Chapter 6 - 1.5

Chapter 6: Chapter 1.5

Even now, I remember

"That was how I met Bat—and the former ace detective."

Lengthy as it was, I'd finally filled Natsunagi in on the old memory Bat and I shared. If I was telling stories from four years ago, there was no way to avoid the topic of my former partner.

It had been a long time since I'd talked about her, and while not all the memories were good—for reasons incomprehensible to me—they put a smile on my face.

"I see... Okay. I understand your story, but, uh," Natsunagi said, surreptitiously sidling back, "doesn't that mean he's super-dangerous?"

She backed up all the way to the opposite wall, trying to put some distance between herself and Bat.

"Ah, hmm, well."

"Is that all you have to say? You're a pretty dangerous character yourself, Kimizuka."

Come to think of it, I hadn't filled Natsunagi in on my issues with getting

dragged into stuff...but she really should have caught on back when she found out I knew people on the police force and in prison.

"Also, I don't want a guy like him listening to my heart..."

Well, yes, she had a point. Having that nasty tentacle on her chest could be a devastatingly traumatic experience for an adolescent girl. I wouldn't want it happening to me, either.

"No, no. I can hear your heart just fine from here—and in fact, sweetheart, I've already identified it."

Bat guessed what Natsunagi and I were worried about and headed us off.

...But what had he said just now? Did he mean he already had an idea of who Natsunagi's donor was?

"Bat, are you saying you've met the owner of Natsunagi's heart?" "Yeah. That was the point of that old story."

It was?

The guy was making as little sense as ever. What could that story have to do with Natsunagi's heart? He wasn't saying her donor had been in the story, on that plane four years ago, was he?

"—Oh."

Behind me, Natsunagi murmured quietly. "What is it? Did you figure something out?" "...Well, it's just...I thought it was strange."

If we were talking "strange," Natsunagi had been strange from the moment I met her...but cracking a joke right now would have felt wrong.

"You see, I'm not actually the type who does that sort of thing." nove(l)bi(n.)com

"What are you talking about, Natsunagi? You've been acting kind of weird for a while now."

"You're right. I am weird. Sometimes I don't understand why I do certain things—it's like I stop being myself." Natsunagi's usual composure had vanished, and she was hugging her shoulders slightly. "I mean, I'm not the type who'd do a thing like that to a boy I'd just met."

Was she talking about what had happened in the classroom the previous day? That she wasn't actually that audacious?

In that case, what had pushed her to do it? Well, I had talked to her about

something similar the day before.

"Memory transference—that's what you said, Kimizuka. Remember? That means I wasn't the one who did that. I bet the owner of this heart made me do it."

By that logic, before they died, Natsunagi's donor could do "that sort of thing."

Someone who didn't care about shame or their reputation or the means, as long as it was for an end they believed was right.

I knew just one person who could pull off such a trick. And that person—had died exactly a year ago.

...No. Don't tell me.

A coincidence like that would never happen. That's just ludicrous.

Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. My hands and feet grew numb, and my teeth chattered.

Stop it. Please stop. Don't follow me anymore. I'm not your partner now.

Isn't that right?

You're already dead, aren't you?

"Denial isn't a good look for you, Watson."

When I looked up, Bat was gazing at me with those cloudy eyes. Like he was telling me not to close mine.

"This is the answer."

The sharp tentacle I'd seen that day emerged from Bat's ear. Still that grotesque shade, as if someone had mixed dozens of paint colors together, and that sickening slug-like way of moving.

"Don't do it, Bat." "Do what?"

"If you kill someone, you'll hang for it."

"Right. If," Bat said. "But you know I can't kill her with this, don't you?" "Stop!"

The tentacle sharpened into a spike, took aim at Natsunagi's heart, and—a few centimeters before it touched her, the tip crumbled away.

That phenomenon triggered a memory for me.

It was something a certain someone had said, four years ago:

"Your tentacle will never be able to attack me again."

Anyone who was hit with that blood became absolutely unable to defy their master, she'd said.

Bat's tentacle hadn't been able to attack Natsunagi...or to be precise, the heart that was inside her. That meant—

"Siesta, is it you?"

The nostalgia I'd felt in that sunset classroom, when Natsunagi had held me in her arms—the trigger had been the heartbeat of my worst and dearest former partner. I'd met her again for the first time in a year.

"The moment you walked in, I had assumed that girl was your partner."

