Mikoko-chan's apartment in Horikawa Oike was even more lavish and splendid than Tomo-chan's. It was far too ritzy for a mere college student; it had an almost sublime air about it.
"Now then..."
The bus deposited me in front of her apartment building at just around two o'clock. The time right now, however, was 3:30. So, looking at the facts objectively and rationally, this meant I'd spent an awkward hour and a half just standing at the building's entrance.
"What was he doing all that time? Why was he shaking in his boots at the very idea of visiting a girl of his age in her apartment where she lived alone?" I said aloud.
I tried to reaffirm the current state of affairs and apply a personal interpretation, but there was hardly a point. It made me feel kind of stupid. But if I thought about it, this was possibly the first time I had ever made a decision to take any action, and then still hesitated to the point that I wasn't moving at all. If it had been a close friend, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths to consider each and every little possibility and detail, but I had only known Mikoko-chan for a few days (or actually since last month). That didn't bother me, personally, but I didn't want to accidentally put Mikoko-chan in a bad mood.
That is to say, as an innately passive human being, I suck at taking the initiative.
"Man, this is so lame..."
Still, an hour and a half were a bit much, even for me. The longer I stood there, the stupider I felt, but I, at last, made up my mind and stepped inside the building.
Unlike Tomo-chan's building, there was no auto-lock here and thus no need for a card key, but there was a security camera watching over the lobby. Much more effective than an auto-lock, which is pretty easy to get past. Of course, the most effective method was what they had in Kunagisa's monster of an apartment: a real security guard.
I looked at the memo I had received from Muimi-chan.
Fourth floor, room three.
I boarded the elevator and pressed four. I arrived at the fourth floor a moment later and began my way down the narrow hallway. Then, I spotted surveillance cameras in front of the elevator and on both sides of the hallway. Wasn't security a bit too tight here? Even convenience stores didn't have this many cameras. Maybe a big celebrity was living here in secret. Even though it was Kyoto. Or wait, maybe it was because it was Kyoto.
With my head full of these meaningless ponderings, I arrived at the door of room three. Deciding that since I'd made it this far, there was no point in hesitating anymore, I went ahead and pushed the button for the intercom.
Inside, I heard a relatively normal-sounding bell ring, and then the sound of someone moving around. Figuring that, as a girl, she would probably take some time getting ready before coming to the door, I prepared myself for the long haul and leaned up against the wall behind me.
"Okay, I'm opening up now!"
Wha-?
Wow. That was freaking fast. I guess, I should've been glad, but something about it gave me a bad feeling. And as a passive observer, my unpleasant premonitions boasted a 100 percent accuracy rate.
Crap. Something big was coming.
"This is pretty late for you, Muimi-chan... Did something happen?"
K-chunk.
The lock slid open with a satisfying sound and the door opened.
I failed to respond, and Mikoko-chan couldn't respond.
It was a dead freeze, and ctrl + alt + del wouldn't fix it.
"Ah... Ah... Ah..." She turned bright red, then pale blue. Then back to bright red.
"Ciao," I greeted, for lack of a better idea.
"Eeeeeyaaaaahhhh!!!!" She let out an ear-piercing scream as the door slammed shut with such an incredible noise and force that I thought the entire frame might break. The whole world distorted for a moment, and then came a silence as if the whole thing had never happened.
Well, if worse came to worst, at least the security cameras could vouch for my innocence in regards to her scream.
"Well... Then again..."
She was still wearing her morning face. Her hair was all messy, and her bunny-print pajamas were partially unbuttoned. So Mikoko-chan's reaction to suddenly being confronted by a member of the opposite sex wasn't all that weird after all.
"Why?!" came a voice from the other side of the door. She sounded like she was just barely holding back tears. Or maybe she wasn't holding them back at all. "Why-why-why-why? What are you doing there? Wasn't Muimi-chan supposed to be coming over? It's like, gumshoe Asagi Semimaru solves the case of the sealed room decapitation murders right away, but the culprit was caught red-handed! Oh, my head! I don't get this! Why?! Nowaynowaynoway! You're a ghost! This is a lie! A dream! A nightmare!"
Aw, crap, she was panicking.
I wasn't doing such a great job keeping my cool either, but with her getting this flustered, I might just be able to keep my wits about me.
Interesting.
So, Muimi-chan was originally planning to come to visit her. Then that lazy punk passed the role over to me, and she hadn't even told Mikoko-chan about it.
Okay, conditions confirmed. Proceed with maneuver authorization.
"This is creepy! You shouldn't even know where I live! You're an illusion! This is all some vicious prank!"
"Well, I'll explain everything later, so just let me in. No point in standing here talking like this."
