think Shirogane-san would want to chat about the past right now. Instead, he asked, "Why me?"

"You're the Wild Card," she replied. "If you're anything like Yu, I'm certain you're more than capable."

Shou felt a flush of pleasure at the compliment.

Shirogane reached inside her sport coat and withdrew a small booklet. "Crime Scene Companion, Volume 1" read the title. On the cover was a room that looked like a whirlwind had torn through it; a chalk outline and bloodstain lay on the floor. More text along the bottom said: "Be a real detective! Investigate the scene! Solve the crime and find the killer! Rated OT — for Older Teens, ages sixteen and up."

She handed the booklet to Shou.

He looked at her in confusion.

"Consider it homework," she said. "I have full confidence you'll be able to complete it. I finished the hardest case in that volume shortly after I turned seven."

Shou stared at her. Was she serious? Now, if he couldn't finish this, he'd look like an idiot!

"You're perturbed," Shirogane said. "Hmm. I'd intended that to be encouraging." Another faint smile. "I apologize. If you'd like, I can go through the first case with you now."

Shou nodded emphatically.

The book was divided into four cases, each of them beginning with a short manga in which Detective Shimada Goshou and his partner arrived at the scene, and were introduced to each of the suspects. This was followed by a full page spread of the crime scene. After came a few pages that displayed close-ups of "areas of interest," along with a number denoting the amount of clues in each. Next came several pages of text — the "case file"; it held biographies of the suspects and victim(s), the medical examiner's report, and analysis of relevant forensic evidence.

Shou tried to take it all in, but he was overwhelmed. There were so many images, so many words. How was he supposed to sort through all of this? And didn't they have games and things that were easier to play, but amounted to the same thing? He asked Shirogane-san as much.

"I know this may seem unorthodox at first," she replied. "But pencil and paper are a detective's most fundamental physical tools. Real detective work is done by going over the evidence, just as we're doing now. Often, it's a grueling task. As games are intended for entertainment, they can't be depended upon to provide you an education of any true value."

"I understand," Shou said. He wasn't going to be able to take the easy way out of this one.

Shirogane flipped to the last page, which was labeled the "Case Report." There was a list of questions regarding the case, from motive, to the murder weapon, to naming the killer.

For the next couple hours, Shou went over the first case. When he found himself having difficulty finding the next clue, Shirogane asked him pointed questions that sent him in the right direction. With a pencil that the young detective provided, he circled what he thought were clues and underlined important facts and statements. Slowly, a picture of the case began to emerge.

"Do you think you're ready to solve this case?" Shirogane-san asked.

Shou took a deep breath, and nodded. He was fairly certain who the killer was; there were only two suspects, after all. However, some details on how he might prove it were unclear. Still, he had a feeling they might make sense as he worked toward the truth.

The case involved a wife who had been shot in her bedroom. The husband claimed the crime had been committed by an intruder. The next-door neighbor said he'd heard a shot at exactly 1830. No gun had been found at the scene.

"Is the murder weapon actually a gun?" Shirogane asked.

"Yes," said Shou.

"What is your proof?"

Shou identified a piece of evidence: a single black glove that had been found under the bed. It had tested positive for gunpowder residue. But the matching glove in the set was never discovered.

The husband had claimed that the intruder had jumped from the window to escape. Shou said that there was a person who had jumped from the window, and indentified it as the neighbor, who had a limp from injuring his leg in the fall. However, he said the neighbor was not the killer.

According to the husband's dossier, he worked until 1900 each evening. However, the murder had occurred earlier, indicating that the man had, in fact, arrived home early. Yet he'd neglected to mention this fact. If he'd caught his wife having an affair with the neighbor, that was more than enough motive for murder. Furthermore, in the time before the police arrived, he had changed out of his work clothing, into loose-fitting house wear. All of this behavior was inherently suspicious.

On the other hand, he'd given the police permission to search his house. Yet . . . he'd requested that he be able to stay until the search's conclusion. It wasn't until the search was finished, and he was asked to accompany the police to the station to answer questions. Was there some significance to that?

"What about the murder weapon?" Shirogane asked. "Is it still in the house?"

The murder weapon . . . Where was it? Where could it be, that the police wouldn't find it in a thorough, hours-long search of the property?

"Go through the evidence again," said Shirogane-san. "When in doubt, you can always look for answers in the evidence."

Shou flipped back to the case file. There were still two pieces of evidence that didn't quite make sense. The first was the missing black glove. Where had it gone? Had the neighbor taken it? Could he have been wrong about the killer? But . . . then why would the neighbor leave the incriminating glove behind?

He shook his head. Forget the glove. It had to be . . .

The roll of duct tape?

A roll of duct tape had been discovered in one of the dresser drawers. It had been completely incongruent with the clothing in there. What had it been doing there? Shou couldn't make any sense of it. There was no sign of duct tape in the room, being used for some kind of improvised repair or home project. He just couldn't see the significance.

Unless . . .

His eyes widened.

"You have it, don't you?" Shirogane asked.

Shou grinned. He told her the murder weapon was still in the house.

"But the house was searched from top to bottom on the night of the murder. Can you explain how the killer managed to conceal the weapon?"

The answer was simple.

"It's still on his person," Shou said. The killer — the husband — had taped the weapon to his body after killing his wife. He'd changed into clothing that had allowed him to conceal it. Then, when the searched was finished, and he was asked to go to the police station, he had changed his clothes and stowed the gun safely in the house.

