The Hitachiin's family compound was found in the upper north side of Shiratori. I didn't know what I had expected but it surely hadn't been this. Beyond the compound wall was found a great number of houses that stood separately, resembling a small town!
I was amazed by the architecture of the residence.
All the houses were of traditional Japanese style, the domain forming a small slope. There was a Shintō shrine next door at the head of a long staircase.
Doctor Tsunan's house was the first one on the left side of the entry gate.
It was two storied and wooden. On the ground floor was the genkan, the kitchen, the bathroom, a living room and a dining room, while the bedrooms were found on the upper floor.
The kitchen was modern, featuring a stove, an electric refrigerator, etc. The bathroom was composed of multiple rooms, separating the clothes changing room, the toilet and ofuro.
'I've asked for a bed to be put this morning,' Doctor Tsunan told me as he showed me my bedroom.
There was a double bed against the side wall while the back wall was lined with sliding windows made up of wooden latices covered in translucent paper. The doctor's bedroom was very similar except that he had a low table placed under the set of windows where there was his computer.
'Thank you for everything, Doctor Tsunan,' I said, turning to face him.
'Now that we're going to live under the same roof, call me only by Tsunan,' he told me and I nodded, giving him a smile.
He left me alone to unpack.
'It's very cozy here, ne Kōmori-san?' I said to the small animal riding on my back, pleasantly.
I began putting my things away and when I was finished, I knew that I still had a bigger job to do. To find a suitable place for the picture I had collected from Master Kagami.
Picking it up from the bottom of my bag, I gazed at it for one long moment, my feelings a mixture of nostalgia and melancholy.
'Shun!'
I was so absorbed in my reverie that I jumped at the sound of the voice and I dropped the picture in my hand. I swung around to face Tsunan who had appeared in the doorway.
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you,' he said as he strode up to me and bent down to pick the picture off the floor, handing it over to me. 'This picture...' He trailed off.
I averted my eyes, smiling grimly to myself. 'I know that I should get rid of it but I just… can't!'
I couldn't even understand why I held on to this picture so much.
'To tell you the truth, I'm glad that you didn't get rid of it. I find this picture very pretty.'
My head snapped up at him in astonishment. This was immediately followed by a warm feeling in my heart and I gazed at him with a gentle smile.
'By the way, I came to ask you if you're hungry? There are instantaneous noodles. We'll have a true dinner another time.'
'It's perfect,' I told him, cheerily and putting the picture under the mattress of my bed, I followed him downstairs to eat dinner.
***
The next day…
'Good morning!' I greeted Tsunan as he entered the kitchen.
After having woken up in the morning, I had done some cleaning while the doctor was still sleeping, before I had prepared the two of us our bento for lunch today.
He was fully prepared to go the organization and I was glad that I had finished in time.
'Breakfast is on the table,' I told him. 'And this is your bento.'
I presented the box to him.
'Shun, you don't have to do this,' he said.
'It gives me pleasure,' I assured him, before I inquired, suddenly anxious, 'But maybe- you don't like home-prepared food?'
'No. No. On the contrary. I cook too.'
I was surprised by this; I would never have thought that he could cook.
'But most of the time, since I'm always alone, I eat at the restaurant or prepared food from the supermarket,' he explained.
'I see.'
We gazed at each other a minute before I told him, 'I'll go get my things while you have breakfast.'
I hurried upstairs.
***
Later, at the organization…
'Hello Shun! Hello Tsunan!' the master called at us as we entered his office.
'You look better!' he told me with a grin. 'Did the move go well?'
I nodded, with a timid smile.
'That's good!' He paused. 'I believe that Tsunan must have informed you that I've got a mission for you. I've already given Hatsu the details. He's going be your partner on this mission. He should be here at any minutes now.'
He??
The door of the office opened behind us at that moment and entered Hatsu.
'Oh, there he is!'