"Go away! Hurry up and go! No wait, I'm sorry, don't go! I'll go clean up and get ready, so wait a minute! Please! And forget what you just saw!"
"I've already seen you once, so what's the big deal? Just let me in."
"No!"
With that final, sharp rejection, I heard her stomp back into the depths of her room. This was followed by what sounded like a full-on battle. She was probably cleaning up. She really didn't have to go to the trouble, I thought as I leaned back against the wall again. I waited half an hour before she finally let me in. It was past four o'clock.
The structure of the apartment itself wasn't so different from Tomo-chan's, but there was a ridiculous amount of furniture and other furnishings. It seemed Mikoko-chan was a woman who liked her material possessions. It wasn't a messy place, but you couldn't deny there was a little clutter.
"Wait a sec, okay? I'll pour some tea."
She wore a pink camisole and shorts. The outfit exposed far more skin than her pajamas from before, but I wasn't about to say anything. Her hair was also very nicely styled. It was like she had become a completely different person.
She placed a cup on the low table. Of course, it wasn't filled with tap water, but with delicious-looking barley tea. It had three ice cubes in it and looked nice and cold.
She plopped down across from me.
"Um-um-um... So what's going on, Ikkun?"
Perhaps still shaken up, she was acting a bit strange. If she had been walking around Shinkyôgoku, the mobile police would have stopped her for sure.
"Um, so yeah, Muimi-chan should be here any minute! It's already past the time we were supposed to meet, oh my God, where is that silly girl?"
"Uh, I'm her substitute," I said, waving for her to calm down.
"Wha!" she cried in surprise, and then flashed an ambiguous smile that seemed to express anger, embarrassment, joy, and some other stuff I couldn't put my finger on all at the same time.
"Freaking Muimi-chan..."
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not planning to be here long, so just relax. I heard you were feeling pretty lousy, but I'm glad to see you seem pretty alive."
"Oh..."
The word lousy seemed to spur a reaction out of her, and she hung her head down. Perhaps I hadn't been careful enough with my wording, I thought, but that was the only way I knew how to phrase it.
Yes. Not only had Mikoko-chan's friend been killed; Mikoko-chan was also the first one to see her friend's corpse. She was the first person to have the image of that still, lifeless body burned onto her retinas. And that burned image probably still remained, even now. It wasn't something she could just bounce back from.
"So you came here because I haven't been going to school and you were worried about me?"
"Yeah. Well, something like that."
The reality of it was a little different, but I supposed the difference was negligible.
This time she flashed a straightforward, happy smile. "Thank you!" she spouted. "I'm so happy you came!"
"There's nothing to thank me for. I didn't even bring anything."
I realized this as I said it. Showing up to another person's house without bringing anything was probably pretty thoughtless of me. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't feeling well. But since I had come directly from school, I didn't reckon there was anything I could've done.
"Oh, no problem," Mikoko-chan said. "It's not like I'm incapacitated or something. It's just that... If I go to school, I know I'll start thinking about Tomo-chan."
"But it's not like you don't think about her when you stay home, right?"
"Well, that's true, but..." She laughed weakly. "But seeing you has cheered me up. I'm okay. I'll be going to school again starting tomorrow."
"I don't really think the school thing matters one way or the other. Have the police been visiting you?"
"Yeah, a few times. A big guy and kind of a scary lady. But I was the one who found her body, after all, and this is a murder case."
"Who could've killed her?" I asked, not so much asking as talking to myself, but still loud enough so that Mikoko-chan could hear.
"I don't know." Her weak response was no surprise. "Tomo-chan wasn't the type of girl to make enemies. That's for sure."
"Yeah, that's what Muimi-chan said, too. But I wonder... Realistically speaking, is it actually possible to live without ever being resented or disliked by anybody? I have my doubts about that."
"Huh?"
"I think it's worth considering the possibility that you only feel that way about Tomo-chan because you two were such good friends, at that in reality, someone out there did resent her. Even if that resentment was unmerited."
She grew unbearably silent. She wore such an expression of pain that I blurted out an apology. "Sorry." She may have been acting strong, but she was still in no state to be discussing things like this yet.
"I shouldn't have come here after all, huh?"
"Huh? Why?"
I really hadn't meant for her to hear me. But her face swung back up at me. She'd heard.
"Ikkun, that isn't true. I'm glad you came."
"Come on... You're just trying to look cheerful because I'm here, right?"
A close friend, one who could speak frankly to her, like Muimi-chan, would have been much better in this situation.
"But that isn't true," she persisted. "Even if I am just acting, the more I do it, the truer it'll become, right? I'm fine. I'm really glad you came. Even if you were just doing what Muimi-chan said and you really hate being here."
"I don't hate being here... If I hate something, I say so."
