Azami

My mealtime alarms hadn't really been much use in the last couple of days, considering how we'd been in and out and in and out of all sorts of places. But since I was with Eizo, it had ended up not being as much of a problem as it may otherwise have been. Indeed, as we stepped into our rental place and kicked off our shoes, Eizo was already chattering on about lunch and he made an immediate beeline to the cupboards

I remained silent as I followed him, wringing my hands anxiously. The expression that had been on his face, as if I was the only thing worth anything in the world, in that moment. He had been reaching his hand for me….had he been thinking of kissing me? It had seemed a likely possibility, in that tiny little moment, and before Friede had come. Likely enough that I, wildly and fleetingly, had wanted to make that move myself. There was a part of me that was still wanting it, though I was burying it down, down, down.

But any fleeting desires, any hope for such a moment having actually come to be, they did not really mean anything if I didn't know for sure. It was possible, after all, that I had imagined it? That the struggle of trying to fit in yet another revelation into the fractured understanding I had of my life had made me wish for something that wasn't really there, look for a smidgen of intimacy to plug holes in myself the way I had done in my reckless 20s. As Eizo moved from the cupboards to the fridge and continued to prattle about food choices, I stood there, watching and wondering how to ask what I needed to ask.

Eventually, knowing that I did not have a better way of asking it, I opted instead for just saying it.

"You still like me."

Well, that sounded very middle school. Luckily I did not need to say like, like to clarify anything, because almost instantly, Eizo stilled. Very slowly, he turned from the fridge and looked at me.

"I suppose we do need to talk about that, huh?" he ran a hand through his hair.

"I think we do, yeah."

I leant against the counter, to give me the strength to get through this conversation.

"Yeah, I just, erm, got a bit carried away." He said. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything like that, that wasn't my intention at all and I should have been more restrained."

"Nothing happened though, really." I said. "But even so, that bit, I'm fine with."

Eizo pinked slightly at this, and I had a memory of us standing under a tree in a quiet part of Hope's Peak's courtyard.

"I have something to tell you"

"That's funny, I have something to tell you too!"

"Ah, you go first then!"

"No, it's okay."

As I remembered that, what I had just said sunk in and I felt my own face heat up slightly. Somehow, this felt more exposing than seeing myself on camera had done. I wanted to look away, but also, I didn't want to look away from him. Not really.

"That is to say that the…..I mean….that is….it wasn't uncomfortable."

Eizo nodded slowly and closed the fridge and then took a few steps, seeming unsure of where to stand. He took another couple, then a step back so he was more or less in the middle of the space, facing me. Plenty of space, but no room for a repeat.

"That's good, at least, that's something but….ah, yeah. Yeah, I do."

"I, that…" I swallowed. "All this time?"

"No, I wouldn't say all this time. I mean, I missed you, sure, but like…considering the way things stood I thought it was best to try and move on in that respect. Nothing really lasted, but I'm sure that's a wider problem relating to whatever hang-ups I still have than specifically you. But like, I've not been waiting for you all these years or anything."

Eizo took a deep breath.

"But I guess now that you're here, in front of me, we've met again and we're talking again and….yeah, it turns out that I do still like you. No, not like, love. I know we hardly got to the point of being able to say that to each other, but…it was close, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

The answer was out before I could think about it, and once it was there, filling that space, my chest squeezed. What am I supposed to do with that knowledge? What am I supposed to do?

"So do you want to, what, pick up where we left off?"

"No, nothing like that, I know we can't do that. But I'd like to try something, you know?"

"A…a relationship something?"

Eizo nodded, and he looked so impossibly young. Young and lovely, and though it did not feel quite right to label this bundle of feelings as a current love, all the same there was something appealing about the possibility of a relationship something. But how could I want something like that? When I was how I was, how could I? It wasn't fair of me to want something like that, especially not of Eizo.

"I mean, maybe not right now, that's too much, but perhaps when all of this is behind us-"

"It wouldn't work."

Eizo stared at me, his expression almost goldfish like for a moment before he recovered.

"I, that is, if it ends up not working, that's fine, but, li-"

"No, no, it wouldn't work. I wasn't able to make a relationship, the one I had before work. I just couldn't. It's so hard, making myself work, and even though I tried it just…there's no way, there's too much baggage."

"I mean, the baggage isn't really a big deal, we share most of it anyway-"

I interrupted again, knowing it was unfair and unkind but still needing to do it anyway. Not really wanting to, not really, but needing, deep and painful. The words spilled and spewed, stumbling across each other in their effort to get out:

"That doesn't matter, that's not the point. If anything that makes me even less worth these feelings you're still holding for me-you deserve better, you deserve someone who can help you be properly happy. Someone who can build a life, a proper happily ever after with you. That's not me, even if you're far too nice to say so or even really think it. David's a bit like you, in some ways, but it never would have worked, not in the long term, not when it came to the rest of our lives. What makes you think that it would be different for you? It wouldn't, and it'd be worse, because even if I can't really move on you should be able to get something out of this."

