The house was still brimming with boxes, but unpacking had been abandoned for the night. Himiko and the boys were in bed, at least pretending to sleep, while Kaho, Kikiyo, Ichigo, Mrs Aigawa and Taiga glared down at a game board on the dining room table. Their gazes flickered from the board to each of their fellow players. Mrs Aigawa moved her little white token to the centre of the board.
"I accuse Mr Midori, the caretaker, of killing Mr Kuroshita in the bedroom with the lead pipe!"
Kaho's eyes flickered to her yellow token, to her cards and then to her sheet. Mr Midori was right, she knew that much, Kikiyo had Ms Mori, and her mother had Ms Shirogane, and Taiga was using the blue token, so, theoretically had Ms Aoyama. Kaho also knew for sure that Taiga had the gun card.
Her mother peeked into the yellow envelope, swore and put it back down. She snatched the token for Ms Shirogane from the board. She'd been wrong. Kaho narrowed her eyes.
Taiga rolled next and also placed his token, the blue one for Ms Aoyama in the centre of the 'Clue' board. He cleared his throat, "I accuse the caretaker of killing Mr Kuroshita in the garage with the candelabra."
He was wrong. Kaho had the garage card in her hand.
Taiga looked in the envelope and swore. He got up from the table and dramatically stomped to the kitchen where his mother was nursing a half-full glass of wine. Taiga grabbed a can of beer from the fridge and clinked his can against his mother's wine glass. They remained spectating. Weren't they meant to keep answering questions? Kaho never remembered the rules. Her Uncle Ginza was really good at this game, they never made it this far. Usually, he guessed correctly before she'd even narrowed it down to one person.
It was Kaho's turn again. Had her mother been correct in assuming Mr Midori had committed murder in the bathroom? And why was she so sure it wasn't Mr Murata? She rolled the dice and moved the figurine to the kitchen and looked up at Kikiyo.
"Was it Mr Murata in the bedroom with the lead pipe?"
Kikiyo slowly shuffled her cards and handed it to Kaho under the table. Kaho peered up at the card. The lead pipe.
Kaho pursed her lips. Kikiyo rolled and moved the red token from the kitchen into the garage.
"Was it Mr Midori in the bathroom with the rope?"
Ichigo looked at her cards, "I cannot answer."
Kaho shrugged, "I cannot answer."
Taiga looked over at the girls and stuck his tongue out, "I can't answer either."
"I can't answer," Mrs Aigawa added.
Kikiyo's eyes flickered to Ichigo, the closest player to the centre square. She rolled and moved her token to the centre.
"I accuse Mr Midori of killing Mr Kuroshita in the bedroom with the rope!"
She reached into the envelope and slammed her fist on the table. She'd been wrong, too. Kaho rolled and moved her token toward the white centre square. She didn't quite make it. Kikiyo did too. She got closer than Kaho had done. Both girls crossed their fingers.
She knew Taiga had had the gun card for sure. Kikiyo had the lead pipe. Kaho had the wrench. Ichigo had never mentioned the candelabra. Nobody had the rope. That meant it must have been the dagger! Kaho and Kikiyo each let out a little squeak.
Kaho rolled a five. Just what she needed. She landed on the centre square.
"I accuse Mr Midori of killing Mr Kuroshita in the bedroom with the dagger!" Kaho exclaimed, opening the envelope.
"Yes!" Kaho cheered, "I win! I win! Just call me Sherlock!"
"Damn," Kikiyo said with a huff, slamming her cards and token back in the box, "Screw this. I'm going to bed."
"You're a sorer loser than Taiga!" Kaho laughed.
On Monday, Kaho had walked to school with Kikiyo and Ichigo, foregoing Taiga's offer of a lift. They were all tired, aching and sore from the move, but they would have been far worse for wear had the basketball team not helped. The girls had offered to pay for dinner, a few boxes of Pizza from the Western restaurant on the other side of town, but in the end, Taiga forked over the cash before Kikiyo rummaged through her purse for the correct change.