"Really?"
"Nah, I just thought I'd try saying it. I'm actually pretty easy to push around."
"I don't doubt that," she agreed.
I let out something like a sigh and stretched my arms. "All joking aside, how are you really feeling? Are you finally starting to get over the shock?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just..." Her eyes shifted to my right. I followed her gaze to see that there were scattered piles of newspapers and magazines lying around. "Umm, do you mind if I talk about when I was in elementary school and stuff?"
"Go for it. I'll listen."
"It was when I was in third grade. The building my class was in was undergoing construction, so trucks and bulldozers were constantly coming and going. But then one day, there was sort of a near miss, and a truck carrying a big load of sand crashed into the first-grade building."
"Gee, I wouldn't call something that big a 'near miss.' "
"Well, maybe not. The wall was smashed in, and sand spilled into the classroom, burying some of the first graders. It was a mess. But you know, we were still kids, so to us, it was almost like a fun event. Muimi-chan was going wild, surfing on the sand mound and stuff."
"Heh." She really did seem like she would've been that kind of a kid.
"So, then, the next day. I woke up early and went to read the newspaper. Anybody would be proud to have their school mentioned in the newspaper, right? I mean, it was just because the accident had happened there, so it wasn't really anything to be proud of, but just the idea that my school was 'in the papers' was enough to make me happy."
"Well, you were just a kid."
"But you know what? It wasn't in the paper," she said with an uncharacteristically glum sigh. "To me, it was such a big incident, but on a national level, it wasn't a big deal at all. I don't remember what the headline article was that day, but at that moment, it felt like someone was telling me, 'Your existence isn't worth a squat.' Something so amazing to me didn't mean a damn thing to everyone else. It was the saddest feeling."
"..."
"I feel kind of the same way now," she said, pointing to the stacks of newspapers and magazines. I could see where she was coming from. Sensational murder stories like this Kyoto prowler were one thing, but the papers weren't likely to dwell for very long on something as ordinary (sorry to say) as the murder of a single college student in her apartment. It would be in the news the next day, and then maybe the next at best. But even then, it would be a brief article that didn't take up too many column inches.
I grew silent.
Mikoko-chan did likewise.
We remained in complete silence like this for a while, but she was the first one to break it, with a question that took things in a confusing new direction.
"Ikkun, have you gone antiquing or anything with Asano-san since the other day?"
"Huh?" I blinked at her. "What? What do you mean?"
"I... Oh, I'm sorry! I don't know where that came from! I didn't mean to ask that!"
"It's okay..."
Now, how did she know that I went antiquing with Miiko-san sometimes? There was no way Miiko-san would've told her something that personal. Come to think of it, I seemed to remember that I might have promised to go with her again... Oh, yeah, that's right. Was Mikoko-chan awake that time?
"Does it bother you, by any chance?" I asked.
"What what what? Does what bother me?"
I had asked because I thought she might be feeling bad that I had to promise to go antiquing with Miiko-san just to thank her for putting Mikoko-chan up for the night, but this nervous reaction was not what I was expecting.
There was just no reading this girl.
"Anyway, don't let it bother you. We do that a lot."
"You do?"
"Yeah. She likes antiquing quite a bit. Did she show you inside her closet? As small as that room is, she won't stop buying antiques. I guess she sells them after she's enjoyed them for a while, though. She says art isn't something one person should monopolize." At the same time, however, she was no saint herself. "Basically, I'm there to carry her stuff. Even a guy like me has some basic strength, and they say you should always lend what you have to others. I'm not particularly interested in antiques, but that doesn't mean I hate them or anything, so if she asks me, I go."
"Huh. I see. So you and Asano-san go out... A lot... And stuff." For some reason, her voice was trailing off.
"Not a lot, really. But you see, she's been in Kyoto for a long time. She said she's been living here alone ever since she dropped out of high school. I got her to show me around to all the Buddhist temples and shrines once while we were antiquing, like Seimei Shrine and the Philosopher's Walk. Do you know 'em?"
"Yeah. Well, I know the names, anyway. I'm not really interested in that stuff."
"Huh? Didn't you say you knew Kyoto pretty well?"
How could she know Kyoto well if she wasn't even interested in the temples and shrines?
"Oh, uh, well, you know, yadda yadda yadda," she said, blatantly dodging the question. "How come you only remember that kind of stuff? ...Er, I mean, you and Asano-san must be pretty close then, huh?"
This conversation was starting to sound familiar. She was awfully hung up on the whole Miiko-san subject. Had something happened between them? I couldn't imagine what might have taken place in just a single night. Why was she trying so hard to bring me and Miiko-san together? It didn't make much sense to me.
