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The first time Yu bought Naoto a birthday present, she wasn’t exactly surprised. Not that he was particularly trying to surprise her. A few weeks before her birthday he not-so-organically brought up the question of ‘is there anything you need’, to which she stated that she was close to filling up her current notebook. Naoto adhered more than a bit to the old ways when it came to her detective work, including still keeping all her notes by hand, at least in the field. According to her, phones are too risky because the light from the screen can give away your position if you’re in hiding. When Yu asked about it being too dark to write, Naoto claimed that a skilled enough detective knows their way around the page well enough to take impeccable notes even in the dark.
All that aside, Yu wasn’t particularly upset when she gave a knowing smirk as she opened his present for her 18th birthday and saw the lovely new leather journal with her initials monogrammed on the cover. He was, however, a little confounded when she expressed absolutely no shock at the second part of the gift, which was a box full of two dozen more journals, enough to hopefully last her the whole year.
“Do you not like it?” Yu asked.
“I like it very much.” Naoto smiled at Yu. “It’s a very thoughtful gift Senp- Yu.” Now that Yu was around all the time, Naoto was still getting used to addressing her boyfriend informally.
“Oh, well… good.” Yu analyzed Naoto’s face closely. The smile seemed genuine, not like she was putting on an act after the fact. “You just didn’t seem very enthusiastic about it. Did you want something else?”
“Not at all.” Naoto shook her head. “I knew from our conversation a few weeks ago that journals were coming.”
“Well yeah, ONE journal should be obvious.” Yu crossed his arms. “I got you a bunch of them because I thought it’d surprise you.”
“Hardly.” Naoto let out a single dry chuckle. “I wouldn’t be a very good detective if I couldn’t see this coming from my own boyfriend, would I?”
“How!?”
“You’re a very helpful person, and you see me as a very practical one. Which is not an inaccurate assessment of my character, or so I’d like to think.” Naoto put the box down on the ground. “You would know I’d want something I could actually make use of, but you’re also aware how quickly I fill out my notebooks.” Naoto gestured to the box. “And so, naturally, you’d get me notebooks in bulk.”
“Alright, alright.” Yu threw his hands up in surrender. “You got me. But next year, I’m going to surprise you for real.”
“You can try.” Naoto turned her nose up. “But you’re still years away from being able to deceive me, Narukami.”
To say that Yu never surprised Naoto at all would be disingenuous. Naoto Shirogane was a genius, but even the most brilliant mind can only put together the pieces of a puzzle if they understand them. Of the two, Yu was much more prone to romantic gestures. Home-cooked dinners after a long day of working cases, reading up on massage techniques, clearing out a room in the mansion ahead of time so the two could dance together, things like that. Sometimes Naoto had an inkling something was going on, sometimes she was completely caught off guard. She just didn’t think in the language of romance, data from many cases involving adultery and scandal showing what a fragile thing a romantic bond could be. Thankfully, Yu never exhibited any of the signs of cheating, and she already knew that she wasn’t, so she had no reason to think their relationship was in peril.
But what Naoto would classify as ‘date events’ aside, Yu could NEVER surprise her when it came to the actual giving of a present. When her birthday or their anniversary or White Day came up, Naoto always knew EXACTLY what Yu was going to get her. On her 19th birthday Yu tried getting her a new fountain pen and a bulk supply of ink, and she calmly told him that it was the next logical step from the journals. When the two of them moved in together Yu tried to surprise her with a set of shot glasses that had actual bullet shells in them, and while Naoto did show a fair bit of enthusiasm, she confessed it was because she was looking forward to finally putting them to use after figuring out what Yu was getting her a month ago. When he got her the entire collected works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories, she even got cheeky, waiting on the chez lounge in their library when Yu was looking for her to give her the gift.
No matter what Yu got or how well he tried to hide it, Naoto was always onto him. And he certainly tried. After the first few times, Yu came to the conclusion that Naoto was somehow sniffing out the gifts ahead of time and tried to recruit his friends and family into helping hide them. In truth, Naoto had never done this, but once she realized that Yu thought she was and started conspiring with others, it just added a whole new layer to the game. The first time Yu did this he made the mistake of leaving the gift with Kanji, a notoriously terrible liar. Just how nervous Kanji started acting around her again was enough of a clue for Naoto to start poking around the textile shop and find the smoking pipe Yu bought her for her 21st birthday.