Eizo's eyes had widened during this, and as I ran out of steam he shook his head. He made to step forward, but then studied me carefully and stopped, sticking his hands into his pocket instead.

"Azami, that's…that's just…" he paused. "That's not fair, on either of us. And really, as I said, it's only something I want to try-"

I wrapped my arms around myself, believing it but knowing that I couldn't, not really.

"But you'll want it, the forever and always, won't you?" I pressed.

Eizo shrugged.

"I mean, I guess? Doesn't everyone wish for someone to share their life with? Bu-"

I held a hand up, stopping him. I didn't need to hear any more than this. I could feel the thoughts and feelings gain traction once again, build up in my throat.

"You see? You see?"

Despite the compulsion, I had to pause, take a breath, go on again.

"There's no way I could marry, because that'd mean a wedding and how could I have a wedding, without Akari there? How could I? And all the other trappings of a life…I just about manage to take care of myself and a cat, and only hanging by a thread, and you know that. You must know that by now. How would you expect me to take care of children, if you wanted them?"

Eizo looked at me, blinked, rendered speechless. His mouth opened as if to protest again, and then it shut, clamping into a thin hard line that created an expression I hadn't seen before. The satisfaction of having gotten through, finally, at last didn't really feel like satisfaction though. Instead, I wanted to cry.

"I'll just, um, sit in the bedroom."

I mumbled this, then turned on my heel and left as fast as I could. Eizo thankfully didn't come after me.

…

Eizo stayed in the kitchen and threw together something approximating lunch, though really it seemed more of a random mini buffet made from Mai's leftovers and a bunch of snack things. I ventured back in just as he was setting plates on the table, and I stood there, watching him in the doorway. A few moments passed before he realised, and he looked up.

"Oh, hey. I'm almost finished. Come on, sit down."

His smile was bright, but it didn't fully reach his eyes, as far as I could see before he returned his attention to lunch.

"Okay." I murmured.

It took him a few moments to realise that I had not moved from the doorway and he looked up, now frowning more visibly.

"Azami, you okay?"

I shook my head at this, letting out a laugh despite myself.

"I'm sorry."

"I-what, no, that-"

"No, I'm sorry. I mean, not about what exactly I said, but the way I did. It was unkind, I should have been gentler."

I wanted to add that if anything, my mistake had proved my assertions, but I didn't think that'd be fair either. So I just waited, watching as his expression softened.

"Come and eat," Eizo said. "Get some energy back. "

I nodded, slowly, and then made my way to the table and sat at one of the spaces an empty plate had been laid at. I picked a few of the things he'd laid out at random, piling it onto my plate and watching as Eizo did the same. He tucked in with seeming gusto, but I had to pick at it a little before I could make myself take any bites.

"Was David-I'm making a big assumption here, that that's your ex-someone who pressured you?" he asked.

"What?"

"Ah, I mean, if you don't want to talk about that, then-"

"No, it's fine. Well, I mean, he didn't. Like I said, he was a little like you. Just a little, but like you. But no, that was never a problem."

"Okay. Okay, that's fine."

Eizo continued to eat, and I continued to alternate between nibbling and picking, wondering if I had completely and utterly ruined things. I had known that in the end, I'd be too much, sooner or later and I'd been trying to make it later.

"It's okay, if you don't want to be in a relationship right now, or if you're just not interested in me at all, you know?"

My chopsticks paused in the air, and I blinked at him. Eizo had one hand propping up his chin and his expression was soft and sweet, more like the face I had been getting used to these past few days.

"If it's something like that, then that, I can live with. But to say that you'd be too much trouble, that you're not good enough for a normal type of relationship, that's not fair on you and it's patently not true. And even if maybe a typical relationship would be hard, then whose to say that we have to go down those routes? Nothing is certain, really, is it, when it comes to things like this. That's why I just wanted to try. "

"I…."

I let whatever I was going to say-more of the same-to drop. Perhaps, if I heard Eizo out completely, then I'd be able to give a better defence of why nothing could ever be.

"And you know what, yeah, I suppose I do still want some of the conventional stuff, marriage and a long life together and yeah, maybe children. And I have to admit, I did, once, maybe, imagine children with you. Your smile and your eyes and my hair colour but basically otherwise looking like you."

"I'm not sure that's how genetics works." I couldn't resist wryly pointing out as Eizo's expression became fond.

