Chapter 9: Their competition
Considering how fruitless his espionage mission turned out to be, Ijichi's call drew him like a fly to shit. It took Satoru no more than five minutes to hop on a train to meet him in person. And, while he didn't love in the least the idea that Kasumi might be walking around the rest of the city with Kokichi, if what Ijichi had said was true, he could end that budding relationship in one fell swoop.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, talk," he told her as he saw him and heard his welcome at the door of the house, stepping through the doorway as if he owned it.
He had already mentioned that his parents were working late and that he would be alone, the ideal time to tell him about the results of his improvised investigation. As excited as Gojo was when he arrived home, he offers him a seat at the dining room table and, with trembling hands, hands him a glass of water.
Satoru's long fingers drum against the table, his other hand holding his cheek. Impatient. His eyes riveted on Ijichi, sparkling with irritation. His pupil so fixed on his target that Ijichi feels a shiver run down his spine as he gathers a couple of things then sets them down on the table. Every minute here with him is another minute Kokichi gains ground, his ground.
"Are you gonna tell me what you found out, or not?"
He nods and takes a breath. He's focused despite looking a little nervous and sweaty.
-Well, first I have to confess that when you asked me to find out something about Muta-kun... I thought you were exaggerating... But then I figured that, if you had gone so far as to ask for my help, something really bad had to be going on.
There wasn't much truth to this, the actual truth is that Satoru is relying on something he himself calls a hunch but which, in reality, was nothing more than a desperate plea that tells him 'something has to be wrong with that guy'.
"Can we skip the introduction?"
He nods again.
"Sorry... Last week, like every afternoon... I helped some teachers collecting homework and, organizing festival events..."
"Yes, yes, to the point."
"Huh! Well... Uhm, Professor Yamamoto left me alone in the teacher's lounge to smoke a cigarette. So I took the opportunity to get into the school's digital archives. Please! You must not tell anyone!"
"What did you find?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing? What do you mean, nothing?"
"Exactly that... At first I was looking for something bad, anything, be it a family background, some report. But, then I realized there was nothing. Muta-kun has no absences, no sick days, no call-ups."
Ijichi spreads out copies of Muta's reports from preschool to the previous year on the table and Satoru looks at them.
"What about that? Is it illegal not to miss school?"
"Well, not illegal, but strange. Muta-kun hasn't been absent since the first year of kindergarten. Besides that, his grades are excellent... from his first to his last exam. Usually one only looks at the last grades, but... looking at the big picture it's too strange to be... normal."
"You think he changed his records himself?"
Ijichi nods.
"And not only that... After looking at the records I knew something was wrong. So I did something I'm not too proud of either... I... followed Muta after school."
Satoru folds his arms and widens a smile.
"Did he notice?"
"N-No! I was especially careful not to raise suspicions, and I kept my distance the whole time."
"And what did he do?" He asks intrigued, leaning over the table.
"At first he took a train, then a bus and then walked ten blocks. At that moment I realized that I should have brought binoculars..."
"You didn't see what he did?"
"It was very suspicious... A group of ten high school boys met him in a vacant lot. I recognized the uniform, they were from Adachi High School."
"So? What did he do? I swear to God, Ijichi, if I have to spoon the words out of you I'm going to..."
"I'm not quite sure! There was an exchange, he handed them something and they paid. Then they left..."
"Drugs?"
"I don't know..."
"Shit... how can we be sure?"
"There's one more thing... One of them called him a nickname when he left. He said... 'See you later, Mechamaru'."
"Mechamaru? What kind of Gundam name is that?"
Ijichi shrugs his shoulders.
"That's all I know."
"So Muta-kun sells drugs. Wow, that's more interesting than I thought."
"Well, we can't be entirely sure."
"What else could it be? If it was something normal they wouldn't call him by a nickname, let alone meet in a remote place to exchange something."
The meeting ends soon after, with Satoru more excited than before. In fact, his suspicions were true. There was something with a very bad smell about Kokichi, or rather about Mechamaru. What could be worse than selling drugs? What if he was capable of introducing the innocent Kasumi to something like that?