And Yu did get better over the years. Not rapidly, but better. Entrusting Nanako with a little bear in a prisoner’s outfit for White Day was a step above Kanji, but Nanako made the mistake of telling Teddie, who wound up spilling the beans very quickly. Naoto chose to taunt Yu that time by naming the bear after him, because both of them had been caught red-handed. Yukiko had been a significantly better confidant, displaying no unusual behaviors around Naoto, but since Yukiko was the next logical step after the previous failures, Naoto was able to find it easily. All she had to do was approach Yukiko with the prospect of her ancestors having possibly built secret passages into the Amagi Inn and the odd innkeeper let Naoto have free roam of the place, leading to the quick discovery of the earrings Yukiko had chosen to hide in the kitchen of all places (and incidentally, one actual secret passage that led to an area of the woods just beyond the hot springs). Entrusting Dojima with the gold watch for their fifth anniversary was actually pretty smart, and had Naoto not noticed an unusual shiftiness in his eyes every time he checked his own watch around her, she might not have caught on at all.
Still, the end result was always the same: There was no gift Yu Narukami could buy that Naoto Shirogane could not discover the identity of ahead of time. Although she always enjoyed his efforts.
“You know, I’m gonna get you this time.”
Yu smirked as he climbed into bed. Naoto was already partly under the covers, engaged in a crime reporter’s memoirs. She returned the smirk without actually looking at Yu, her eyes still on the page.
“No you won’t.”
“You sure about that?” Yu laid back with his hands under his head, very satisfied with himself. “Your birthday’s in a couple days and you still haven’t found my present yet. You’re slipping, Naoto.”
“Maybe I’ve already found it and simply haven’t told you yet to spare your feelings.”
“Except if that were true you wouldn’t have told me just now.” Yu went to chuckle but let out a yawn instead. “I’ve got you right where I want you, Shirogane.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Naoto closed the book and placed it down on her nightstand, turning off her lamp. “Or perhaps I’m just preparing to make my big move at the same time you make yours. It’s no fun if the game ends too quickly, after all.”
“Whatever you say.” Yu leaned over and pecked Naoto on the cheek. “Good night, Detective.”
“Good night, Yu.”
When Naoto awoke the next day, the other side of the bed was empty. She didn’t think anything of this. Yu was usually the first one to wake up, liking to have some quiet time to walk around the Shirogane Mansion grounds and wake up at his own pace before starting his usually-hectic days. Naoto joined him sometimes, though she could tell he preferred to do this little ritual alone. Usually, by the time she woke up, Yu was already in the kitchen getting a pot of coffee ready. The fact that her 23rd birthday was tomorrow having migrated to the back of her mind, Naoto headed downstairs to get some caffeine into her system, though when she reached the kitchen, she found neither a fresh pot of coffee nor the silver-haired beau she was accustomed to having prepared it.
“Yu must still be taking in the morning air.”
Naoto took it upon herself to get the coffee brewing. And as last night’s conversation returned to her mind, she decided to get breakfast going, figuring it’d make a good enough preliminary apology for ruining whatever surprise Yu had planned. As she went to fetch the rice cooker from the cabinets, she began to recall all of Yu’s recent actions and words, trying to see what clues she could find to her gift.
Naoto’s train of thought was interrupted by the shattering of glass. If she wasn’t awake before, she certainly was now. The sound hadn’t come from inside the kitchen. It sounded a bit far away, likely having come from upstairs. Naoto ran up immediately to find the source.
“Yu? Is that you?” Naoto’s search took her to the places where glass breaking would seem most likely, starting with the master bathroom, then her office containing her collection of vintage magnifying glasses, then the home theater. “Are you injured?”
Naoto found the broken glass in the library, but no Yu. Instead she found a shattered window and a brick. She could hear the sound of an engine from outside, and in the distance she saw a black quad bike with a black-clad rider escaping through the front gates. Naoto couldn’t gleam many details about the bike or rider from this distance, and as it disappeared, she instead decided to focus on the object that had broken her window. Tied to the brick’s underside was a note. Naoto unfolded it and found computer-printed lettering.
YOUR BOYFRIEND AND BIRTHDAY PRESENT HAVE BEEN TAKEN. IF YOU DO NOT TRACK THEM DOWN BEFORE YOU TURN 23, YOUR REPUTATION AS A DETECTIVE WILL BE BESMIRCHED FOREVER.
-THE PHANTOM THIEF
Naoto looked at the shattered window and groaned. Yes, she was intrigued. Usually Yu just tried to hide his gifts from her. This time he was cobbling a whole mystery, officially challenging her as a detective, showing a whole new level of craftiness he’d never displayed before. She just wished he’d done it without property damage.
Still, the game was afoot, and Naoto already had her first clue to follow. She walked back to the bedroom and unplugged her phone from its charger, calling her first lead in this little game.
It took Yakushiji an hour to arrive at the mansion from the time Naoto summoned him. While waiting on the Shirogane estate’s secretary, Naoto got dressed, had a simple breakfast, and cleaned up the broken glass in the library (after making sure there weren’t any more clues to find and that she wasn’t contaminating a crime scene, of course). Finally, her late grandfather’s most trusted confidant arrived, and Naoto wasted no time getting to the interrogation.