It was Hatsu, though there was something different. She was wearing dark leather pants and a loose thin white shirt that left her torso- her flat torso- quite visible.
'Shun?!' Hatsu gasped, and we stared at each other in shock.
'Hatsu, you're… a guy?!' I whispered.
He didn't seem to be breathing anymore. Distress filling in his expression, he bolted out of the room.
'Hatsu!' I called out, puzzled.
'Please, excuse me!' I said to Tsunan and Master Kagami, very quickly, before I ran ran after Hatsu.
The latter descended the staircase and crossed the hall swiftly, ignoring my calls as I pursued him.
Just as I came out of the building, abruptly, I tripped over a rock in the grass, and fell, managing to bruise my elbow quite severely.
Luckily, Kōmori-san didn't get hurt in the fall.
'Hey, are you alright?' called Ayame who was just arriving and against all expectations, he rushed up to me and helped me to my feet.
Before I could thank him, he grunted out, 'Be more careful, will'ya?'
He took a glance at Hatsu then, who had staggered to a stop a small distance away when I had tripped and fell, and giving the older male a small greeting sign of the head, Ayame strode away.
'Hatsu...' I murmured at the latter.
He kept his distance and looked like he was going to cry.
'You must be thinking that I'm repugnant, don't you? A man who cross-dresses and make himself pass for what he's not!'
'What?! Of course not! It's true that men who disguises as women aren't very common but... I've found you very sexy as a girl last night,' I admitted, sincerely. 'I'm even quite jealous of your appearance.'
He seemed stunned. And then, slowly, a creaky smile appeared on his lips.
'Don't be too mad at Tsunan. I've blackmailed him so that he keeps my secret.'
My expression turned cynical at this. He's blackmailed the doctor? Decidedly, Hatsu was full of surprises!
'Is this your pet animal?' he asked, then, and I followed his eyes onto the small animal which was peering past my shoulder.
'Quite original!' he commented with a grin.
'I present you Kōmori-san!' I said, grinning back at him.
'Shun, is this blood?' demanded Tsunan, who arrived by my side at that moment.
He began examining my elbow immediately. The skin was scraped, with tiny particles of rock clotting in the blood.
'We need to clean and disinfect this wound,' he said and took me to the infirmary to work on it, even if, I assured him that I could take care of it myself.
'I'm so clumsy!' I murmured, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment once he was done. 'I haven't even started the mission yet that I've already hurt myself!'
The doctor gave me a smile, which I returned shyly.
'Good luck for this mission!'
'Thank you.'
***
Later…
'Several students of Kuroba High School have mysteriously disappeared recently,' Hatsu informed me as we were seated in the train headed for the town of Narita. 'They were at home when they went missing, more precisely in their bedrooms, while their parents were in the house. The police haven't found any trace on the spot except a large burn mark on the floor in the form of a circle.' He lifted his eyes from the file in his hands onto me to say, 'Sinister, isn't it?'
I approved.
'All the parents have reported the same thing. They have seen their kids enter their bedrooms but not leave it. When they went to call them for dinner, they were nowhere to be seen anymore and the burn mark was still very hot.'
I cupped my chin thoughtfully, assessing the information.
'The victims were of both sexes and of different ages. Some were friends, others not. The police have first explored the possibility of kidnapping but there has been no demand of a ransom till now. And since the authorities seem to have no apparent lead, Master Kagami wants us to investigate to see if there's a supernatural cause to it- on the request of the school's director- and put an end to this mass disappearance.'
'I see.'
He grinned twistedly then.
'Are you ready to go undercover?'
'Huh?!'
What does he mean?
***
Meanwhile, at the organization…
It was noon and Tsunan decided to take a pause to have lunch.
Grabbing the bento box, a certain redhead had prepared for him, he pulled off the lid and examined the food. It looked absolutely delicious. He wondered if she was as good at cooking as she was at preparing tea.
Holding his chopsticks, he said Itadakimasu before he picked a piece of food and brought it to his mouth with great anticipation to taste it.