"Ehh, laws of genetics don't apply to fantasies, do they?" he shrugged , blushing. "But anyway, that's the point, kinda."

"Huh?"

"The fantasies are just fantasies, but you as you are, you're real. I'm sure now, that what I'd rather have right now, is the chance to be with you. Maybe it won't pan out, or maybe we will last. Maybe we'll marry and have children but maybe we won't and we'll just adopt like, ten cats or something. And it's not like you need a wedding to get married, right? You don't, not really."

I could imagine that, actually. Ten cats. I wondered how Jiji would react to additional siblings and pictured us having to feed him extra treats and reassure him that as the eldest kitty he was still special; lots of mewls as he prevented other cats from sitting on my work shirt or Eizo's work trousers; the pair of us picking ridiculously bejewelled collars for them. I almost giggled at the picture before remembering myself.

"Not children," I said, firmly. "That's non-negotiable, no matter what."

Another reason why things couldn't have lasted between me and David either, no matter how much I'd liked Kazuya. Liking kids hadn't been the problem, after all. Eizo nodded slowly.

"You wouldn't be a burden or a disappointment, and yeah, it'd be kinda sad if we didn't end up working out but that doesn't change anything. And what's the big deal if you struggle more than I do with this burden. That doesn't make you unworthy of happiness, Azami. It really doesn't."

"But I don't understand," I finally said. "I don't understand how it is you can still love me, in the same way. I'm not who I was, back then."

"Are any of us, though?" Eizo pointed out.

Now there was a point, I had to admit. My appetite perked up a little, and I ate a little more.

"Look, is it okay for me to ask you to just think about it? Just to think?"

I swallowed and then looked over at him.

"I can't promise you anything."

"I'm not expecting you to. I just…if you reject me, I want it to be for a kinder reason."

"I'm not even sure that's possible," I sighed. "But for what it was worth, like I said…at the vending machine…I didn't mind that. Not really."

Eizo studied me closely for a moment, and then smiled sunnily and winked at me. I shook my head in amusement, and though this was not really a resolution, I did still feel a little better. We didn't really say anything for the rest of the meal, the both of us occupied with our own thoughts. My own eventually drifted away from the matter of Eizo and onto this morning, of how I had expected to see Akari, on that night, sneaking away to meet her death. I had been hoping for clarity, and I hadn't got it, not really.

"What do you think about telling?" I blurted out as we finished up and gathered dishes.

Eizo froze again, but this time looked curious.

"Telling?"

"Yeah, the police. About…about what really happened. All of it."

Eizo tilted his head slightly.

"You want to do that?"

"I think…." I took in a deep breath, tried to steady myself. "I think I need to."

"Okay."

The simple acceptance was so simple it took me more than a moment to compute it. I gawped at him, and he rubbed the back of his head.

"Truth be told, I was thinking of it too."

At that moment, the table started rumbling, and I jumped out of my skin, startled until I remembered that both our phones were on the table. Eizo quickly dumped his pile of dishes on the nearest counter and bounded over.

"It's Ayuna," he said. "On the group chat. Suppose we may as well tell them what we were thinking."

I walked over to him, and stood close as he accepted the group call. His warmth felt like a beacon, an anchor, even though I couldn't bear for it to. All the same, I leaned in as close as I could to it without touching, and waited for the call to connect.

…

Mai

I had been planning on simply sending an email or making a phone call when I went home, but a combination of impulse and not wanting to be back in the empty house again had me heading directly over to work instead and walking in.

Ishida was serving a parent, but went wide-eyed when she saw me. I gave a weak smile and wave and waited for her to finish with the parent and then stepped forward.

"Hey, wasn't thinking that you'd come back for a while with everything going on."

"Ah, I don't want to be off for too long-I don't suppose you know if Adachi-san is available."

It was a complete coincidence that the Ayaka Adachi Dance School's head was called Sumiko Adachi, but there it was. I didn't have many day to day interactions with her, but she had always been nice enough and hadn't hesitated in letting me have leave. I was just hoping that she would be happy to let me work, at least on a reduced timetable, while the investigation was still going on. I couldn't imagine what it was like, having to reassure parents that the scandal wouldn't catch. That it didn't mean that I was a risk to their children.

Oh god, I hope that isn't what she thinks.

Ishida certainly didn't have any qualms, as she cheerily had a look on the online schedules, then offered to call up for me. As she did that, I resisted the urge to pace, and instead leant against the counter, standing off to the side in case anyone else needed help.

After a brief conversation, Ishida put down the phone.

"Yeah, she's there. I'll buzz you up."

"Thanks."

"No problem!"

I headed up, taking deep breaths in and out, until I reached Adachi's office and knocked.

"Ah, Arisato-chan, is that you?"

