The Eccentric, the Beauty, and the Detective: Kiriki Junka's Mystery Log Volume 1 Chapter 17

Pre-chapter Eccentricities:

Go Hiromi’s Yoroshiku aishuu (Best Regards to Sorrow):

Junka does some “Jacket play” which is the art of dramatically half-removing one’s jacket.

“The two of them were reamed in the staff room. Minakawa aside, Aoyagi shouldn’t have raised a hand against a student. To think that the composed Aoyagi would do that…”

I agreed. Aoyagi-sensei was in charge of modern Japanese. Of medium build, the man had a harsh glint to his eyes. His hair was slicked back and he had some stubble. A brusque man in appearance, but it was just a thin veneer(oblaat) over his shy personality. He was a teacher who should have been loved by the students, but to then have a fight with one…

“It’d be interesting if it went to the PTA. I wonder what’ll happen,” Hisakawa was amused rather irresponsibly in the spirit of curiosity.

Junka had both hands behind his head.

Hinata came to 1, 3 after school for her appointment with Junka, but the first one to spot and then call out to the other was Junka.

“Yo, I was waiting for you Tatsuno-san.”

I, Junka, Nao, and Hinata were all present, bringing together a full assembly of the detective association in one room. Junka gestured for Hinata to take a seat.

“1, 1 had a conflict between teacher and student, right? We can talk about myself later, I’d first like to ask you about that, is that all right?”

“Are you interested?”

“No, I’ve just gotten tired of having only been studying recently. I’m bored and it seems like an interesting topic.”

Junka then dramatically half-removed his jacket three times, giving her a “best regards” Hiromi Go style.

Hinata ordained not to respond.

“Let’s talk about it, then. Our homeroom teacher’s Aoyagi Touru-sensei and Minakawa Gengorou-kun is one of our classmates. The following was reported by my friend Kagatani Manami, who was close to the scene,” Hinata spoke clearly, and without faltering, almost as if she was a newscaster, “Around the begining of lunch break, the two were in the old wing, conversing at a cross junction of a hallway on the third floor. It appeared that Aoyagi-sensei took Minakawkun outside, as the weather was good, and they talked amid a gentle breeze, however that idyllic scene was eviscerated by the incident that reared its head. The usually calm and composed Aoyagi-sensei grabbed Minakawkun by the collar for some reason. While Kagatani-san couldn’t hear them well, she was able to catch Aoyagi-sensei shouting, 'don’t mess around,' and 'do you realise what you’ve done?'”

Junka once more returned to his unmanly jacket play. The breeze he created even rustled Hinata’s bangs, but she didn’t play acknowledge it in the slightest.

Junka, maybe having given up, unpleasantly asked, “Where did Kagatani-san see this from?”

Hinata replied to his interruption without betraying any irritation with her face. A crow cried in the distance.

“She was just entering the junction. Kagatani-san and Kahara Akiji-kun were searching for a spot to eat together when they encountered the incident. Minakawa was looking away, half smiling when the exasperated Aoyagi-sensei smacked him in the face.”

I found myself letting out a groan.

“Aaah…”

Nao pressed the corners of her mouth as if she was mildly surprised, “Aoyagi-sensei hit him…”

Hinata seemed pained as she straightened out her bangs.

“Having been struck, Miyakawkun grabbed Aoyagi-sensei in a frenzy. Some other students spotted them as they tustled and quickly ran between them. Eventually some other teachers arrived and the once peaceful lunch break had turned into a scene of carnage.”

I gently questioned something I felt some doubts about, “Were the only two who saw it Kagatani-san and Kahara?”

“Yes. I heard that they were too afraid, too frightened and their legs would not allow them to move. Kaharkun is thinner than most, so he likely didn’t have the strength to get between Aoyagi-sensei and Minakawkun. The two just stood by and watched the fight from a distance.”

Junka suddenly raised an eyebrow at the details of the situation.

“I don’t know Aoyagi-sensei outside of modern Japanese, but he gives the impression of a sharp, calm man. It must have taken something big to get him to hit someone, not that I know what it was. Of course, it is bad to a teacher to do that. It used to be acceptable for that corporal punishment, but these days its all taboo.”

“That’s right. The two were taken to the principal’s office and thoroughly cross-examined. Minakawkun returned to class after that, but Aoyagi-sensei went home on grounds of being unwell.”

“I guess that’s his punishment, to stay at home for a while. What’s Minakawkun like, by the way?”

“He’s got no eyebrows and a buzz cut. His face is stern, and he seems rather strong. I suppose he is rather like a hooligan.”

Solidifying the image of him in my mind, I breathed a sigh, “You really picked a good one to smack, Aoyagi-sensei…”

Junka folded his arms, and voiced his opinion, “I see. Well, this is a school, so a lot happens… Thank you for your information. Now it’s your turn to ask something. Hmmm, what was it? Did you come to ask for details on my many brilliant eccentricities?”

“No,” unperturbed, Hinata continued, “It is in regards to the activities of the detective association up until now.”

“What? That’s boring.”

We then gave her all the details of the cases of the Tears of Blood, Broken Chalk, and Strange Customer, keeping the names anonymous, of course. Nao made a complicated expression when we told about the case of the Broken Chalk. It was probably not the most pleasant to have potentially used for Hinata’s article, though I suppose Nao was getting her just desserts.

Several days later, midterms had finally arrived, and I was exhausted after an all-nighter of studying. I received my test.

“Aaaah, even though I remembered it…” I muttered as I scratched my head.

I used the tip of my mechanical pencil to search out the correct answers to fill in.

In the end, I left eight questions unanswered when the bell chimed and all the tests were passed to the front. When the teacher left with the papers, the students relaxed, having their battle for the day behind them. There were those who stretched, those who flopped forward onto their desks, and those who straight away set themselves to compare answers with their friends. Looking to the side, I could see Junka looked at ease.

I went over to talk to him, “Could it be you get good grades?”

He did not respond. Looking closely, his eyes were blank. Waving both hands in front of his eyes first caused him to jump, startled, then blink furiously and finally turn his gaze to me.

“Ah, Rouji-kun, eh? The test was quite difficult so I stupefied myself.”

Don’t.

“So how’d the test go, Junka?”

Junka raised both his hands, “I’ve thrown up my hands. I kind of want to check to see if my answers were correct.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

I sat in front of Junka and spread out the printout with the questions.

It was twenty minutes after then. Junka and I had apparently made some horrendous mistakes, though he had understood the time-limit and filled in all the answers.

“I did fifteen points better than you in this section.”

The battlefield of checks and exes spread out before us on the test papers. The former having done better, he being Junka.

I found myself grinding my teeth a little, having lost to the one person I didn’t want to be behind.

“I ain’t losin’ tomorrow.”

It was a peaceful afternoon, with a gentle breeze wafting in through the open window. Only Junka and I were in the classroom. I placed my papers in my bag and stood.

“What’ll we do on the way home? Want to grab something to eat?”

Junka stood, too.

“Sounds good. There’s a grill that opened near the station that I haven’t been to yet. Let’s check it out together.”

We hungrily left the classroom when it happened: the resounding scream of a man having slammed into something hard.

“What was that?”

I turned around, the sound having clearly come from the direction of the classroom. Junka had already flown to the window, and was craning his neck up to look. Curious, I too followed suit.

Translator's Note:

Names, names, names, I have such a hard time remembering. I guess it makes sense since it happens to me with English, too…

Editor’s Note:

Filler

Chapter end