Case 2: The Stalker (Part I)

The chirping of early-rising birds grated on my ears, but at least they helped keep me awake. I still had to stifle my yawns while making my way to school.

Since I—Amari Seiji—was a proud member of the Going-Home Club, I barely ever stayed after school, let alone come early for any sort of morning practice or whatnot, but something changed for me yesterday.

I found the reason for this change waiting at a spot near the school gate.

Shiomi Yua stood behind one bush, peeking ahead from time to time. Her hands were busy carrying what looked like small crackers to her mouth; she was nibbling on them slowly but furiously like some kind of squirrel.

“G’morning,” I greeted her with a raised hand, then using it to cover up yet another yawn.

Damn, I was really tired. Surely this had nothing to do with the fact I got so excited last night I’d barely slept!

The source of this excitement was in no small part due to this girl who looked startled to notice my approach.

“Not so loud…!” she hissed, placing a finger against her lips.

“Oh, c’mon, we’re literally the first ones out here, the gate isn’t even open,” I said as she glowered at me, but I did lower my volume.

Yua frowned. “This is a reconnaissance mission. If our target spots us, it’s all over!”

“…That’s fine and all, but all you’ve told me thus far was to come here early. I don’t actually know what you’re planning, so…”

Her expression softened. “Sorry, Amari-kun, this whole assistant thing is new to me. Hmm, very well. I need you to watch over the gate for now. We’ll keep in touch through our phones, and I’ll use this opportunity to go to—”

“Okay, but what are we even doing…?”

After taking another bite of her cracker, Yua spoke. “I’ve been on this case for a few days now. A student from Class 2-B is being stalked, and she asked me to investigate it.”

“Huh. Does your job often require this sort of thing?”

“You mean stakeouts? Obviously. Anyway, the issue is this: she noticed someone watching her morning practice, but by the time she rushed over, the stalker was already gone,” Yua explained. “Not that this stopped the guy. He moved to watch her from within the school, but no matter what she does, she simply can’t find him. Hence this stakeout.”

“So basically, you’re hoping to catch him in the act?”

Yua nodded. “Yes, which is why I’m glad I have you now. Do your best!” Saying that, she started walking.

“W-wait, where are you…”

“I’ll be going to the other side of the school,” she answered. “Two pairs of eyes can do double the work! We’ll catch him for sure today, so you watch over this spot here!”

“Wait up!” I called, but to no avail.

I just stood there, frowning. In truth, I was hoping to spend as much time with the small detective as possible, considering our new relationship. But well, there was no need to rush things anyway.

Left with no choice, I yawned again and started watching the closed gate.

How did things end up like this anyway?

It all started with my surprising and impulsive declaration that left Yua stunned.

“Wait, what?” she said, blinking. “My… assistant?”

“Yup,” I said with a smile. “You’ve blown me away with that demonstration of your abilities. Surely you have some use for a Watson?”

She regarded me with suspicious eyes, but I was telling the truth.

Well, kinda.

I really was impressed. While aiming at the beautiful flower on the mountain’s peak, I ended up discovering a side path with something perhaps not as pretty, but equally rare.

But I knew that simply confessing on the spot wasn’t going to cut it, so I decided on a different approach.

Meanwhile, Yua was thinking hard as she considered my words. “An assistant… I have to say that I’m not against it. After all, there’s only one of me, and another pair of legs can help me a lot… Not to mention people give me so many snacks that it’s sometimes hard to carry them around…”

I said I’d be her assistant, so why was she thinking about some sort of gofer?

Yua apparently reached a decision after mumbling to herself, because she snapped her fingers and then pointed one at me.

“Alright! You’re on a trial period, but I’ll hire you! And your ‘salary’ shall be 10% of any snacks I receive!”

…I had no interest in those snacks, though.

“That’s it?”

“Eh?”

While I definitely had no interest in snacks, the fact she was offering so little was a bit… No, it was just my mischievous streak getting the better of me.

“Sounds like you’re expecting me to do a lot of work; you’ve mentioned me carrying stuff for you. I bet you’ll use me as a messenger too, and so on and so on… Not to mention I’ll be doing this in my free time. You really think I’ll be satisfied with a mere 10%?”

“Eh? Eh? B-but my snacks…”

“Our snacks, right? We’ll be working together, after all.”

She looked so devastated it was hard not to smile. “E-erm… fine! You can have 20%, then,” she said gingerly.

I shook my head. “Really? So what, it’ll be like two chips instead of one?”

“Grr… I’m doing you a huge favor by accepting this in the first place, you know!”

“Hmm, I guess so. So you don’t really need me to carry all those snacks, then… Goodbye,” I said, turning around.

“W-wait!”

I stopped, trying hard to suppress my smile.

“I-I’ll go as high as 40%, alright?!”

“Hmm… how about 50%, though?”

“Hah, you sure have some guts to barter with me like that!”

—In the end, I somehow managed to talk her all the way up to 90%, but I felt bad for her, so I ended up accepting her initial offer after all.

Later, we exchanged phone numbers, and my first orders came that night.

Presently, it was very early and I was on my very first stakeout, desperately waiting for something interesting to happen.

Ajimu High was a private school with not too many students, but a decently-sized campus that included two sports fields and some other facilities—but it only had one main gate.

Before long, someone came to open the gates and students started arriving one after another.

Almost invariably, those coming so early were those who had morning practice or meetings for their clubs.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I took it out. I received a message from Yua.

Our client, Miyamura Hazuki-san, has just entered! Let me know if anyone comes in to follow her!

Come to think about it, I did notice a pair of girls entering, but since the great (or rather small) detective told me nothing about our client’s identity up to this point, I really had no way of knowing…

Also, how was I even going to know if anyone came in to “follow her”? Even now students were still approaching the gate.

It was then that a certain conversation drifted into my ears.

“…Won’t Miyamura be mad?”

“We’ll manage somehow…”

A pair of boys walked side by side, just close enough for me to hear those words. There was no mistaking that name, so I whipped out my phone again and sent a message.

I heard some people talking about Miyamura. I’m going after them, I typed in my phone and started walking.

This was my moment. I had to be proactive and make a good impression on Yua, after all!