Case 2: The Stalker (Part II)

Following the boys from a decent distance, I saw them enter the school and switch out their shoes at the shoe lockers.

Feeling a buzz from my pocket, I hurriedly checked my phone. What are you doing? I didn’t say to follow them! Where are you?

I was about to write a response when a voice called out to me.

“Amari!”

Raising my head with a twitch, I saw an unexpected figure there: my very own homeroom teacher, Kamiya Akihiro.

He was a bespectacled man who probably looked much better in his younger days, but now, as a forty-something, he had balding hair and a prominent stoop.

“Uh… good morning, Sensei,” I said casually, glancing to the side. The two boys were about to leave.

“What are you doing here so early?” the man said, fixing the position of his glasses.

“Uh, no real reason…”

He looked at me suspiciously. I already had this feeling that he pegged me as some troublemaker in our class… Okay, maybe me and my buddy Sagara were a bit loud during classes sometimes, but it wasn’t that bad.

Kamiya kept surveying me through narrow eyes filtered by his glasses to the extent he looked a bit scary.

“Err… if you’ll excuse me, I need to…” I said, bowed a little and rushed off after the two boys who were just leaving.

As they turned toward the right corridor, I saw them facing off against an older boy.

“What took you so long?” the latter asked them, frowning heavily.

“S-sorry, Miyamura-senpai…” said one of them, scratching his cheeks. “I just thought I’d…”

“I told you to come to practice first thing! Seriously…”

“We did! W-we didn’t go anywhere else, really…”

Wait a minute… was that Miyamura?!

Oh, shit, I thought as I realized at the same time that I completely forgot about my phone.

Where are you?!

Hello?

I’m docking your snacks!

Yua’s furious messages came one after another (though I imagined her frowning really cutely while typing them).

Clicking my tongue, I turned on my heels and rushed the other way. This was a horrible start; I didn’t even mind that I saw Kamiya-sensei again and that he glared at me again, mumbling something to himself.

As I exited into the grounds again, I soon found the small detective. She was currently talking with a girl, and I trotted over to them.

“…Sorry, I missed it again,” I heard Yua say just as I caught up. She was standing in front of a girl dressed in her jerseys, her hair in a ponytail.

“Yo,” I greeted, raising a hand. “Did I miss something?”

Yua turned to me, clearly unamused. “You… it’s gone all wrong because of you!”

I raised my hands as if in surrender. “I’m sorry, I got carried away and ignored your orders… this won’t happen again.”

That actually seemed to satisfy Yua, because she nodded and gave me a brief smile. She probably wasn’t that strict of a boss.

“Um,” said the girl I assumed was the relevant Miyamura, tilting her head. “Is he related to this case?”

“Nah, he’s just my assistant.”

“Assistant, huh…”

“So… what’s going on?” I asked.

Yua turned to me again. “We’re so close. This morning, Miyamura-san noticed someone watching her from the nearby window of the school building, but the person escaped when they noticed her looking back,” she explained. “And since it was someone inside the school, we were too late…”

Meaning that it couldn’t have been those two boys I was following before. However, thinking about it…

“Say,” I said, turning to the other girl. “Your name’s Miyamura, right?”

“Yes?” she said.

“It’s just that… there’s another guy called Miyamura. Not exactly a rare name, though…”

“Oh,” said the girl. “That’s probably my cousin.”

Ah, so they were related?

Yua widened her eyes at this. “Wait, do you know Miyamura-san’s cousin?”

“Know? Nah, just saw him talking to some boys near the entrance. He was scolding them, I think.”

Yua made a soft gasp, and as I looked into her eyes, I saw the same phenomenon as yesterday: her pupils seemed to sparkle, looking like small stars.

While waiting for a client, she looked despondent and lonely. But the moment an opportunity—no, a challenge—presented itself, she was like a completely changed person.

“Near the entrance, you say? Amari-kun, any other information?”

I considered this. Although I wasn’t sure why this was even relevant, I answered. “Uh… he was angry, and the boys looked spooked out. Apparently they were supposed to come earlier? I think he thought they were getting into some kind of trouble…”

“Where did he come from?”

“The right wing.”

Yua snapped her fingers. “That’s it!” She turned to Miyamura again. “How’s your relationship with your cousin?”

The girl frowned. “Actually… he’s been busy for a while now. We used to talk a lot, but lately it feels as if he’s avoiding me… Wait, do you think it’s him?” she realized in surprise.

Yua nodded. “Yes. It fits, doesn’t it? Amari-kun did say he came from the right direction—meaning, from where we thought your stalker would be.”

“Woah,” I said. “Wait, her stalker is her cousin?” The other girl covered her mouth with a hand.

Yua’s expression transformed into a smile. “No, I think that’s the wrong conclusion to make here. In my opinion, he isn’t actually your stalker—but making sure the other boys aren’t! Amari-kun, you said he was scolding them, right? This might explain things.”

“Ooh!” said Miyamura, clapping her hands. “So Shuma-kun was actually protecting me this entire time? I did think he was acting odd… Thank you so much!”

“Ehehe.” Yua raised her nose with a smug smile.

I also gave a few small, fast claps. Well, for now it was little more than some speculation without any hard evidence, but I had the feeling she hit it right on the mark.

“How do you think I should approach him about this…?” Miyamura asked next.

“Sorry, that one’s out of my purview…”

The mystery was solved, and all’s well that ends well.

That made it clear, then. Yua’s passion in life was clearly in solving these mysteries, small and inconsequential as they were. Rather than engaging in relationships, she was instead indirectly helping others in theirs.

I gained some useful information about the heart of the girl called Shiomi Yua. In that sense, my first case was a success, bringing me that much closer to solving her heart.

I was going to make her fall in love with me no matter what.