"Yes, it is."

"Good, good, come in!"

I went in and saw Adachi in the process of putting away papers in a drawer. She looked up and gave a nod towards the chair in front of her desk, so I sat down and settled my bag in my lap.

"It's a good thing you came along, I was just about to reach out to check in on you. Is everything okay with the investigation?"

"I think it's progressing along." I said neutrally.

The bandage was now off my ear, and the scar was only faint, so I doubt she'd notice that. And I hoped that the photographs had not become public knowledge. Which reminded me:

"Have there been any concerns from parents or carers, or any of the kids?"

"Ah, a few busybodies wanting the scoop, and a few kids wanting to know if you're alright. Mind you, some of the teenagers were pretty nosy themselves. But well meaning, unlike some of the parents as you probably know."

She gave a conspiratorial grin which I could only blink at for a moment before giving a faint smile and nod myself.

"But anyway," she continued. "Although it's probably obvious for now who you are, we've only said you've got a few personal emergencies to sort out and that it's none of their buisness, which I suppose is technically true. Still, don't suppose there is anything you could reveal?"

"Erm…"

"No, no, of course not. Apologies. Alright, let's get down to it-"she clicked and had a look. "So I assume that accompanying the group to Kochi on Wednesday won't be possible?"

"It's better if I stay within the city, considering." I said.

"That should be easy, we can swap you out for the teacher who would have been covering your high school class on that day-she has experience with the needs those children have and knows the one of the carers who would have been joining you there. Then you can teach your high school class at the time you normally would have. I already arranged cover for your other classes for all of this week as a just-in-case measure. So can come in on Thursday or Friday to make up your office hours, and shall we say that next week we re-instate you back to normal?"

"Fingers crossed that that will be the case." I said. "I'll take Thursday for this week's office hours."

"Good good, everyone will be pleased. The only thing I will say is that if you can make sure that unless it's an absolute emergency to try and make sure the police don't come here. I only ask that because of your husband. On our end, if any media attention spikes we will be fending them off, so nothing to worry about on that count."

"I…I can try."

Would that be too much to ask, though? It had felt like Juro couldn't have gotten rid of me fast enough today, even after our breakfast together. Or maybe because of it? Hopefully though, with this little bit of normal, I wouldn't need to cling so hard to him and he'd be able to breathe easier. Maybe this'd make things better

"Perfect, then that's sorted. Was there anything else you needed?"

"No, no, that's fine."

…

Almost as soon as I got home, my phone went off and I scrambled to get it, sitting on the stairs to answer the group call. I'd almost forgotten that Ayuna had managed to get me and everyone else to agree to a group chat, and honestly hadn't expected it to be used so soon.

I answered it, said hello to everyone, and acknowledged the surrealness of this. After all, there'd never really been a need for whole class group calls back then. Just text conversations, of which there had been many. Anything important, we'd always been able to see each other. Always.

"So, are you going to tell them why you've gathered us like this?" Eikichi asked.

"That sounds like you already know?" Eizo asked as Azami frowned over his shoulder.

"Sort of," Takaaki said. "She decided to bounce it by us before bouncing by all of us before then setting out to do the thing."

"….." Ayuna blinked. "I thought you were supposed to be a university professor."

"Yeah?"

"That was as confusing as get out."

"Life is confusing."

"Thanks for that."

"But….." I interrupted. "What is this for?"

"That is…."

Ayuna took a deep breath, seeming hesitant. Then, she blurted it all out.

"I wanted to see what you all thought of telling the truth."

Telling….the truth…..?

"No."

"Bu-"

"No, I can't, there's no….I've just arranged going back into work, and the kids are still away and ….I can't, I'm sorry, I can't!"

"But we need to-

How can I tell them that in the end, I was almost a killer myself? Even if it gets justice for everyone else, how can I do that to Akio and Sachi?

"No, I'm sorry, I can't!"

I hung up, quickly, and ignored the further vibrations of my phone as I rushed upstairs and changed, and then went downstairs to cook, and then later to pass the time on the swinging chair in the garden. It was only hours later I returned to my phone to see a bunch of missed calls, and then a string of messages on the chat.

And then, a message sent from Ayuna, only to me:

Look, let's talk about it properly, alright? Can you make the meeting I suggested on the group chat?

The temptation to delete all the messages and turn off my phone was strong, but I remembered last week, Ayuna sitting at reception of the school, quietly waiting. She did not have the same things at stake that I did, but all the same….it was still a weight that we all carried. Perhaps in the end, she was thinking this would lighten it? I owed her the courtesy of at least listening, if only as an apology for something I had to make sure she'd never know of.