His fingers itched all the rest of the day and the next. He wanted to put her on notice as soon as possible but, after coming face to face during their date and practically holding hands with Mei-Mei, he wasn't sure if a text message would be the wisest thing to do.
He debated all Sunday whether or not to confront Miwa with this presumed new information. After a long conversation with himself he came to the conclusion that he should do it in person. Of course, she had a right to know.
He repeated to himself in his mind over and over again the hundreds of reasons why it was his duty to intervene. And also to assure himself what a good guy he must be for bringing to her attention something as dangerous as selling drugs to a group of schoolchildren. So anxious was he that he could have dug a hole in the ground with his own feet after his back and forth in the same place.
On one side of the school, between a couple of trees, he adjusted his glasses hoping that the next hair he saw would be a peculiar cyan color. Among the brown hair he strolled, eating his heart out.
Five steps to one side, he adjusts his glasses, looks up, five steps to the other side. He jumps when a voice surprises him from behind.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
Suguru watches him with a raised eyebrow, both hands in his pockets. Then he leans over him, stretches his neck against Satoru's face. His dark gaze reflects a certain suspicion that Satoru notices immediately and frowns. Suddenly he feels he is doing something wrong. He gently kicks a stone next to him and gestures with his shoulders, as if he doesn't know why he is being questioned.
Suguru searches his face for some evidence and waits for an answer.
"Nothing," Satoru replies and looks back at the school gates when he finally sees her enter next to Shoko.
As he is about to turn around to face her, Suguru grabs him by the collar of his uniform and drags him into the shadow cast by the school.
"You're going to tell me right now what you're up to. You've been acting like this for weeks. What's it about?"
Satoru is about to raise a fist, his chance to talk to Kasumi before he meets Muta again is slipping through his fingers and his best friend doesn't seem willing to let him go.
"Don't bother, I have something to do."
"And what is it? Huh?"
"Listen, it's important," he says and grabs the wrist that holds him firmly.
"Is it about Miwa-chan?"
"Huh?"
"Don't play dumb. Are you gonna to confess?
"What? No, no, it has nothing to do with that."
"I know you. I've been watching you, you think I haven't noticed? Ever since Miwa-chan's been dating Muta-kun you've become bitter. Now you want to butt in? Just when she's going out with a nice guy? You're despicable. You had a chance, now leave her alone. She's a nice girl. And you've always been a sore loser. You can't stand the idea of not being number one."
"And do you think Muta is a good guy for her?" He questions and Surugu loosens his grip until he lets go completely. "Don't ask me how, but it came to me… certain... information."
"Came to you?"
"Yes, my sources are confidential," he replies with a cocky smile.
"It's Ijichi, isn't it?"
Gojo immediately frowns.
"Anyway, apparently our good guy Muta-kun sells drugs."
Suguru doesn't look at all impressed by Satoru's revelation, who was expecting a more effusive reaction. Geto sighs and his shoulders slump after feeling defeated, there is no way to convince Gojo that this is all just a delusion.
"Let's see, show me the proof."
"What do I need proof for?"
"What do you think what for? just because you say so, it must be true? What you're saying is too serious to be taken so lightly. And... if you have nothing to back up your words you'll look like nothing more than a poor idiot who wants to ruin the happiness of the girl he likes. You're not that desperate, are you?"
With a frown on his face, frustrated even, Satoru seems to have given up.
"Then I'll get the evidence and prove to you that I'm right."
Suguru's face breaks into a smile again and he pushes his friend's shoulder and then hugs him from behind on the way to school.
"Come on, you idiot, we're going to be late."
His best friend is adept at distracting him, telling him about his upcoming game and chatting about his weekend, although Satoru hasn't had the courtesy to ask him anything about it.
Once in the classroom, Satoru suddenly feels his stomach twist at the sight of her from behind. She is sitting in the same chair she sits in every day, the sun streaming through the window and illuminating her, surrounding her with a yellow halo. Her profile blurred by the brightness as she gazes intently at Shoko, standing, leaning against a bench talking about something he doesn't seem to hear.
And as he walks in her direction, he catches his breath for an instant until she senses his tall presence and averts her ultramarine blue eyes to look him in the eye. A halting greeting catches in his throat and he says nothing. He stands halfway with his lips pressed together until Suguru nudges him from behind to continue.
