Shiratori Haruto

“At the end of the day, no one even asked me what was up.”

My feet were walking up and down as I walked through the school ground surrounded by other students who were walking away from the school building from the back towards the gate at the front. My head was tilted down, my hands in my pockets. “I literally did no interaction with anyone else, except Miyamura-san. How is that even possible?” I looked at my feet walking front, and then back, and then front, as I walked. I tilted my head to the front, hearing the faint laughs of a group of girls. The group of three to four girls were chatting and laughing as they walked. “Oh man, really?” One of them said with tears in her eyes as she looked to her left at the other girls. I tilted my head down again. “No one came up to say hello, and everyone is busy on their own. It… felt like… like I was not even a part of the class.”

My eyes opened a little wide in shock as I remembered Hina’s smiling fair face with her two braided ponytails hanging in front of her chest, “Let’s talk after school today.”

“Oh yeah, we were supposed to meet today.” I tilted my head to the back, towards the bunch of groups coming out from the school, talking and chatting. I then tilted my head to the front. “Well, I guess I should wait at the school gate.”

***

Yashiro Kiyoshi

“So, sir, what have you decided?” I asked, sitting in front of the black wooden table full of a computer system and paperwork surrounding it, facing the old man with white hair and white beard and mustache sitting in front of me, reading the folder.

He moved the folder down and turned his head in the front towards me. “Well, this case… is truly unique.” He tilted his eyes at the folder on top of the table. “I guess I can now believe you when you said that with each new advancement made in the case, the case just becomes more and more… twisted.”

I nodded. “And sir, the public should know about this.”

“What will the public do if it knows about it?” He asked me, raising his left palm. “What possible precautions do you think you can possibly take to prevent this?”

I tilted my eyes a little down, thinking about the topic for some time. I remained silent as I thought. I then tilted my eyes up at the old man again. “I-I guess I understand you.”

“And, we don’t really have any information if this is happening with other people too. I guess we should inform the upper authorities for now, and when the talks will reach the federal government, we can discuss further about the future of this case. For now, I guess you should just silently continue with the case. It’s just a boon to us that this case arises here, out of all places, because if it must have been in Tokyo, the journalists would not have let it be as it is today.”

I nodded. “But sir, I… I don’t think I can continue with the case.” I tilted my head a little down. “In fact, I don’t think anyone can. Because… what should we possibly do?” I tilted my head to the front at him again. “Something in the case happens, and we start to get further findings, but… I never got anywhere on my own. It all just… happened on its own.” I tilted my eyes a little down in guilt.

He kept looking towards my tilted eyes for some seconds, and then said, “You might be feeling a little unworthy, since you can’t do anything in this case, right? But… what could you have possibly done?” I tilted my eyes to the front again, looking into his serious gaze. “I guess you did the best anyone could have done, waiting patiently, believing in Shiratori-san and giving her some mental support, and believing in this case. At last…” He smiled a little. “At last, who would have believed in such a case of disappearance?”

My eyes opened wide in trust. “Sir…”

“You’re my best bet on this case right now, Yashiro-san. Do the best you can.”

***

Shiratori Haruto

I looked at another pair of girls passing through the school gate and turning right as they talked with each other and laughed. I had my back tilted at the wall behind me, my face tilted down as I looked at my shoes. I tilted my head to the front at the two girls chatting as they passed from the front of me. I turned my head to the right, looking at the gate a step away from me. I then turned my head to the left as I looked at the backs of the two girls walking away. “Is Miyamura-san a part of some school club?” I turned my head to the ground again. “Well, she would have just told me then and never asked me to chat after school.” A second passed by, and then another, and another. “Maybe that might have slipped out of her mouth unintentionally.” There was no one around me. The school building behind me seemed so silent, just like the street where I stood. Another second passed by as I stood alone in that silent area. I suddenly remembered the bunch of students saying something to her as she was pulling her lunchbox out of her bag. I remembered her pulling it out and standing up, turning her head to the front at the girl in front of the group. “Did they say something about me to her?” I thought. I turned my head up and moved my back straight on my legs. “Well, whatever the case is. She’s not coming here anyways now.”