I looked at the group messages, and saw it was in the morning and well before my afternoon class with the high schoolers. I checked the journey time between the meeting place she had suggested and my workplace, and then I replied back to just her, telling her the time that I'd need to leave by if I did go.

A few seconds later, she replied:

Yeah, that's fine. Thanks!

I didn't reply to this, instead just hoping that in the end this idea would all come to nothing.

…

Juro

"Good afternoon, Oomori Electronics and Oomori Foundation head offices, how may I help you?"

"Hello there," I said. "My name is Detective Arisato, I'm with the Towa City police and I was hoping to speak to Kazutaka Oomori if it was at all possible."

"The caller ID says Detective Nobuyuki Kurosawa."

"Yes, that is right, he is another colleague working on the case I wish to discuss with Oomori-san and I'm using his phone at the moment."

The reason for this being that Evalynn had, for reasons unexplained, completely covered both our desks with archive boxes looking for something that could potentially link the video clips with Hope's Peak. I suppose it wasn't out of the realms of possibility that could be the case, as the article posted this morning by young Otsuka had clearly summarised many large scandals that had occurred during Hope's Peak's time as a school. Apparently she had also sent in a bunch of complaint forms that Class 78-B has filled in prior to their disappearances, the same ones she'd referred to into the article. Shizuka wasn't pleased that their existence had been leaked like that, nonetheless the forms were, to the best of my knowledge, being analysed by forensics.

In summary, it was not the boxes that were unexplained but the need for them to be absolutely everywhere. It didn't help that the incident room was also completely full. However, as Nobu wasn't currently using his office he had generously allowed me to use it to make the calls that Shizuka had requested me to do, scheduling calls with some of Hope's Peaks' former scouts and also with Kazutaka Oomori. I had made sure I had the most up-to-date details of the scouts that I could find, and then decided to make Oomori the first of the calls.

Of course, none of this was anything that the woman at the other end of the line really needed to know.

"I apologise if that is confusing," I said. "But you are welcome to hang up and call the station to confirm my identity, erm."

"Takeuchi. I'm Oomori's secretary. No, no, let's just cut to the chase. What is this case you are working on?"

"The Class 78-B case, twenty years ago. As you may know, the case has recently been reopened in light of New Hope's Peak announcing that it intends on opening next year and we are trying to talk to as many people as we can who were connected."

"Connected, huh. I suppose that is a polite way of putting it."

"It is exactly what we are looking for, people who were connected. And I hear that Oomori-san had a rapport with the teenagers of 78-B."

"Well, of course. His philanthropically-based work has had a focus on troubled teenagers and young people, and anyone else on the edges of polite society."

Takeuchi sniffed at this, as if there was something about this she didn't approve of. Perhaps she was one of those types, who thought all teenagers were delinquents.

"And I recall he was cooperative with the police last time," I said smoothly, although I wasn't sure if this was the case. "But it is entirely possible there are things he may remember now that he didn't think of back then that would finally help get closure."

"Well, even if that is the case," Takeuchi intoned. "You will not be able to speak with him for the next couple of weeks."

"And why is that?"

"He is on a buisness trip."

"Can you tell me where and when he is meant to be back, or give a way to contact him?"

"I am not at liberty to give away those details, which I do not have in any case."

When she'd started the sentence I had been ready to think of something vaguely appealing to try and get her to loosen up a little, but I did a double take at the last part. I tapped at the desk, getting myself together and then asked:

"I thought you were his secretary? Have I misunderstood?"

It was a genuine question, but it seemed to offend Takeuchi, as she huffed audibly and then proceeded to speak slowly and carefully as if I was someone who did not understand basic instructions.

"I am Oomori-san's on-site secretary, not his travel secretary. While I have a basic overview of his trip in the event of an emergency, I do not oversee that side of his affairs and have no involvement in them. I am only permitted to contact him if there is an issue onsite that I or another senior member of staff cannot deal with, or if there is an emergency with his family or other affairs."

"Does this mean that you cannot put me in touch with him in any way to schedule an interview?"

"As I have mentioned, he will be away for the next month and I doubt he will have time away from his schedule simply to rehash the long-dead past."

I did not respond immediately to this, instead taking a deep breath, forcing myself to not tense my shoulders. I looked at the photographs littered on Nobu's desk, including one that featured the four of us-me, Nobu, Gabe and Evalynn-at a police social with our families. Evalynn had bought along her on-again off-again partner, I had bought along Mai and the kids while Nobu and Gabe had only bought along spouses-at that time, none of us had even heard of Naomi, and Gabe had only just started the long process of getting approved for adoption with Hibiki. Mai was in this photograph, as was Kanon, and we all looked happy, settled. Nothing more, nothing less. I picked up that particular frame and weighed it in my hands for a moment before settling it back down. I needed a response to Takeuchi.

