Chapter 143: Something Has Happened

Kawamoto Haruta arrived at the infirmary with a long, miserable face. Kindaichi Shi was lying on one of the beds, clutching his phone and lost in thought.

“Boss, we’re screwed. I’ve been found out.” Kawamoto Haruta sat down beside the bed, panic flickering in his eyes. “The discipline director is going to call my dad again tonight... I only got beaten a few days ago!”

“It’s fine.” Kindaichi Shi frowned, paying no attention to him as he focused on the survey form before him. In a low voice, he asked, “Are you sure Aoki Tsukasa didn’t alter this form?”

Seeing how utterly unconcerned his boss was about his predicament, Kawamoto Haruta felt his heart grow cold. His voice turned angry. “Yes! I watched Teruhashi Kokomi take the form inside, and Aoki Tsukasa came out of the office right afterward. He didn’t have any time to change it.”

“Then what does this mean...?” Kindaichi Shi handed the phone to Kawamoto Haruta. Displayed on the screen was the photograph Haruta had taken earlier.

Kawamoto Haruta stared at the picture absentmindedly. “What?”

“Look.” Kindaichi Shi pointed to the section Aoki Tsukasa had filled out concerning his father. Under workplace, one word stood out clearly:

Heaven.

Heaven? What was that supposed to mean?

Kawamoto Haruta was just as baffled for a moment, but by now he had completely lost interest in the matter. He said flatly, “I don’t know. Maybe his father’s dead.”

Whatever. Let it be whatever it was! I’m never helping you again!

Full of resentment, Kawamoto Haruta casually handed the phone back to Kindaichi Shi.

Kindaichi Shi, however, seemed to have thought of something. His eyes widened as he slapped his thigh in sudden realization—then immediately jostled his injured ankle and cried out in pain.

“I know!” His expression became somewhat frantic. “Heaven... Isn’t Heaven that nightclub?”

“A nightclub? Which one?” Kawamoto Haruta had already lost interest, but seeing the look on Kindaichi Shi’s face, as though he had uncovered some terrible secret, he could not help becoming curious again.

Kindaichi Shi lowered his voice fearfully. “That one. The Polar Star Society.”

“The Polar... Polar Star Society?” Kawamoto Haruta began to stammer. “You mean that nightclub called Heaven? The one rumored to be the Polar Star Society’s base in Chiba? Could that rumor actually be true?”

“It has to be!” Kindaichi Shi swallowed nervously. “The Polar Star Society is a notorious yakuza organization in Tokyo. Could it be that...?”

“Could it be that Aoki Tsukasa’s family really are yakuza!?”

Shock and terror appeared in both their eyes.

The Polar Star Society was far beyond the likes of them—mere delinquent teenagers—to provoke! Although most yakuza organizations had gone respectable these days and appeared to be ordinary business groups, no matter how thoroughly they disguised themselves or laundered their image, they were still yakuza organizations at heart!

“If they find out about us, do you think they’ll cement us into the ground...?” Kawamoto Haruta felt his vision begin to darken. He was no longer even afraid of being beaten by his father when he got home that night. All he could think about was the possibility that, if this matter came to light, he would be “taken care of” just like in the television dramas.

The moment he imagined the terrifying scenes from movies and dramas—cold-blooded yakuza throwing someone into wet cement and using the resulting block as a foundation—Kawamoto Haruta felt an icy chill run through his body. It was as though he could see Aoki Tsukasa staring at him with a vicious grin. Cold sweat soaked his back.

Kindaichi Shi’s lips trembled slightly. “They won’t. Only you and I know about this. H-how could anything happen? Besides, even if his father works at Heaven, that doesn’t necessarily mean he belongs to the Polar Star Society, right?”

“Right, right, right!” Kawamoto Haruta nodded vigorously, trying to reassure himself. “Exactly. And even if he is with the Polar Star Society, he might not be anyone important. Maybe he’s just a low-level lackey.”