His eyes went wide, his cheeks warming up.
'It's… too good!'
***
We reached Narita late in the night and managed to get ourselves two rooms for a few days in a hotel at an affordable price.
The voyage by train had been a long one and I was more than exhausted.
Right after I had taken a bath, I collapsed into bed and sank into a slumber, hoping that no one disappeared on this night.
When we reached Kuroba High School in the morning of the following day, most of the students had already arrived or were arriving just yet.
The secondary school regrouped both lower and upper high school students.
It was quite large, bearing several buildings, an outdoor playground and also, an indoor swimming pool. There was no cafeteria or gymnasium.
Just as Hatsu and I entered through the gate, there was an abrupt bedlam in the courtyard.
Several students began to form a mob and furious yells could be heard in the center.
Hatsu and I managed to wound our way through the crowd to see what exactly was going on and what we found was a male student poised on top of one of his peers and punching the latter's face.
'Admit it! It was you! Satoru-kun told it to me!' the angry boy shouted, furiously. The teenager beneath him didn't let himself get subdued though and began grappling with him.
Before they could hurt each other anymore, Hatsu and several teachers- who had rushed on the spot- separated the two boys.
And upon the director's arrival, the mob dispersed.
'Sorry that you had to witness this on your first day,' the principal told us, as he was walking us through the school corridors, a few minutes later.
'It's alright. It's not like we're really new staff members,' stated Hatsu.
When the latter talked about undercover, he meant getting enrolled in Kuroba High School under the cover of new personnel of the teaching staff with the approbation of the principal, such that we could investigate without attracting too much attention on us and keeping from creating panic amongst the teachers and students.
This was how Hatsu Sho has become the new coach and I, his subordinate.
'Does it happen very often?' he inquired.
'Not really. It's true that like all schools we have cases of delinquency sometimes but now that you've mentioned it, since the disappearances have begun, I have noticed that some students have become depressed or excessively aggressive towards their peers, professors and even with their family members.'
'Do you think that it could be related to our case?' I asked Hatsu and he became lost in his thoughts.
'Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, tell me, when will I have a boyfriend?' a female voice raised from the classroom we were passing by and I stopped by the door to look at the three girls which were sat around a desk, their forefinger placed on a coin that began sliding across a paper sheet to spell out the answer while they watched in breathless anticipation.
'I didn't know that schoolchildren still play this game!' exclaimed Hatsu as he paused down too, following my eyes onto the girls who were playing the famous scary game.
I had only heard of this game before but I had never played it. I was highly intrigued.
We set back walking immediately though, following the director to his office.
Apart from the latter and the vice-director nobody knew that we were on mission from Gushiken Paranormal Organization.
***
Later, on the outdoor playground...
'I'm not sure that it suits me,' I said, looking down at the mini short I was wearing. A loose long-sleeved pale gray t-shirt and white tennis shoes completed my outfit.
I preferred my hakama and hakamashita.
I glanced at Hatsu.
He was wearing a black tracksuit and a white undershirt. He had tied his hair up in a high pony-tail.
'A smile?' he said, with a large grin, taking something out of his pocket.
Out of the blue, I was blinded by a bright flash and I realized that it was a small camera Hatsu was holding.
'There! There! A nice picture of you in mini-short to show to Tsunan!'
I flushed up bright red. He isn't serious? He isn't going to show this picture to Tsunan!
I understood better now how he could blackmail the doctor. Hatsu was so full of resources!
'Hatsu!' I complained, trying to snatch the camera from his hand but because of our difference in height, he easily kept it out of my reach and giggled in amusement at my futile efforts.
'Now! Now! Time to get back to work!' he declared, when I gave up.
He shoved a cap over my head.
I reached up for it automatically, giving him a surprised look.
'You wouldn't want to get sunstroke, would you?'
He smiled widely, causing me to smile too.