"Good morning, ladies," he says, with a hearty smile as Satoru simply sits behind Kasumi.
"How was your weekend, Suguru?" asks Shoko. "How's your family?"
"At least someone remembers what we talked about," he replies without neglecting his graceful smile.
"Is your aunt well, Suguru-san?" asks Miwa.
"Excellent, thank you for asking Miwa. How about yours?"
"Oh, that's right! I completely forgot about it," says Shoko excitedly. How was your date?
Satoru shifts in his seat and notices his best friend's prying eyes on him. He rests his face on a fist and listens reluctantly to the conversation going on under his nose.
"It was very good..." replies Kasumi, visibly nervous.
"Come on, details, Miwa," insists Shoko.
"Details? Uhm... well. We went to an ice cream shop."
Miwa's sweet voice tastes bitter to Satoru, who makes a congested gesture just hearing her talk about him. And, as if a bell is ringing inside both of their minds, Shoko and Geto share a furtive glance that then creeps stealthily toward Satoru. Neither has forgotten Gojo's impromptu invitation a few days earlier. Such a conjunction couldn't be a coincidence, at least not for them. For Kasumi, however, it was nothing more than a mere chance occurrence.
"An ice cream shop, huh?" says Shoko.
The mischievous looks from both Shoko and Geto did not go unnoticed by Satoru. He knows they've connected the dots and that, from this one, he doesn't have much of an escape.
"Gojo-san!"
Euphoric, Yu enters the room and joins the group with a big smile. He walks to stand in the middle of Satoru and Suguru and with an admiring expression pats Gojo's back.
"Is it true what I heard? You're dating Mei-Mei?"
As if he had been the victim of a spell, Satoru's body seems to turn to stone. Suguru and Shoko open their eyes, mouths and ears. But they are not the only ones shocked by such a statement. All his companions seem to have been called to silence upon hearing Yu's words. Satoru feels twenty pairs of eyes turning to look at him, waiting for an answer. But the only eyes he cares about are the ones in front of him.
Miwa's shy gaze is on him. Her eyes seem to be waiting for a much deserved explanation, or rather a confirmation.
An invisible hand tears at his chest, her eyes look sad.
He stutters for the first time in his life, unable to confess that it was all a plan so he could interrupt Kasumi's date. But he also doesn't want to say something that will end up pushing her into Muta's arms, confirming a lie.
Just as he is about to say something, the teacher enters the room. And even he can feel the irritation of his students as they see him enter and leave the gossip half-told.
After his hearty greeting of every morning, and hearing him clear his throat, a soft chuckle is heard from the other end of the room. Mei-Mei can't hide how amused she finds the whole situation. Then she turns her face and looks at her over her shoulder.
Kasumi senses in this look a hint of competition. A blatant teasing. It's as if she knows what kind of relationship she used to have with him. And eventually she wonders if Satoru would have had the nerve to tell her everything.
The idea makes her nervous. She was under the assumption that no one knew about her extracurricular activities and her face lights up just contemplating the idea that he had opened his mouth. Embarrassed, she realizes that if she had close friends she wouldn't feel comfortable mentioning it either.
Both Satoru and Kasumi remain silent, but quickly notice the whispers that begin to be spread among their classmates. And while Satoru seriously contemplates the idea of beating Yu up, Kasumi does her best to concentrate on what the teacher is saying.
Unsettled by the misconception his former lover has gotten, Satoru picks up his cell phone and types hidden under his desk. So focused is he that he doesn't notice the sharp eyes slyly watching him from beside him. Almost immediately, Kasumi feels her cell phone vibrating in her skirt pocket. And although she is extremely applied, she always checks her cell phone in case her siblings might need her for any eventuality.
"It's not what it looks like."
Kasumi reads and puts the cell phone back in her pocket and makes a great effort to turn her attention back to the class, but it proves very difficult. It's amazing the havoc this boy can wreak on her body without laying a finger on her. Her stomach flips and she frowns. She moves the pencil in her right hand tirelessly and after a few seconds she realizes that she hasn't understood a single word her teacher has said. Satoru's impudence stirs her insides, and not only that, but after all he still thinks he has to give her an explanation.