She and Ichigo, and their brothers were still settling, but the boys were certainly more resilient than they'd expected. They played Mario and with Himiko's toys, comically large 'Barbie' dolls came crashing into a race course of speeding cars, and had to be taken down by superheroes.
It must have been good for Himiko. Her older siblings were so much older than her, due to their mother's constant struggle to conceive and carry to term. But suddenly, Himiko was suddenly among kids she could play with and relate to.
They'd all gone to school together, holding hands. Just like Kaho, Kikiyo and Ichigo, except without the hand holding.
"I need to thank your mum again for the lunch. Oh my god I haven't had anything this good for lunch in ages!" Kikiyo said.
"I'm glad you said it, Keeks," Ichigo said, elbowing her sister in the ribs, "You worked really hard but to be able to afford mangoes! Mangoes!"
"You don't even like them that much," Kikiyo said, narrowing her eyes.
"You never know what you're going to miss until it's gone!" Ichigo declared. She saluted Kikiyo and Kaho, gesturing to a side street, where a box-blonde was waiting, wearing chunky headphones.
"Mayumi is waiting for me, see you later!"
"Remember, you have to come home with us tonight! We need to get keys cut!" Kikiyo shouted.
Ichigo was already halfway across the road. She put her thumb up and proceeded to walk with her friend.
Kaho turned to Kikiyo. She smiled and shrugged, turning her head and glancing at the convenience store on the corner. She gestured to the neon sign declaring it was open for business. Kaho nodded and the two girls headed inside. Some students from Hanagawa High milled around the store, collecting snacks and fizzy drinks. Kikiyo beckoned Kaho to the back of the store, where the slushie machines whirred bright bold syrups and ice in typhoons. Just the look of the crushed ice set Kaho's teeth on edge.
Beside the slushes was a small display of fresh fruit that paled in comparison to the size of the slushie machines. Kikiyo plucked a peach from the display and squeezed it. It was firm between her fingers.
"I haven't had peaches in ages, sorry."
"You don't need to apologise, Kikiyo. Not for wanting to spend your wages on stuff for you," Kaho said. She reached over and squeezed Kikiyo's hand.
Kikiyo looked from Kaho to the peach, to the rest of the store. She turned on her heels and rushed to where there were already tonnes of fellow students,plucking their desired sweet treats and candies from the stacks. She reached over a first-year's shoulder and plucked a singular matcha 'Kit Kat' from the rack. She pointed it at Kaho.
"Want one?"
Kaho shook her head.
Kikiyo shrugged, "Remember on Friday, I was studying with Tsumugi?"
Kaho nodded, "It was hammering down, and we were at the lockers."
Kikiyo nodded, heading to the till to pay for her peach and 'Kit Kat', "So she got a note that evening from that person who keeps leaving her compliments, but, it turns out,"
Kikiyo shut up as she reached the front of the queue. She handed her items over to the clerk, a bald, frail man with square glasses and big purple bags under his eyes. He grunted at her and opened his hand for her coins. She handed them over, and he passed her back her snacks. Kikiyo bowed her head politely, with a quick 'thank you' and turned back to Kaho.
"Like I was saying, turns out that Tsumugi opened her shoe locker that morning and there was one of these in it! How strange!"
"Really strange," Kaho furrowed her brows, "Was it Ma- The Anonymous Compliment Person?"
"Wait," Kikiyo said, "Do you know who it was?"
Kaho shook her head aggressively. She hadn't meant to mention Maki. After all, if Maki made her intentions clear with Tsumugi it might ruffle her feathers. It took a while for Emi and Maki to gel properly after Kibata Mae disappeared, and Maki quit being so mean and snippy, right when the letters arrived. It seemed that her letters were about Tsumugi to some capacity, because she was the only person Kaho had heard about getting those positive notes in her shoe locker.
"I just noticed that a while ago Sato Emi and Ito Maki had those waiting for them on their desks earlier this term."