Shirogane smiled as well. "Nicely done," she said. "Though I gave you a few hints, you solved it largely on your own. The average completion time for this case is five hours. You finished it in two. I'd say you're well above the curve." She chuckled. "To be honest, I'm relieved."

"But there's one thing I don't understand," Shou said. He mentioned the missing glove.

"Ah," said Shirogane. "Not all inconsistencies are true clues. Sometimes, it is simply life that is inconsistent." She flipped the page to the answers for the case. She read, "'The missing black glove is a red herring. In this case, we can say that the other glove was lost long ago, and the owner forgot to throw away its pair.'" She closed the book. "You see? It was designed to throw you off, make you jump to conclusions that were unsupported by logic or the evidence. Luckily, you avoided that pitfall. So, congratulations."

Shou beamed.

He'd solved the first case!

His knowledge greatly increased!

His understanding greatly increased!

His understanding went from Basic to Kindly!

"Can I trust you to handle the rest on your own?" Shirogane asked.

Shou nodded. "Thank you, detective," he said.

"Please," she said, "Naoto will do just fine. You're not the subject of my investigation. We're fighting the same battle here." She offered him a small, delicate hand.

Shou reddened a little. "Um, and call me Shou. Naoto-san." He still couldn't bring himself to call her just "Naoto." He shook her hand.

Snap!

Thou art I . . . And I am thou . . .

Thou hast established a new bond . . . It brings thee closer to the truth . . . Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana . . .

Strength? Yes, Shou could definitely see the strength in her, with her calm, unwavering confidence, and her powerful, piercing gaze. He couldn't imagine the strength it took to be facing violence and crime at her age, or how hard she must have worked if she was already doing things like "Crime Scene Companion" at seven.

"You're looking at me strangely," Naoto said. "Is there something on your mind?"

"No, sorry," Shou said. He laughed sheepishly.

"Well then," she said, "I'll be taking my leave for now. There are still a few things I'd like to look into. Good work today, Shou." She paused. "From now on, Yu and I will make ourselves available to you for a day or so each week. We have our own school responsibilities to take care of, after all. You'll be able to find Yu on Saturdays, in the dorm lobby, after school. And I will make myself available on Sundays, during the daytime."

Shou thanked her profusely.

"As I said, we're fighting the same battle," she replied. "It's the least I can do." She reached into her pocket and withdrew a white business card; she handed it to Shou. "I've written my mobile number, and Yu's, on the back. Contact us if there's an emergency."

Shou nodded.

"Farewell, Shou. And be careful. I'll see you soon." She waved, then headed off down the path.

Shou watched the young detective go, then returned to the dorm.

Sunday

April 14, 2013 — Afternoon

Clear Skies

A few hours later, Shou was in his room, working to crack the next case. He knew that he should be enjoying the day off, but he felt like he needed to train as much as possible. Unfortunately, his efforts just weren't paying off. He was starting to think he needed more knowledge before he'd be able to figure this one out.

Knock knock.

Shou asked who it was.

"Um, it's Reiko," said the person outside.

Shou went and opened the door.

Reiko stood on the other side, holding her copy of the "Romeo and Juliet" script. When she saw him, she smiled; then her cheeks turned pink and she looked away. "I hope I'm not bothering you," she said.

Shou told her she wasn't.

"I was just wondering, since the auditions are tomorrow, if you . . . might like to rehearse," she said. "With me, I mean." She laughed.

With everything that had happened the past couple days, he'd completely forgotten! He told her he'd be happy to work on their scene. He was about to invite her into his room when he froze, realizing exactly what that meant.

He'd be alone with a girl! In his bedroom!

"Why don't we go sit in the third floor lounge?" Reiko asked.

Shou exhaled, partially disappointed, partially relieved.

He left his room, and together they walked to the lounge at the end of the hall, by the stairwell. It was similarly furnished to the lounge in the lobby, with couches, armchairs, a table, and a television set. There wasn't anyone else around, so Shou and Reiko had complete freedom to move and talk as they wished.

They continued to rehearse until Kumiko-san rang the bell for dinner.

Shou's expression increased!

Later that night, when Shou returned to his room, he thought about trying to crack the second case in "Crime Scene Companion" again. However, after some consideration, he decided he would be better served continuing to practice his lines for the auditions tomorrow.

He'd never auditioned for anything in his life, and he was starting to feel a bit anxious about it. He wasn't a performer, after all. But Reiko insisted he was a natural. Was he really capable of being the audition partner she deserved? He wasn't sure, but he owed it to her to give it his best shot.

He worked on the audition scene long into the night . . .

His expression increased!

Monday

April 15, 2013 — Early Morning

Clear Skies

That morning, Shou walked to school on his own. As he surveyed the tree-lined path to the Classroom Buildings, he realized he'd already been here a week. Somehow, it felt like it had been far longer; so much had happened that he couldn't believe it had all occurred in a matter of seven days.

Bring bring!

Kouta sped by on his bike. "See ya later, slow-Shou-bro!" he quipped as he went by.

Shou smiled.

The school year was just beginning.

Social Links

Fool — Morigami Exploration Team — Rank 2

Magician — Hayabusa Kouta — Rank 2

Justice — Kazami Kaede — Rank 2

Strength — Shirogane Naoto — Rank 1!

Hanged Man — Ariwa Reiko — Rank 1

Sun — Narukami Yu — Rank 1