After a few seconds that in Miwa's mind have been enough to think the matter over ten times, she pulls her cell phone out of her pocket and types while Suguru watches everything from a short distance away.
"None of my business."
He silently watches the messages come and go. So he decides to take matters into his own hands and sends a message.
"Miwa and Satoru." He writes and sends. Shoko reads the message almost immediately and, like him, slides her brown eyes to the constant exchange next to them.
"I know, but it's not what you think."
"I don't care. It's your problem."
"Let's talk after school."
"It's not necessary."
"HOW STUBBORN YOU ARE."
"The group in the back. Don't think I can't see you," says the teacher and stops the class. "The cell phones of the four of you to my desk, you'll get them back after class."
After an embarrassing walk to the front of the room, the four of them get up and leave their phones on the desk and, under the attentive and laughing gaze of their classmates, return to their seats.
When the bell rings announcing the first recess of the day, Kasumi bolts out of the classroom. She's not quite ready to continue sharing oxygen with Satoru, even though he makes a small attempt to hold her back.
"I've got things to do! See you later!"
By this time their every interaction is watched with suspicion, even though they don't realize it. And when Suguru does the same and grabs his friend by the sleeve of his uniform to force him to sit down, he spreads a smile and looks at him before walking away.
"I'm getting a soda, I'll be right back!"
Suguru sighs and Shoko, standing in front of him with her arms crossed, watches him walk away to disappear through the door behind Kasumi.
"Satoru likes Miwa-chan?" she asks him, when most of her classmates are leaving.
Geto shrugs his shoulders.
"Did you know anything about him and Mei-Mei?"
"Nothing, were you aware of anything?"
"No. I mean, I understand about Miwa, but... Mei-Mei?"
"Does this warrant an intervention?"
"I guess."
After evading him for several hallways. Kasumi ends up hiding behind a tree by the courtyard and sits down to watch the first-year boys running on the running track. In the distance she recognizes Yuji Itadori in first place, without shedding a drop of sweat, behind him Todo and far behind Kokichi.
She smiles to herself as she sees him, drinking from a water bottle, wiping off the sweat with a white towel until eventually noticing her presence. And as he walks towards her, closing the distance, Kasumi wonders if he might be the right answer to completely erase her feelings for Satoru.
Being unrequited is far more painful than she could have anticipated. Comparing herself to one of her classmates is also playing a trick on her self-esteem. However, he's the kind of guy who seems to have eyes for no one but her and right now it's something that soothes her bruised heart.
"Did you read my message?" Kokichi asks her with a soft warm smile on his face.
"I'm sorry, the teacher found me texting in class and took it away."
"Did you get in trouble?" he asks quizzically and sits down next to her under the shade of a chestnut tree.
She denies, and when he sits down next to her she finds it somewhat difficult to hold his gaze.
"Now y-you can tell me in person."
He nods.
"I asked if you'd like to share lunch."
Kasumi widens her smile. Something in her heart shrinks just listening to his proposal, because despite how innocent it sounds, it's what she would have expected Gojo to do to spend time with her.
Chatting with Kokichi is much easier than chatting with Satoru. Possibly because one of the two of them constantly leaves her breathless, while the other feels more natural. She finds that she can talk and laugh with him just as she does with her siblings. There are no expectations to live up to, no watchful eyes on her every move. This calmness may also be because Kokichi doesn't go beyond what they share, a pleasant conversation, a summer morning, the shade of a tree.
He seems happy with this and nothing more, while Satoru is a storm who takes more and more from her giving almost nothing in return.
After saying goodbye and having successfully avoided Satoru, Kasumi retraces her steps back to the classroom a few minutes before the bell rings. But, before returning, she tries to stop by a restroom.
The ladies' room on the second floor is unoccupied when she enters and chooses the second toilet next to the door. She sits down, closes the door and hears footsteps stopping in front of the mirror. A tap opens and closes a short time later and, as she steps out, Kasumi finds herself face to face with the woman who has made her doubt herself for the past few days.