"What a weird coincidence," Kikiyo said.
"I don't know if I believe in coincidences anymore, Keeks."
"So I'm Keeks to you now?"
Kaho's cheeks burned. She lowered her head, "I'm sorry if that's overstepping, I-"
Kikiyo giggled, elbowing her in the ribs, "I was teasing! Of course you can call me Keeks! You could call me anything you wanted. I live with you now."
The girls linked arms and walked up the steeper part of the hill toward the school gates. They were still early, there was a good half an hour before the warning bell, and the gates were in sight, but some of the older students were milling about.
She caught sight of Naoru, Naseru's older brother, as they crossed the threshold into school property. He was sitting on a low wall, swinging his legs, his blazer unbuttoned, tie loose and shirt untucked. He was talking to some of his volleyball teammates. Fumiko must have been in basketball practice, keeping Taiga from scaling the hoops, and actually doing her job as the manager.
Naoru didn't look at her. She didn't expect him to. They were barely acquaintances. Mariah was nowhere to be seen. Probably already upstairs with Mamoru. Kikiyo and Kaho headed to the shoe lockers. Kikiyo's eyes were trained on Tsumugi's locker, like she was trying to open it with her mind, and see if her Anonymous Compliment Person had struck already, or if they weren't on the premises. Kaho could see her. Maki was very slowly untying her outdoor shoes in Kaho's periphery. Kikiyo tugged on Kaho's arm and gestured for them to go upstairs, leaving the aisle clear for Maki to drop a message in if she wanted to.
Were her letters telling her to do this, or was it more her own interpretation of what they said? Kaho couldn't help but wonder if Tsumugi would think it was one big prank at her expense if Maki was unmasked. Perhaps there were better ways for Maki to show Tsumugi that she realised the wrong she had done and wanted to be better. Maybe she was afraid she'd think they were empty words. If the shoe was on the other foot, and it had been Kaho at the end of Maki's cutting remarks, she wouldn't be willing to extend the hand of friendship like that. Maybe Maki knew that too.
The hallway was already congested, filled with early risers. Most were crowded around the door to Class 2B. Kaho and Kikiyo slipped past them to their usual haunt; Class 2A, where Mamoru was sitting, his lilac hair cascading past his ears, and glasses barely clinging to the tip of his nose. He was reading a detective novel. Mariah was sat on Kikiyo's desk, talking over him at Ryota.
"You're already done with practice?" Kaho asked.
Ryota nodded, running a hand through his hair, "Taiga, I mean Coach said he needed to sort the last few things out for our trip this weekend."
Kaho sighed, she'd forgotten about the upcoming trip. Although the whole team had given oral consent, they still had to do all the paperwork. Something Taiga seemed to leave to the last minute. Probably because in his heyday as a Kenjoku Kaiju, he could just rent a van with his team of consenting adults and disappear into the wilderness if he saw fit. She wondered if they were going somewhere he had visited before, or if it was a new experience for them all.
Ryota beckoned Kikiyo over and slung an arm around her shoulder, "How are you liking the new pad?"
"I-" Kikiyo said, "I'm just so grateful, you know. It's like the world keeps levelling itself with those small acts of kindness – not that I'm writing your mother's action off as a minor thing because it really isn't but like, don't you think this is it? The start?"
Mariah nodded, "It's weird, like, the student council did a collection the other day for Nakamura Sensei's transport and they raised more than a handful of coins. They made an actual difference with those buckets."
"Yeah," Mamoru nodded, thoughtfully. He put a galaxy print bookmark on his page and closed the novel. He rested his chin on his hand and let out a slow, easy breath, "You've got to wonder, you know, if the good that we're doing for each other is actually helping curb what's ahead, but at the same time, you can see it. Take Tsumugi for example. She's losing her mind over that person who keeps leaving her compliments. She was so down before."
"Do you think someone might have had a letter about what could have happened to her?" Mariah asked.