“Right, right!” Kindaichi Shi echoed.

Yet when they looked at each other, all they could see in one another’s eyes was unease and dread.

The two of them remained silent for a long time. At last, Kindaichi Shi clenched his teeth, slammed a hand against the bed, and said bitterly, “We’ll keep following him tonight!”

“What?” Kawamoto Haruta sprang to his feet in disbelief. “Boss, have you lost your mind? I’m not going! I’d rather die!”

“Idiot!” Kindaichi Shi cursed furiously. “If we’ve already been discovered, will stopping now change anything?”

Kawamoto Haruta was equally angry. “Then we shouldn’t keep provoking him either, should we?”

“Even if you refuse to go, I’m going.” Kindaichi Shi ground his teeth in frustration. “Even if we’re going to give up, shouldn’t we at least find out who’s backing him? If his father is merely a bartender working at Heaven, do we really need to be this terrified?”

“But what if he’s actually one of the Polar Star Society’s higher-ups!?” Kawamoto Haruta’s brows drew tightly together.

“If we keep investigating and discover that his identity really is that terrifying...” Kindaichi Shi’s expression was filled with helplessness and resentment. “Then we’ll transfer schools! What do you say? It’s better than staying at home trembling without knowing anything, isn’t it? Even if we find out that he truly is someone we can’t afford to offend, I can at least prepare myself in advance!”

“...Fine!” Kawamoto Haruta forced the answer through clenched teeth.

But he had already made up his mind: once this was over, he would never hang around with Kindaichi Shi again.

If Aoki Tsukasa really came looking for trouble...

He could only hope that kneeling and apologizing would be enough.

Whenever he thought of Aoki Tsukasa’s fearsome face, Kawamoto Haruta felt that he must have lost his mind to have followed Kindaichi Shi into investigating him.

----------------------

When school ended, the students excitedly picked up their bags and streamed out of the classroom in groups of two and three.

“Tsukasa...”

Teruhashi Kokomi approached Aoki Tsukasa hesitantly.

Aoki Tsukasa was packing his schoolbag. When he saw her come over, he raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, “What is it?”

“Well...”

The moment Teruhashi Kokomi met his eyes, her heart began to race. The question she had intended to ask him directly—whether he liked Saeko Busujima—would not come out. With Aoki Tsukasa looking at her in confusion, she hurriedly changed her words.

“The school festival is coming up soon. Would you be interested in performing something with me, Tsukasa?”

Aoki Tsukasa shook his head with a smile. “I don’t really have anything I can perform. I’ll pass.”

“Oh, I see.”

There was no disappointment in Teruhashi Kokomi’s expression. She had never really expected Aoki Tsukasa to participate in the school festival anyway. But the moment she thought about the festival, the problem that had been troubling her suddenly seemed to have an answer.

“Tsukasa, will you come watch my performance that day?”

“Your performance?” Aoki Tsukasa looked surprised. “What kind of performance?”

Teruhashi Kokomi smiled faintly. “If nothing unexpected happens, it should be a girl-group imitation performance.”

That’s right! If I can sing and dance onstage like an idol, Tsukasa will surely be able to fully appreciate my charm!

As Teruhashi Kokomi imagined herself performing onstage while Aoki Tsukasa watched from below, utterly captivated, she could not help laughing aloud.

Hmph! Senior Busujima may be beautiful, but there’s nothing about me that’s inferior to her! Once Tsukasa sees how dazzling I am, he’ll definitely fall in love with me!

Aoki Tsukasa blinked in confusion as Teruhashi Kokomi suddenly began grinning foolishly. He had no idea what had come over her this time.

“Aoki! Something’s happened!”

The voice of Saiki Kusuo suddenly rang out nearby.

Aoki Tsukasa turned his head. Saiki Kusuo was pushing his slightly crooked glasses back into place, his expression flustered as he stared at him.