Mei-Mei, leaning against the mirror touches up her red lipstick. Her graceful eyes drift from her reflection to Miwa's and she smiles at her. She pauses, closing the door behind her and glances at her for a moment before averting her gaze.
"G-good morning, Mei-Mei-san."
"Miwa-chan..." she says in a tone that chills his skin.
Consciously pushes one foot behind the other to stand next to her to wash her hands while Mei-Mei puts her lipstick in her pocket and leans back against the electric hand dryer.
The uniforms are identical, the same color fabric and the same white stripes around the edges of the blue collars. However, they look totally different. Miwa questions her proportions while trying not to stare at Mei-Mei's.
"How was the rest of your date?"
"It was great, we played electronic games and he walked me to the bus stop." It's been a victory for Kasumi to stutter just once, though she still can't hold Mei-Mei's inquisitive gaze. Suddenly, she asks herself a question that she ends up saying out loud. "How was yours?"
"Very interesting," she says and her burgundy-framed smile spreads subtly.
Kasumi doesn't know what to say after listening to her, nor does she know how to ask her to step aside to dry her hands. She is so overwhelmed by the idea of talking to her that she would even be able to leave with her hands soaked, or end up drying them on her skirt.
"Go ahead," she says softly, as if she's entered her thoughts, takes a step to the side, but stands there watching her approach. "Miwa-chan, are you in love with Satoru?"
Kasumi's eyes widen like plates, both hands dangling in the air under the hand dryer. Mei-Mei laughs out loud just seeing her reaction and ends up covering her mouth with one hand, so delicately that she looks like a porcelain doll.
"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret for you. But don't worry, I'll take good care of him in the meantime..."
'I'll take good care of him.' The words etch themselves into her mind like a tattoo and burn as such. She feels her heart squeezing inside her and suddenly doubts become certainties, Satoru has told her the truth and she rejoices in her victory. But Kasumi is pretty good when it comes to faking smiles.
She smiles with dead eyes at Mei-Mei, pretends to be confused.
-I don't know what you're talking about. I have no interest in Gojo whatsoever. But I'm glad he found a person exactly like him.
At the end of the day, when everyone starts to leave school at three o'clock in the afternoon. Satoru loses hope when he sees Kasumi leaving for the science club. She hasn't looked back at him all day and hasn't said a word to him. Nor was he able to harass her with messages.
The hardest part was mid-morning, when he found her sharing her lunch on a bench next to his new nemesis. Seeing her laugh and chat with him has been more than he could bear and he simply turned away not knowing how to deal with his own feelings.
As he's about to leave the school, a message from Suguru lights up his cell phone screen and his heart bursts under the thought that maybe, just maybe, it could be her.
"I'll be waiting for you in the household economics room."
He stops, frowns and turns around to drag his feet back. He thinks he can sense the reason for this surprise and seemingly secret appointment. He is probably trying to dissuade him from telling Kasumi that her suitor has an extracurricular business that could end up getting him expelled from school. And, although he feels no desire to discuss the matter with him once again, he decides to confront him.
When he drags open the wooden door to the home economics room, he finds him standing by the window, but he's not alone. Shoko opened a window and is smoking a cigarette next to him, quite close.
"Am I interrupting an intimate moment?" he says, smiling. "You must like the taste of nicotine, Suguru."
"Sit down," Suguru replies, ignoring her comment.
Shoko doesn't seem very amused either, and he's not too happy about the idea of sitting there to be scolded by a six-foot-six girl.
"I think I can hear you perfectly well from here," he replies after closing the door behind him. "What kind of ambush is this?"
"I told her everything," Suguru answers.
"What's this nonsense about Muta-kun? I've never seen you this jealous before."
"Jealous? No, listen, aren't you worried about Kasumi getting involved with a guy like that?"
"Muta doesn't sell drugs, Satoru. Don't be ridiculous," replies Shoko, stroking both eyebrows with one hand. "You have no proof, where did you get that idea?"
"My sources are..."
"You idiot! If someone overhears you they might end up expelling him."
"So what's the problem? What if I'm right? Huh? What if Kokichi is involved in something shady after all? You guys would be the worst friends in the world for not warning Kasumi. Who knows what kind of shit she might end up in because of him. If you don't say anything you'd be his accomplices."