"Kazutaka Oomori was also on a business trip at the time of the original disappearances, was he not?"

But back then he'd been happy to submit to a phone interview, right? I'm sure I remember seeing transcripts of interviews…..on a piece of scrap I made a note to myself to look for those in Evalynn's controlled chaos when I was done with these calls. Maybe there'd be something there, maybe there wouldn't, but while I still had to be on this case it was better to deal with that than it was to have to be reminded of Mai. At least she felt strong enough to go back into work for the time being-hopefully, we wouldn't be disrupting things anymore. Hopefully.

"This is entirely possible." Came the eventual response. "I was not around for this though."

But…something went off in the back of my mind, and I decided to go with what I thought it was trying to tell me.

"But his travel secretary was?"

There was a pause, one that went on for long enough that I wondered if Takeuchi had just left the phone when there was a deep sigh and a single 'Yes' in response. Her voice seemed lower, thicker now, sounding as tired as I was actually feeling.

"Is it possible for you to pass along the travel secretary's details? He or she may be better placed to help us get in touch with Oomori-san, as I am sure you can understand it is of the utmost importance."

"Yes, I'm sure it is. I do not think you will get an answer though. "

"Nonetheless, if you could…?"

Takeuchi sighed, and dutifully reeled off a phone and an email address, which I was already poised to make a note of. I decided to wrap up the phone call when all of a sudden, Takeuchi spoke up, her voice now harsh and rough.

"I hope you'll be ashamed of yourself if I end up losing my job over this."

"I'm sorry, Takeuchi-san, why would you lose your job over this?"

"Oomori-san does not like being harassed for unnecessary reasons, especially when he is someone who actively tries to help the community, and as I have been saying he is an extremely busy man."

"I can assure you that we will not be harassing him, and that we are simply trying to get a better picture of what he knew about the class and their situation. I would imagine under such circumstances that he would want to help."

"Yes, well…"

The heavy thickness had returned, and she sighed again. I heard papers rustling and then eventually she said.

"I suppose being this persistent is what you are hired for, and I am hired to make Kazutaka Oomori's working life as smooth as possible, so we'll just have to see if there is a way to have both."

"Yes, well, I will let you get on with your day. Thank you for your time, Takeuchi-san."

The goodbye she gave in exchange was muted, and I put the phone down, biting my lip. I knew that secretaries could be territorial, but that had completely baffled me. I also had never heard of a single person having two secretaries. Multiple people working for the same company each having their own assistant of sorts, yes, but nothing like this. In the grander scheme of things, that did not matter.

I noted down everything from the conversation, and then dialled the mobile phone number for Chizuru Taneda, the first scout on my list. It wasn't surprising when almost immediately it went straight to voicemail. I quickly introduced myself, gave a rundown of why I was calling and then requested a call-back as soon as possible, telling them they could also call the police station. That was, of course, all I could do.

But at least it was something.

…

Mitsuhide

It had not taken us long to end up bored at the prospect of sitting in Rieka's room for another day, so we decided to take our business outside. The only issue had been where to go, until Akemi had suggested a place called the bird garden…which just so happened to be the site of old Hope's Peak. And then of course Rieka had to bug her mum to find us some stuff for a picnic, and order me to drag out a holdall from some cupboard (because of course they didn't have a proper picnic hamper). And then, getting there had been a complete trip, since Otsuka didn't want to risk being spotted by whoever it was that had followed her and Ritsuka on the way this morning. Which I could actually understand, having dealt with my fair share of overzealous fans. But I hadn't much liked it then, and I didn't really like the inconvenience now.

But I had to admit that now we were here, it wasn't so bad. The place had clearly been landscaped by someone who knew what they were doing-the sense of aesthetics in the place was impeccable. The birds, I wasn't so keen on, but I supposed one couldn't have everything. Once we'd laid out blankets (a good thing too, since no way was I going to sit directly on the grass in cream trousers no matter how landscaped) and unpacked the holdall, we spent a few moments settling and nibbling at the treats we'd amassed before getting back down to business.

"So, we were looking at those possible other cases on that forum, right?"

Akio looked around carefully, but not only were the only other people around suitably far away and absorbed in their own antics, but we were also semi-surrounded by trees and bushes giving us a modicum of privacy.

"Yes, that's right," Rieka nodded importantly. "It seems like the people on that thread tried looking for other staff members who might have been connected to Hope's Peak at some point, but it sort of trailed off. In any case looks like a lot of the teachers who had been working at Hope's Peak before it closed either became cram school tutors or moved to posh schools like this one."

"Huh. I suppose that makes sense considering it was considered an elite school. But do you think that means anything for the case?" Akio asked.

