The Eccentric, the Beauty, and the Detective: Kiriki Junka's Mystery Log Volume 2 Chapter 3

At break, Junka tilted his head upon hearing the gist of things.

“That's odd. Why would Yamakawsenpai be unable to say why he'd rejected Tachibansenpai?”

“It makes me angry. How do you feel as a fellow boy?”

Nao was irritated. While she'd been nervous on the way there, once the talk started, her questioning was ferocious. She was probably remembering how Yamakawsenpai's vague answer had bothered her.

I voiced a sudden thought, “Could he be gay?”

Surprisingly, my arbitrary words were taken seriously by Junka.

“That's a possibility. Uhuh, that'd make his reluctance make sense. He can't come out, so he just says that he's the problem, eh? It's a good point, Rouji-kun.”

I was both glad and embarrassed at his praise. I looked away with a burning feeling in my ears.

Nao got excited without noticing my blush.

“Wow! That's gotta be it. Good work, Suzaku-kun.”

It wasn't bad being praised by the object of my affections. It was as I saw a mirage of myself becoming a genius.

“I wouldn't go that far…”

The first bell rang as I rubbed a finger under my nose.

“He's gay?” Tachibansenpai nearly swooned upon hearing our report.

“So Yamakawkun's a homo.”

“There's no proof, but the possibility is high.”

At lunch, Junka, Nao, and I all went to 2, 1 to express our findings. We had taken her away from her lunch with her friends into the hall, and spoke softly amid the wafting scents of the lush greenery beyond.

“Which one's Yamakawsenpai?” asked Junka as he peeked into the class.

“That one, see?”

He was eating lunch with his friends by a window.

“Hmmm, quite unremarkable, eh.”

I tried shooting a question at Tachibansenpai.

“Have you noticed any fruity behavior from him?”

She scratched her chin.

“For the past two months, nothing that seemed like he was drawn to men… you.. sure about this?”

I was less certain than I had been.

“Well, there's the possibility, which is why…”

“So there's no certainty.”

Tachibansenpai was a little frustrated.

“Well, it's fine anyway, since I, like, got a new person I like.”

“You're a little too quick on the recovery there, Senpai,” blurted Nao.

“It's one of my strengths.”

She flashed her pearly whites.

“Thanks for everything, detective association. I'll definitely pay you back, so look forward to it.”

That was the end of the request. As we had completed it without Junka, he gave us his blessing.

“I'll have you treat me to some high grade sushi and puns.”

Why were we the ones supposed to treat him?

One day had class end at noon, and Junka and I spent our long after school hours in an arcade. Nothing was more fun for a lover of games such as myself than testing my skills outside.

“Hey, Rouji-kun.”

Junka stopped me by grabbing my sleeve as I headed down a narrow alley towards a fighting game machine.

“What's this, all of a sudden?”

Junka signaled to a corner, and I almost cried out in surprise.

Yamakawsenpai was enjoying a crane game, but not alone. With him was a very cute girl. She had almond shaped eyes, and at a glance I could tell she was full of life.

Junka and I hid in the shadows to observe them.

“Is that girl in high school? Her age doesn't seem far off, and they get along quite well…”

Junka shook his head.

“This basically ruins the credibility of the gay Yamakawa theory.”

Yamakawsenpai won a stuffed black cat, and gave it to the girl who rejoiced. Seeing that caused Yamakawsenpai to smile too. He patted her head, and the two merrily exited the shop.

“We follow, Rouji-kun!”

“Uh, ye-yeah…”

And so we tailed them. They took a rest at a coffee shop, and then headed to a western accessory store. I got told off a few times by Junka when he denied his hobbies did not include following people.

“You'll get caught if you do that, Rouji-kun.”

“Shut it, I get it already.”

With the rays of the setting sun reflecting across all creation, the two finished their shopping and boarded a train.

Junka whispered to me, “Yamakawsenpai knows your face, so ride in the next car, please. I'll stay in their car and text you to know when to get off.”

I stood confused in the train, phone in hand, waiting for the signal. Soundlessly, in the dusk light, the moon had descended into the sky. The train stopped twice.

My phone vibrated at the third stop, and I confirmed the message:

“Disembark. I repeat, disembark.”

He didn't need to repeat anything.

I entered the station, and walked toward Yamakawsenpai as he went through the ticket gate. I leaned close to Junka.

“Seems like he's going home.”

“Sounds right. That's it for the date spots here.”

The two seemed to enjoy their talk as they walked. I thought silly thoughts about how nice it would be for Nao and I to be like that as lovers. The two stopped at a house just as the sun set behind the mountains.

Wait, weren't they a couple? I was confused.

Junka, on the other hand, was composed, calm, and filming them on his phone.

They opened the door, and almost simultaneously declared, “I'm home!”

Then they disappeared inside.

Junka swung the camera around to capture the nameplate that read Yamakawa.

“Looks like they're siblings.”

The following week, Junka, Nao, and I confronted Yamakawsenpai at lunch on a rainy day.

After Junka confirmed nobody was in the hallway nearby, he suddenly burst out with, “You're in love with your sister, aren't you, Yamakawsenpai.”

It was a sight to behold as Yamakawsenpai's ultimate secret was revealed. His face went dark, his limbs began to quiver, and his breath stopped. With his next breath, he had the eyes of a criminal condemned to death.

“How did you know?”

Junka nodded.

“There it is. Your strength is that you don't lie and are honest and straightforward, right? Does this mean you are confirming it?”

Yamakawsenpai had his hand on his neck, but that would not be enough to retract his next words.

“Yeah… that's right. And?”

“To be honest, we saw you on a date with your little sister earlier. You were just like lovers. We'd thought you might be gay, but…”

“Me? Gay?”

Yamakawsenpai's gaze shot through Nao and I. I wanted to hide.

Junka cleared his throat.

“That aside, you had been rather vague about your rejection of a girl, but this time we found the truth. There someone you liked, only she was your own little sister. You'd need to hide such a relationship between close relatives, Yamakawsenpai. You knew from the start, but deceived yourself…”

“What, it can't be helped!” his sharp voice cut him off.

Having surprised even himself, Yamakawsenpai continued in an attempt to smooth things over, “It can't be helped, can it? I love my sister, I love Ayumi. I love her more than any other woman.”

Nao looked at him with a mix of distaste and comprehension, “Is Ayumi-san aware of this?”

“No, she doesn't. I can tell she hasn't noticed.”

“Then please give up,” came what amounted to an order from Nao.

Translator's Note:

Siblings getting along=incest apparently. I'm not sure why, but the Japanese have a special imagination when it comes to brother-sister pairs. I tend to brag about, and get along quite well with, my family, so I've had people in Japan tease me about my good relationship with my sister. I once, when I was younger and less mature, made the mistake of complaining about her once without mentioning she was my sister, and somebody told me to ‘break up with her.' I almost gagged at the implication. In any case, people tend to be quick to assume ‘couple' about male-female pairs they see shopping, or sight-seeing, or whatever.

Editor's Note:

In reference to the Translators note, it's actually kinda sad you can't go out and do stuff as siblings, though that said, it's more common for siblings of different genders to be into different things and also age can play a role in terms of making them a bit more indifferent to one another. That said, were it not for the fact that he's in love with her, then they should totally hang out more! Siblings are important Y'all cause family is almost always needed when shit hits the fan!

Chapter end