Now that he mentioned it, when we'd shown up, Bat had gotten oddly nostalgic... Had it been because he'd heard the sound of his mortal enemy's heart?

Bat couldn't see, so when he'd heard that heartbeat, he'd mistaken Natsunagi for Siesta. Was that why our conversation hadn't gelled at the beginning?

I saw Ms. Fuubi's reflection deflate in the rearview mirror.

Sorry, but I'll leave smiting the pseudohumans to you people. I'm not going to drag Natsunagi into this. I won't let you make her Siesta's replacement.

"Kimizuka..."

When I glanced to the side, Natsunagi was gazing at me, stunned. "What's wrong?"

"...Nothing."

Before long, she shook her head slightly. "—Thanks!"

She smiled, like a flower bursting into bloom.

"Ahhh, well, that was a lot."

After Ms. Fuubi had dropped us off outside the station, I stretched.

I swear. My first proper job in a year...and to make matters worse, it unexpectedly dredged up a bunch of past trauma and random other stuff. I felt like I'd just gotten the beating of my life.

"Is it my fault?" Natsunagi peered into my face, unusually apologetic. "I didn't say that. As a matter of fact, I'm grateful to you."

"Huh...?" Her already large eyes grew even wider. "Thanks to you, well, uh..."

Hmm. Even I couldn't put it into words very well. But when I met Natsunagi, then ended up facing my past again...

"I started thinking it wasn't okay to stay like this." Or at least, I think I did. I can't say for sure just yet.

"If so, then I—" Natsunagi bit her lip. She seemed to be thinking hard. What was it? Was she still worried about something?

I considered asking, but then— "Thanks for today."

—I turned to go, pretending I hadn't noticed anything. After all, I'd already taken care of Natsunagi's request.

There was no need for me to be involved with her anymore. We should cut ties here and now.

Needless to say, Natsunagi and I weren't lovers, and I'm sure we weren't even really friends.

Detective (stand-in) and client—that was all our relationship was. Now that the request was cleared up, we had no relationship at all.

Which meant I needed to leave Natsunagi quickly.

She'd managed to get a new life. That meant she shouldn't be bound by Siesta.

And since I could become a trigger that made her think about Siesta, she shouldn't get involved with me, either.

"See you around." With those thoughts in my mind, I took a step toward the station's ticket gate—

"Wait."

—or tried to, until slim fingers caught my right hand. "...What's the matter, Natsunagi?"

"No, um..."

Her fingers were still closed around mine. Her eyes were on the ground; she was opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then closing it again.

I knew what she wanted to say, what she was trying to be kind enough to say.

But I couldn't let her.

This was her life. I couldn't make her shoulder someone else's burden.

Over our silent heads, an idol song was blaring from the huge screen outside the station. It was probably some sort of promo video. A middle school girl was singing a pop song, winking flirtatiously at the camera. It was also making the silence about 20 percent more awkward.

"If you don't have anything to say, I'm leaving."

"...You're kind of a jerk, Kimizuka." That was the third time she'd said that to me.

Yeah, I know. Something really glitched out when my personality was created. Sorry about that.

Leaving Natsunagi behind, I made another attempt to head for the ticket gate, when—

"Excuse me!"

—somebody else showed up and stopped me again.

I glanced to the side. Natsunagi was there. She'd tilted her head in confusion. It hadn't been her this time.

I looked down slightly, and then the owner of the voice came into view.

It was a middle school girl. Her face was half-hidden by a hood, but the eye that peeked out at me was shining a bit too brightly, and the aura around her couldn't possibly belong to an ordinary person.

Actually, I got the feeling I'd seen her somewhere before...

Natsunagi and I both looked waaay up, and a very familiar-looking idol was still singing her song on the giant screen.

"Um, actually, I'm an idol singer."

Hey, come on, I just finished a job. Why are clients showing up back-to- back like this? ...Wait, if there is a reason...

I looked over at Natsunagi—at her heart.

As it turned out, my sixth sense was right on the money. "I have a problem I'd like an ace detective to solve!" Goddammit. So I have to explain this whole thing again?

"Sorry, I'm not actually a detective..." But then—

"Yes, I'm sorry; the slacker here is only an assistant."

—Natsunagi sent me a quiet, significant look. She was telling me, This is the path I've chosen.

"Huh? Then..."

"It's all right, though."

Natsunagi spoke to the bewildered idol. To her new client.

"If you need a detective, you've found one. I'm the ace detective—Nagisa Natsunagi."

The detective is already dead. But her last wish will never die.