"It could just be a coincidence-isn't that kind of an insular community?" Akagi asked.

"Insular?" Ritsuka asked, looking directly over at Akagi with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, they all associate with each other, help each other out, connections are more important than other things, making it harder for outsiders to break in and that sort of thing. Right? So it may not necessarily mean anything as such."

"That is a point," Akemi nodded, looking thoughtful as she let down her hair again. "It is easy to see patterns in things that may just be coincidences. It is also entirely possible that this is just a correlation based on the factors Benbow-kun just pointed out and that Hope's Peak doesn't have anything to do with things."

Now Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at her, and Akemi tilted her head slightly, giving a dainty shrug before returning to the hand-written notes she was dutifully making (in absolutely gorgeous handwriting, naturally).

"Of course, it's hard to say for sure." She admitted, lowering her eyes as her hair fell across her face for a moment.

Ritsuka nodded vaguely at that and then took out her phone, scrolling through.

"The way to figure that out would be to find a similar sort of case to those listed ones where none of the students had any involvement in an elite school." Otsuka pointed out.

"Or to find out if any were in top schools that didn't have some sort of connection with Hope's Peak." Rieka asked.

The two girls looked at each other for a moment, for once neither glaring or smirking at the other, which was novel but also kind of disappointing. Otsuka nodded.

"What are we defining as being 'connected to Hope's Peak', exactly?" Akio asked.

"Students who have gone to work there, or staff who've gone to work there having been from Hope's Peak, any relations to the senior staff, obviously." Otsuka said. "But in a more involved way, rather than them passing through or having visited their school festivals or whatever."

"Such as Tokyo Sunrise Academy, Fieldview Engineering School and the Toru Sakurai Memorial School all having had support from the Oomori Foundation and the Romeo and Juliet runaways having had Kazukiyo Oomori as a family lawyer?" Ritsuka asked suddenly.

There was a beat of silence as we absorbed it.

"That would do it, yes." Otsuka responded.

"Karanosuke Iida and Misako Hanamura, right?" The couple?" Akemi asked.

Ritsuka blinked and looked down at her phone for a moment before then nodding at Akemi. Akemi's expression was introspective for a second, looking far away before just as quickly, she subtly shook it off and returned to being serene. Huh, wonder what that's about?

Akagi was also looking thoughtful as he tapped an idle rhythm against his leg.

"That's a lot of different types of connection though, so how do we narrow it down?"

"Now that my friend is a very good question," Rieka said. "I suppose we could just contact the schools in question and ask them about their students, get a feel for what they did when the kids first disappeared and so on."

All of us stared, and eventually Akio cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Um, I know we're soon-to-be New Hope's Peak students and all, but they're not really going to answer us, are they?"

Otsuka made an exaggerated facial expression, and pointed at herself mock dramatically without saying a word. Akio chuckled, getting it instantly.

"I suppose that's a point. Still, I imagine it would be a task."

"You could try with any of the places that had alumni. Perhaps reaching out to those specific alumni, assuming any are still working there?" Akagi asked.

"Hold on, hold on, I'm looking it up…"

After a few moments, Rieka determined that Naosa Hamazaki (nee Miyata), the former SHSL Body Percussionist, still taught music at Tokyo Sunrise Academy while Chiyuki Tawaratani, the former SHSL Trampolinist continued to be one of the P.E teachers at Sakuranomi Private School. She sent the links over to Otsuka, who composed emails while we took a short break to eat and drink. Rieka flicked through her uncle's notebook, while Ritsuka continued to look at things on her phone and Akio, Akagi and Akemi chatted quietly, almost huddled together. Meanwhile, I sat there feeling a bit like a lemon and wondering what the hell was wrong with me that I was feeling like that.

"Hey, Okita-kun?"

I blinked and looked up at Akio, who gave me a warm smile. I straightened up and gave my most dazzling smile back.

"Why hello there."

Akio laughed at this, and Akemi gave a warm chuckle too.

"Hello there yourself. You alright?"

"I'm absolutely fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"What's it like, staying with Amasaki-san?" Akio asked curiously. "You two seem to get along well."

"Get along?" I stared at him. "Boy, are you completely crazy? Do you know what this girl did?"

I glanced over at Rieka, who looked up, gave me the middle finger and then went back to what she was doing. I narrowed my eyes at her and shook my head before looking back at the three waiting for a further response.

"Well, I mean, apart from whatever it is." Akio said, blushing slightly.

"Maybe this will give you a good opportunity to reconcile your differences," Akemi suggested. "After all, the two of you do have a lot in common-a love of books, and a lot of passion."

"And you are both here trying to find out what happened twenty years ago." Akagi added.