Then, he turned away and blew the whistle hanging from his neck, calling for the students on the playground to regroup in front of him.
I watched him work, feeling a bit cynical as he seemed to take his role of "coach" very seriously, behaving like a real tyrant with the poor students, enjoying it as he made them sweat hard.
When I think that only this morning, he said that it's not like we're real staff members! He's really integrated himself into his character! If not downright!
'I'll go buy myself a drink!' I informed him after a while as I began to feel thirsty.
He nodded, distractedly, ordering the teenagers to accelerate the rhythm in a ruthless tone.
I shook my head, feeling pity for the poor guys, and strode off towards the drink machine close-by.
Open corridors connected the different buildings of the school compound. There was a drink machine by the main door of the swimming pool's building.
My eyes traveled the range of products available. There were mostly fruits drinks and dairy products.
'I'll go for a peach juice!'
I was about to insert my coin when a student girl ran up to me, calling for me to wait.
I paused, bewildered.
She inserted a coin, then a second, and pressed the button for a peach juice and a pear juice.
'Here you go! It's on the house!' she said as she held out the former to me.
'Oh, but I can't accept anything from a student!'
'I've brought it with the coin I've used to play Kokkuri-san!' she told me.
The coin she used to play Kokkuri-san? Yes, it's true that the coin needs to be spent before the end of the next day, the paper destroyed, amongst other rules. Failure to do so is said to result in misfortune and even death of the players.
She was one of the three girls of grade nine I had seen playing Kokkuri-san in class this morning.
'Alright, thank you!' I said, accepting the drink. 'What's your name?'
'Tsukine Ubaraki,' she replied and we both sat down to have our drinks while we watched the students exercising on the playground a small distance away.
'You're very meticulous with the game, Tsukine!' I pointed out.
'No one really takes it very seriously but we're never too careful!' she asserted, lifting her forefinger up.
I gave her a smile, before I asked her in bewilderment, 'And why aren't you with the others?'
She was in sports clothes but ever since the class had begun, she had remained seated in a corner.
'Oh, I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so I'm dispensed of sports for life!' she said, in a casual tone.
My eyes widened at her and I whispered, 'I'm sorry.'
'It's okay!' she reassured me but I didn't miss the small- almost unperceivable- catch in her voice.
I lowered my eyes, pondering over my own narcolepsy.
'Hatsu-sensei is giving my classmates a hard time!' she giggled then, her expression awkward, and I looked up at the blond male in the distance, acknowledging in a giggle, 'You've said it!'
A few minutes later, the bell rang announcing the end of the period and all the students seemed too happy that the course was over.
They were all moaning in pain as they were walking away.
Getting to her feet, Tsukine hurried away to catch up with her friends, calling at me, 'See you another time, sensei!'
'Yosh!'
I got to my feet too and walked up to Hatsu.
He was holding his forehead in disappointment by the performances of the students and he exhaled, 'Today's teenagers have really got nothing in the muscles!'
The day went by in a similar pattern and there still was no advancement in our investigation after we had personally interrogated the circle of friends and teachers of the disappeared. We hoped that by visiting one of their homes, we'd be able to find something.
After school ended, the headmaster announced to us that the parents of the last student whose gone missing, the Yoshihara, has accepted to allow Hatsu and I to visit their house.
We headed immediately to examine the scene.
The moment we came out of the school, Kōmori-san joined us.
Since animals weren't allowed in the compound, I had left it at our hotel in the morning. But apparently, the small flying animal has followed us and kept track on us.
I held it in my arms, petting its head affectionately.
'That little animal of yours seem to be able to understand everything!' stated Hatsu as he peered at Kōmori-san closer, bewildered. The animal shrank away.
'Yeah, sometimes I have the impression that it can understand everything that I say,' I admitted in a small giggle. 'Isn't that strange?'
Hatsu made a small shrug with his shoulders then and we set back walking, heading for the Yoshihara's place.
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Genkan - entrance area
Ofuro - bathing room