"Yeah, well, she's a pretty interesting person and all," I said. "But we're not 'close,' per se; she kind of takes care of me. Like sometimes, she lends me her car. It's a Fiat 500. You know, the Fiat 500."
"Huh... Well, maybe it's all okay then."
Apparently, having no interest in cars whatsoever (she drove a 'scoot,' after all), she let my words pass right through her and started babbling about something I didn't understand.
"I wonder if she minds you coming to another girl's house like this."
"Huh? Oh. Uhh, are you telling me to leave?"
"No, that's not what I mean! I mean, you go out with her and stuff, right? So, I mean... Dammit, Ikkun, you pinhead!" she shrieked, slamming her hands on the table, her face bright red. Why she was getting so emotional over this, I had absolutely no idea. All I could do was be confused. It all seemed awfully unreasonable to me, but it was obvious that my presence was only making her angry.
"I don't really get it, but I'm sorry," I said.
"Ahhh," she moaned. "Fine, let me put it another way. You and Asano-san go shopping and stuff together, right?"
"Well, yeah. Not to run the point into the ground or anything."
"So would you go shopping and stuff with me too, then?"
Her logic here was beyond my comprehension, but her face was written with such a sincere look of what could only be described as "last-ditch desperation" that I just couldn't bear to point that out.
"Yeah, I guess I would. No reason not to."
"Really? For sure? You're not just saying that because you're on the spot?"
Her whole body leaned forward like her life depended on the answer to this question. She chewed on her lip. She looked for all the world like a little kid who was about to start bawling. Her emotions were exposed so plainly that there was no way you would guess she was a university student about to turn nineteen.
"You sure are hung up on this. Did something happen, by any chance?"
"Answer the question!"
"I mean... Probably. I can promise if you'd like."
"Really? You really mean it?"
"I don't lie. As a general rule."
"You absolutely mean it?"
"If there's something you want to buy, sure."
"This is a promise! If you forget, I'll be pissed!"
"Okay."
Overwhelmed by Mikoko-chan, I had gone and let her pull a promise out of me. But it wasn't such a terrible thing, so I decided to let it slide. This, at last, seemed to calm her down, and she proceeded to drink down the tea in her cup in a single gulp.
"Ahh," she sighed. "I'm so sorry. Occasionally, I get a little emotional and I don't even know what I'm saying."
"Occasionally? Did you just say occasionally?"
"Er, well, all the time," she nodded, sheepishly.
Huh.
The shock of Tomo-chan's death.
Certainly, Mikoko-chan wasn't completely over it, but at least she wasn't so down that she was thinking about following after her by committing suicide or anything. Somehow, she was keeping herself together. Some of the stuff she was saying didn't make a lot of sense, but that was forgivable. It seemed she was okay for the time being. She would probably be mostly recovered by Saturday.
"Well, that's it for me today," I said, starting to get up. "I'm afraid I've got to go."
"What-what-what? You're going already? Oh, I'm sorry, I did put you in a bad mood, didn't I?"
"I said I didn't plan on staying long when I got here, right? Well, let's get together again soon."
"Ah, um!" she said, stopping me as I tried to leave. "Um... Um, Ikkun."
"What?"
"Um..." She hesitated a bit, a lot, rather, and thought for a while before she spoke. "What do you think Tomo-chan wanted to say that last time you talked to her?" she asked.
The final phone call.
Tomo-chan had tried to tell me something.
"I have no idea, really. That day was the first time I ever even talked to her, so how could I possibly know something like that? I don't even know why she was talking to me. But, Mikoko-chan, you must have some idea, right?"
"I..." she dropped her head down. "I don't know. I don't even have a clue."
"..."
"Because Tomo-chan never talked to anyone."
She never talked.
She never opened up to anybody. She kept her cautious distance.
"It was like our friendship took place through an unbreakable sheet of glass. She never told me anything deep about herself, about what she felt in her heart."
"..."
Then why had such a person made an attempt to talk to me?
"Nonsense," I muttered aloud.
"Huh? What?"
"I doubt I'll get much of an answer out of you with the current state you're in, so I won't ask a lot, but Mikoko-chan, will you answer just this one question for me?"
"Wh..." She wore a puzzled expression. "What?"
"What do you think x over y means?"
She thought it over for a moment. "I don't know," she answered.
Oh, I see. How about that.
I nodded and said, "Well, see you at school. Sorry I bothered you." With that, I left her apartment. I proceeded out of the building and began contemplating what to do next.
Horikawa Oike.
There was quite a distance between here and my apartment, but even still, I could probably make it home in around thirty minutes on foot. It seemed like a waste of money to bother getting on a bus, so I decided to just walk.
It never crossed my mind that the world's greatest entrepreneur might be waiting in my room.