"Well yes, but only because I want to prove that I am not simply a superficial fool." I emphasised, lifting up my chin and trying to sit straighter.

"You're not that." Akemi replied.

I wanted to swoon girlishly at that, but it was just the type of thing such a wonderful being like Akemi would say and so as much as compliments were oxygen I couldn't wholeheartedly absorb that one.

"Well, despite my myriad of unrealised talents, I certainly would not have been able to put together such a profile like the one you did."

"Oh."

Akemi blinked at this, and then she ducked her head slightly, causing her hair to fall across her face once again. In a few elegant motions, she pushed it back and tucked it behind her ears before looking at us again.

"Well, in all fairness it is somewhat sparse and incredibly speculative, and if we are assuming all these other crimes are related then I would need to potentially modify it."

"Hey, no need to be so modest, girl!" Otsuka called over. "Profiles do have their uses."

"Well, you said whoever did it must have had accomplices and a great deal of resources, right?" I asked, trying to think of what the profile had said when we'd read it over at Rieka's . "That would still fit."

"Yes, it would."

"Anyway, I'm done, lets regroup."

I rolled my eyes at Otsuka's imperious tone, and Rieka huffed. Nonetheless, we did indeed regroup, focusing our attention on each other.

"Have we returned back to the profile again?" Ritsuka asked doubtfully.

"In a manner of speaking, I guess." Otsuka shrugged. "As Okita over here pointed out, the assumption that our culprit is a wealthier person-most likely man-would make sense. After all, there are not that many middle class or working class people who would easily be able to make connections with the elite. "

People like my family. That, admittedly, was an uncomfortable thought. What if it turned out that the depraved person behind all of this was someone that my family knew, that I knew? For all their faults I was sure there was no way it could actually be my immediate family, but if they'd had the faintest idea about any of this…they'd never recover from the scandal.

But that's not the most important thing, is it?

I felt something hit my head, and startled, I first touched my hair and smoothed it down, then looked around to see what it could have been. I soon saw a wadded up ball of sweet wrappers and picked it up gingerly, and then looked up to see that Rieka was smirking at me. I glared at her, which did precisely nothing, and so the only logical conclusion was to throw the ball back at her. It hit her nose quite satisfyingly and she squealed, interrupting whoever it was that had been speaking. She opened her mouth to no doubt deliver a pithy retort, but then paused and laughed uproariously, making the bells on her cat ears ring and a few of those distant passers-by to stare at us for a moment.

I gawped, and then laughed myself. But the moment was over quickly, and I carefully took out my phone to use as a mirror to make sure my appearance was untainted before returning my focus to the issues at hand. From the way he was watching us both carefully, with a smile just tugging at his lips, I deduced Akio was the one who'd been speaking, so I gave him a nod. Come on, get your brain together!

"I do apologise, go on."

Akio obliged:

"And they would be able to find and utilise the resources needed to successfully abduct people and then kill them while raising little to no alarm, right? As well as finding places to put them. If they were particularly well off they'd have a lot of land, potentially? Multiple homes?"

"Weren't all the sites abandoned buildings of some sort?" Ritsuka asked.

"They would have to have been owned by somebody though, right?" Rieka asked. "You could probably look up like previous owners and things of the murder sites."

"I could indeed. Shirohata definitely did not have any owner at the time it was…repurposed. It had been abandoned by all areas, nobody really wanted to take responsibility for it and since it had by then basically just become a random building in a forest it was easy to just let it be and neglect it. Most locals in the closest towns had almost all but forgotten that it was there." Otsuka informed us.

"And it's likely they've forgotten again, huh." Akagi mused.

"Yes, it's still abandoned, the events of twenty years ago somehow didn't make anyone inclined to take responsibility for the place." Otsuka said with a wry smile.

The conversation paused at that point. I could feel my brain working faster than it had ever done, trying to slot all this information together.

"Hold on. Was Shirohata ever visited again, after the investigation?" I asked.

"Nope." Came the swift answer from Otsuka.

"But what about now?" I persisted. "Surely, with the investigation being re-opened, that would be one of their first ports of call if only for….oh, I don't know."

I made a vague, flappy hand gesture in the hopes someone else would fill it in for me. Eventually, Rieka came to my aid.

"To review the scene and see if there was anything that they may have missed the first time. Admittedly, after twenty years it's highly unlikely, but stranger things have happened."

"Yes, exactly! Thank you very much."

"Eh, don't mention it."

I honestly had no response to that.

"That-" Otsuka frowned. "No, there's been no indication that they were doing that. Admittedly that may not be something they want to release to the media, and I can understand why, but…no, I think you're right."

The title really only applies to one part of this but honestly I couldn't think of anything better so eh. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!