Suguru sighs.
"I told you. He's completely lost his mind."
"That's right, maybe it's even true that he's dating Mei-Mei."
"No, no, that's a rumor," Satoru replies, raising his voice.
"Is it? I asked Mei-Mei directly and she said you two went out together over the weekend."
"Satoru, that's serious. Are you dating her out of spite? Is it because Miwa-chan is dating Muta? I mean, you could have gone out with anyone else, but Mei-Mei? Did you have to give her a deposit?"
Gojo didn't have an excuse prepared for this interrogation and he can't lie so easily so quickly either. He doesn't know exactly what to say under pressure and this serves only to confirm that there was, in fact, an exchange of values.
"Have you stooped that low? Didn't you get some cheerleader to do it for free? You're not going to tell me now that you really like Mei-Mei, did she ask you for dollars or yen?"
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"So, Mei-Mei is lying? Didn't you two go out together?"
"Only as friends."
Suguru brings a palm to his face and turns away.
2You want to ruin Muta and Miwa's relationship and you're also dating Mei-Mei out of spite. Why don't you just be honest with her and accept her answer like a normal person? What's the worst that can happen?"
"Kasumi doesn't interest me like that, I just want to protect her from him. Why don't you believe me?"
"Satoru, come to your senses. You're talking like a crazy person, you're talking about drugs, you're dating a woman who sees you as a walking savings bank..."
"Tell Miwa the truth, tell her you like her and stop this drug nonsense. I forbid you to tell her such a stupid thing!"
"So you're both against me."
"We're on your side, you idiot. We just don't want you to do anything crazy."
"Well, when I bring you the evidence you'll have to apologize to me for all this. Not just to me, to Kasumi too, for being shitty friends."
After slamming the door shut Satoru leaves, annoyed not only by the attitude of his friends but also because deep down he knows there is something right in their words. Maybe also because of the smell of cigarette left on him.
He knows that getting Mei-Mei involved in all this has not been a good move, but maybe he can make the best of the situation and while he works out a plan to shut his so-called friends up, he takes his cell phone out of his pocket and calls her to arrange a new date. After a small deposit on his accomplice's account, he finds her in a coffee shop waiting for him seated at a small round table for two.
"Are we going to make this a regular thing?" she asks him as he sits down.
"I hope not, I don't have that kind of money."
Mei-Mei smiles and waits for Satoru's intentions to be revealed to her.
"I need help, but I can't count on my friends and I only have you. You know, not a word of this to anyone, especially Kasumi."
"I took a closer look at her this morning. She has pretty eyes, not as pretty as yours, of course."
This tastes rather uncomfortable to him, he drops his serious facade and looks her in the eye hoping she's joking, though he's never quite sure with her.
"Did you talk to Kasumi?"
"I spoke, she stuttered a bit and spoke a bit more. She's so cute, I'd like to keep her in my pocket. I thought she was like a puppy, but she is like a kitty cat, with small but sharp claws."
"I don't know why I don't like the idea of you talking to her very much."
"Are you afraid I'll break our confidentiality agreement?"
"I confess I'm afraid of anything you do around her... What did you talk about?"
She shrugs.
"Woman stuff, she told me about how her date ended and I thought it was most innocent. There's nothing like a bad boy who behaves like a gentleman with the right person, it's a popular cliché, drives women crazy."
Satoru is not so clueless as to not fall into the trap the black widow weaves in front of him, although it starts to irritate him.
"Anyway, do you have friends at other schools?"
"I could make new friends, why?"
"I need to catch him red-handed... He calls himself Mechamaru... but he's Muta Kokichi. He sells drugs to kids from other schools."
"Wow, this just got interesting. You want to have something strong to show Miwa-chan to end her relationship with Kokichi and... that's where you come in, Prince Charming. Right?"
"No, I just want him to stay away from her."
"Of course. Well, do you have any other information about Mechamaru? How do we contact him?"
Satoru stops to think for a moment and the only person who comes to mind is Ijichi.
"I'll let you know the details."
"What a pro."
