Case 12: First Date (Part III)

Hearing Yua’s declaration, I blinked a few times. “I beg your pardon?”

Looking to the side, I could see it—despite how Hitomi acted throughout this day, she was now dominated by anger, or perhaps just resignation. Her eyes were like black pits.

“…What’s the meaning of this, Shiomi-san?” she said. Unlike her eyes, her voice sounded normal, if a little strained.

Yua looked from me to her and back. “It’s a simple thing, really. Amari-kun, she’s not actually interested in you.”

I smiled. “Shiomi-san, are you jealous?”

“Hmph. Do you actually think so?”

“That’s a very rude accusation coming from you,” said Hitomi, then suddenly grabbed my arm. “I won’t let you steal Seiji-kun from me.”

Yua actually laughed. “Steal him? What a silly thing to say. If anything, you’re the thief here.”

“Why are you here?” asked Hitomi. “Why are you doing this?”

“You’re trying to drag this out for no reason to confuse both Amari-kun and me? That won’t work. But I already answered your question, anyway. I’m here on a job. Isn’t that enough?”

A job, meaning—someone had actually hired her to do this?

Or was this just an excuse?

Hitomi pulled my arm. “Come on, Seiji-kun. We’re leaving.” And she actually started walking away.

“I’m not done talking!” said the small detective behind us.

“Well, we’re not obligated to listen to you, right?” said Hitomi, urging me along. Her eyes still lacked any and all light and color.

This was really putting me between a rock and a hard place… I should listen to my current girlfriend, though.

“Three months ago,” insisted Yua, still following us even as Hitomi hastened away, “you came to me with a request.”

Oh, right. Come to think about it, Yua did mention something about Hitomi being a “repeat customer”.

Wait, did that mean what I thought it did?

“…Shut up,” she hissed.

“And your request was—”

“Shut up!” Hitomi raised her voice, but stopped in place.

“—For me to figure out whether Amari Seiji likes you.”

I stopped, too. In fact, I was so surprised that I detached from Hitomi and turned around.

“Is that true?” I asked her.

Hitomi bit her lips. “…Yes, it is.”

I turned back to Yua. “And what did you do?”

“The same I always do in cases like this, of course. I interviewed some people and watched you,” she explained.

Wait, three months ago?

But that was before I first met Yua.

Had I really missed her doing this sort of investigation behind my back? More importantly, what was Hitomi even thinking?

“And the conclusion was obvious,” Yua continued when Hitomi offered no argument. “Back then, since you were thinking about confessing to Takai Hana, you showed no signs of interest in Yokoo-san at all. Adding the fact that you were childhood friends into the mix, the result was obvious. So I told Yokoo-san my conclusion.”

“Who cares about that…! Yes, I gave up at the time. So what? Now, I finally gathered up my courage and did it. Why would you claim it’s all fake?” said Hitomi.

Her eyes were honestly scaring me a little.

“That’s exactly why I said it,” said Yua, wearing a daring smile. “It’s the timing. It just doesn’t make sense. You already knew he wasn’t interested in you. Not only that, but he was spending time with another girl. Consequently, that means that you’ve had another goal in doing this.”

“That makes no sense…”

“Oh, it does. I’ve been watching you interact during this date, you know. You were constantly teasing him… no, trying to instigate him to some sort of action. And then I realized. Your goal wasn’t having Amari-kun as a boyfriend. Quite the opposite, in fact. What you wanted was—”

“Stop!”

“—For him to reject you.”

Widening my eyes, I looked toward my ostensible girlfriend. Her eyes were shaking, but they regained their color.

And the proud detective stood in front of us, her eyes like a galaxy.

“That’s the truth behind the case, I’m afraid to say,” Yua explained, looking pleased with herself.

I, myself, looked toward Hitomi to gauge her response.

In fact, I noted that pretty much the entire crowd was now looking at us and grew a bit embarrassed, so I took immediate action.

“…Let’s get out of here,” I said quietly and grabbed her hand.

She did not resist and let herself be led outside. As expected, Yua joined us as well.

Eventually we were in a less crowded area near the mall, just the three of us. Hitomi wouldn’t look me in the eye this entire way. Nor did she now.

I spoke urgently: “Hitomi-chan, is all of that true?”

She bit her lips, but then… “Yes.”

I figured as much. Yua had her share of failures, just like during the sports festival, but that one wasn’t an issue of skill.

“Then… why?”

Hitomi’s eyes were slightly moist, and definitely vivid, as she turned them to me.

“You never approached me,” she said simply. “Not even once, during these three years we were in middle school… no, even before that… you never tried to…”

“It’s because I thought that…”

“Don’t friendzone me! Why was I the only one?”

Yua looked to be a bit puzzled by this situation; she might have sussed out Hitomi’s motives, but this didn’t necessarily mean she could understand the background behind everything.

To be honest, I didn’t want Yua present for this conversation.

So I hurriedly took Hitomi’s hand into mine, startling her a little. “Hitomi-chan, don’t you get it? I’ve always cherished you as a friend. That’s why I…” I stopped right there, letting the implications sink in. At least I hoped Hitomi would understand without me saying anything further.

Hitomi said she didn’t want me to “friendzone” her, but that was exactly it. She was a long-time friend of mine. Not a potential love interest.

—Not a challenge.

She didn’t cry or anything, but I almost wished that she did.

“Was that really all?” she said, her voice slightly quivering. And then she actually smiled. “But that’s not enough, Seiji-kun. I already told you—you have to understand what girls want on your own.”

I let go of her hand and took a few steps back. I gave Yua a brief glance; she was still watching us, her brows furrowed in deep thought.

What was this, some kind of show?

But it was time to end it.

“I’m sorry, Hitomi-chan. I think we should break up,” I said softly, lowering my head.

The other girl nodded. Her eyes regained their color. “Yes, I think so too. But why?”

Was this the closure that she sought ever since our middle school days? I really was an idiot, not realizing that.

“Because—”

There’s another girl I like.

I couldn’t say this answer out loud. Not right here, not right now.

“I know I’m the one who agreed, but I don’t really look at you this way… and besides, I’m not really looking for this kind of relationship right now.”

This answer was a complete and utter lie.

But it was also the best possible answer for the moment.

As evidence, Hitomi smiled at me. “Thank you.”

“…No, I’m not worthy of any thanks.”

“Nonetheless, thank you.”

My first date with Yokoo Hitomi ended with us breaking up. In that sense, it might have been my most disastrous date ever.

“And so another case is solved,” Yua said smugly from right beside us. Why was she still watching?

But that was fine. No hard feelings, really. If anything, it made me feel somewhat relieved.

Now, I could finally continue with my original plan.