Chapter 5 Part VI

That night, under Kushida's orders, everyone except for Sudou gathered in my room. Apparently Kushida had even invited Horikita, but it seemed she didn't want to join us.

"So. Has there been any progress, Kushida-chan?"

"There has been progress, yes, but I've also noticed something incredible. Ayanokouji-kun, can I borrow your computer for a minute?"

"Sure," I answered with a nod. Kushida went to my desktop computer, booted it up, and opened the Internet browser.

"Okay. Have a look at this!"

Kushida accessed what appeared to be somebody's blog. It was rather elaborate, too. Unlike some normal person's website, it had the sheen and polish of a fully-fledged business.

"Wait, is that a picture of Shizuku?"

"Shizuku?"

"She's a gravure idol. She was just featured in a young men's magazine."

There were many pictures of her. I certainly couldn't complain about her looks or proportions.

"Do you recognize her?" Kushida asked.

"Am I supposed to recognize her?"

"Look closely."

Kushida clicked on a picture of Shizuku's face. Ike took a long hard look at her, and then…

"She's cute."

"No, not that! This is Sakura-san, isn't it?"

"Kushida-chan, who are you talking about?"

"Sakura-san, from our class."

"Huh? No way, no way. Sakura-san? No, no, no, there's no way that's true." Ike laughed, but Yamauchi's expression stiffened.

"Hey, Ike… You know, when I actually get a good look at her, I…think she probably does look a little like Sakura."

"But she's not wearing glasses, right? And her hair is different."

"Those are simplistic ways to identify somebody…"

Although I hadn't made the connection at first, I realized that this was definitely Sakura. It seemed like Ike still couldn't believe it, though. He was still scrambling in confusion while looking at the screen.

"So Sakura is Shizuku? That's a lie, right? I mean, sure, there's a slight resemblance, but they're different people. I mean, look how crazy bright and happy Shizuku is. Right? Come on, Ayanokouji."

All of the pictures she'd uploaded were cute, so she seemed accustomed to taking selfies. However, I glimpsed one piece of incontrovertible evidence that proved Sakura and the idol Shizuku were one and the same.

"No, Kushida is definitely right. That's Sakura. Here."

I pointed to one of the pictures.

"You can barely see it, but the door to her dorm room is in this picture."

"It looks like the same as the doors in our dorm."

In other words, it was likely she'd taken that picture at school.

"Okay, so Sakura is Shizuku after all… I still don't understand the point."

"Good job noticing this, Kushida." I meant it. Even though there was a clear resemblance, I wouldn't have noticed without Kushida drawing our attention to it."

"When I saw Ike-kun reading that weekly magazine, I remembered something. I had the feeling I'd seen Sakura somewhere before," Kushida said.

"Oh my god, there's a gravure idol in our class! I'm so turned on!" Ike exclaimed enthusiastically, unable to hide his excitement. After such an undignified reaction, I imagined Kushida would want to pull away from him. Although she was kind to an almost reckless degree, I couldn't sense that kind of acceptance from her now.

"But just when Shizuku started to become really popular, she suddenly disappeared."

She lived a double life as an idol and a quiet, inconspicuous student at our school. Why had she wanted to create another life? It was like a coin with two very different sides.

<Illustration >

As 9:00 PM approached, it was just about time for our group to split up for the night. I saw them all off at my door.

"Kushida, I still have something I want to talk to you about. Can you stick around for a little bit?"

"Hmm? Something to talk about? Sure."

"Hey, Ayanokouji! What do you need to talk to her about, huh?! Don't tell me it's…"

I dismissed Ike's fears with a wave of my hand. But even after I said we were just going to talk about Sakura, Ike got really close and whispered into my ear that he didn't believe me. "If you do confess your feelings to her, I won't forgive you. You know that, right?"

You don't need to be so paranoid…

Like heck I was going to do that. Besides, even if I did, I'd get destroyed in one second.

"Seriously. If you're that worried about it, then wait in the hallway. We'll be done in a minute."

Ike immediately agreed to wait. He struck a pose and stretched himself to his full height, parking himself in the hallway right outside my door. After the guys had left, I started to tell Kushida about the conversation I'd had with Sakura that day.

"Oh yeah. So, about Sakura-san?"

"I was surprised when I found out that she was an idol, but I also kind of understood it. I wonder if that's her real personality?"

Though I'd avoided just stating this idea outright, I also thought that Sakura had a hidden side, just like Kushida. However, Kushida, who had a different understanding of the facts, had come to an entirely different conclusion.

"I think that…most likely, Sakura-san would say that her idol self is actually her false face. Well, I guess saying that it's false isn't right, either. I think that she's creating another personality with makeup."

"Makeup… So in other words, it's a persona?"

"Yeah. I think with the right pretenses in place, Sakura-san could even make herself smile in front of people."

Kushida sounded rather persuasive. There was something true about her words. But at that moment, I began to think about what Kushida had been trying to tell me during our last phone call.

"Hey. Back when we were talking on the phone, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Kushida's shoulders twitched slightly in response. It was like she hadn't remembered it until just now.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, our priority is to resolve this case. Besides, it's a personal request."

"A personal request?"

I found her wording enticing, but it seemed like Kushida needed help with something. I didn't really stand out in any way. I couldn't provide something that Kushida lacked. She could study, and she had ambition.

"I'm sorry. If I told you now, it'd just be a bother." She smiled bitterly and clasped her hands together in apology.

"Well, if things with Sudou turn out okay, could you tell me then?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

She turned and grabbed the door handle. However, she suddenly stopped, and remained perfectly still for a short while. Looking at her back, I had no idea what kind of expression she wore.

"Kushida?"

Something seemed a little off. After I said her name, Kushida turned and closed the distance between us. She stood on tiptoe, her heels lifting off the ground as she put her hand on my chest and brought her mouth close to my ear.

"If you listen to my request, Ayanokouji-kun…I'll give you my most precious possession."

It was like the whisperings of a witch. As if a sweet, yet potentially deadly fragrance had taken hold of my heart. I couldn't tell whether Kushida's smile was genuine or bitter as she whispered in my ear. The only thing that I knew for certain was that Kushida was no angel. As far as she was concerned, I didn't know how to feel. Most people had different sides to them, but in her case it was more pronounced, as if another person lived inside of her. This Kushida was just kind of creepy.

I couldn't tell at all what her game was, what she was thinking or what she wanted to do. I couldn't even tell where the girl called Kushida Kikyou had gone. The change was so stark that I even found myself wondering if she had a split personality. The gap was that huge.

When she drew away again, I saw that Kushida had returned to being the girl with the gentle smile. When she opened the door, she called to Ike, who had been waiting impatiently outside. Not even the faintest trace of that frightening Kushida remained.