Mamoru shrugged, "I mean, she was clearly depressed. Maybe she started taking medication, but maybe it was a change someone consciously made to be better, and consequently Tsumugi's sparkle came back."
"I don't know about Tsumugi and who is doing that for her," Kaho lied, "But what I do know is that stuff seems to be improving with the mission my Future Self gave me, I actually have hope that I can do it."
Mariah got off Kikiyo's desk and gave Kaho a hug.
"I know you can," Mariah said, "We all do."
When the girls broke apart, Kaho sat at one of the desks by Mamoru and Kikiyo's tables, leaning on the table to chat. They mostly discussed the move over the weekend, and how now Kikiyo was free of her mother's house, and the rent was unpaid, maybe the landlord and the cops could track her mother down. Kikiyo shrugged.
"Even if they did, I don't know what I'd say to her. The desperation I felt when the boys would say they were hungry was gut-wrenching. They never understood. Maybe they will one day, but if Mum came back, they'd probably be over the moon. The thought makes me feel sick."
Mamoru reached over and put a comforting hand on Kikiyo's shoulder. She sighed, reached into her blazer pocket, and produced the matcha 'Kit Kat' and took a triumphant bite. Kaho smiled.
At practice that evening, Kaho couldn't take her eyes off Naseru. It was his fourth day of servitude to the basketball team and he had been begrudgingly roped into throwing a ball in for a practice tip-off for Yamada and Captain Hirano after an ill-timed trip to the bathroom. It was the most he'd done in practice since he'd punched Ryota the previous Tuesday.
The gym was filled with small groups practicing their respective skills. Yamada needed to get better at tipping off, if not for this season, then for the following year. Meanwhile Ryota was working on his backboard pass, or more accurately, having someone successfully catch it without falling over. Sunada had managed to stay on his feet, but the force of the ball hitting him in the chest had knocked the air out of him. Kaho had dragged Mariah and Kikiyo along with her to practice, since Ichigo had asked if she could hang out with Mayumi and some of her other friends. She would text when she was done and Taiga would take them all home via somewhere to get some keys cut. It wasn't fair to force Ichigo to cut her evening short. Not when she was just getting the chance to be a teenager again.
The three girls were attempting to block jump shots from varying points on the court from some of the other team members, Konoishi, Tomohiro and a handful of first-years that weren't playing on a half court. The gym was hectic.
But the room was silenced when Omura opened the door. He was in his school uniform, having missed last period and most of practice for a hospital appointment. A crisp sheet of paper was in his fist and the grin on his face was unmissable. He pumped his fist in the doorway and the team abandoned their drills to tackle him. Omura toppled to the floor, the whoops and cheers filled the room. He'd had the all clear from his physiotherapist to play in the upcoming season.
The boys huddled around Omura, jumping around, standing on each other's toes, whooping and cheering. He was off the bench.
"I don't know how much of the actual climbing and rugged wilderness stuff I can do," he said once he released himself from the team's collective grasp. He rummaged in his schoolbag and handed Fumiko a copy of his letter. The crumpled one went to Taiga.
Taiga clapped Omura on the back, "You ready to do some stamina training."
"Absolutely not," Omura grinned, "Matsushita said you're a tyrant."
"Did he now?" Taiga said, clapping Omura on the back again. He turned his head with a shit-eating grin. Matsushita grimaced and backed away from his court. He bolted and cowered behind Eiji, who slid to the left.
Taiga beckoned Matsushita over. He slunk over.
"Matsushita, you will be joining Omura with some endurance drills. Laps. Now."
Matsushita flipped Omura off. Omura flipped him off in return. Both nodded at Taiga. But as they began to jog, they jostled each other, giving each other little shoves.
"That's such good news," Fumiko said, "I'm so glad he can play. He's such a key part of the team."
Kaho nodded, her eyes flickered across the court to Naseru. He, notably hadn't joined the rest of the team congratulating Omura on his all-clear. But there was a distinct lack of impassive stoicism on his face. He looked pleased. Maybe it was her imagination, but he seemed pleased enough.