“Hello, Yakushiji-San.” Naoto didn’t start as openly hostile. The minor matter of a broken window aside, she remembered that this was all a game for her upcoming birthday and not a real crime. “I’m afraid I have some upsetting news.”
“What is it, Naoto-Sama?”
“The mansion was vandalized today. Somebody threw a brick through one of the library windows.”
“My goodness!” Yakushiji pulled out his phone and started tapping away at the screen. “I can have somebody install a replacement by the end of the day!”
“I appreciate that.”
“Do you have any idea as to the culprit’s identity?”
“Yes.” Naoto glared at Yakushiji. “There was a note signed by a Phantom Thief.”
“The Phantom Thieves!?” Yakushiji’s eyed widened. “You’ve been threatened by the group of Tokyo vigilantes!?”
“Not those Phantom Thieves. They haven’t been active for over a year now.” Naoto pulled the note out of her pocket and handed it to Yakushiji. “It was a singular Phantom Thief.”
“Typed…” Yakushiji looked at the note closely. “Handwriting analysis won’t be of any help here.”
“And I’ve already checked for prints and found nothing,” Naoto added, “but I think I still know who is responsible for this.”
“Who?”
“Tell me, Yakushiji…” Naoto took a step towards her family’s secretary, her voice deepening. “Do you recall another incident I had with a Phantom Thief?”
“I’m afraid not, Naoto-Sama.” Yakushiji stared at the note more, not noticing Naoto closing the gap between them. “Should I?”
“I should hope so.” Naoto was now mere inches from Yakushiji’s face. “Do you recall the little adventure my grandfather sent you on in 2011?”
“2011?” Yakushiji looked up and finally saw how close Naoto had gotten to him. “Oh, yes. Of course. That little game we played to boost your confidence and make you rediscover your love for genuine detective work.”
“You acted as the agent of a Phantom Thief during that time.”
“Naoto-Sama!” Yakushiji’s pupils dilated as he finally realize what Naoto was getting at. “Surely you don’t think I had anything to do with this incident!”
“Yu has issued a challenge to me as part of his ever-escalating attempts to surprise me with his presents. He’s recruited others in these games in the past. If this note is anything to go by, this year, he’s recruited you.”
“Naoto-Sama, I assure you I have nothing to do with this incident.” Yakushiji puffed out his chest. “I would certainly not object to helping hide a birthday surprise from you, but I would NEVER stoop to property damage to achieve that goal!”
Naoto stared into Yakushiji’s eyes as he made his proclamation. After a moment of silence, she smiled and nodded.
“Yes. I thought as much.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Yu’s already started the game with a red herring. There’s no way he’d ever forget that old Phantom Thief investigation, seeing as it began our relationship. And I’m certain that he knew I’d see through this ruse, but I still had to confirm that you were not in fact involved in this year’s surprise.” Naoto huffed. “I lose this game if I can’t solve the mystery before my birthday, which is likely midnight. He’s decided to start things off by forcing me to waste my limited time.”
“I see.” Yakushiji was clearly trying to suppress a smile. “How diabolical.”
“Indeed. He knows how thorough I like to be in investigations and took advantage of my compulsions to buy himself some time.” Naoto chuckled. “Perhaps if he grows bored with the detective profession, my paramour could try living his life on the other side of the law. Not that he’d be successful.”
“And why is that, Naoto-Sama?”
“Because I’d catch him, just like I’m going to do today.” Naoto headed for the front door. “I’ve got a mystery to solve. I’d appreciate it if you’d stay here to receive the new window.”
“Of course.” Yakushiji nodded. “Good luck, Naoto-Sama.”
The next step of Naoto’s investigation didn’t even take her off her own estate. At least not initially. Naoto decided to check the spot from which the brick was thrown, and just as Naoto expected, the quad bike left a trail during its quick escape. It had just rained the previous night, and the vehicle’s tires had tracked some mud from the still-wet ground. Naoto’s mansion was located between Inaba and Okina City, and while the mud quickly wore off on the road, there was just enough of a trail to show the bike had turned in the direction of the Inaba once it cleared her front gates. And there was only one person Naoto knew who lived there and owned an all-terrain vehicle.
The fact that Yu would enlist Kanji again after the tall seamster’s disastrous performance last time was something Naoto tried not to think too hard about. The way she saw it, there were two possibilities: Either Yu was desperate, or more likely, Yu wanted Naoto to trace it back to Kanji to lay out another red herring. Still, Naoto had to follow any lead she had, and this was all she had at the present moment. Besides, even if Yu’s strategy was to run out the clock, Naoto had a feeling he or one of his associates would slip up just enough to give her a real clue. After all, it’s not like suspects in real investigations were forthcoming with evidence.
Naoto arrived at Tatsumi Textiles shortly after noon. She spotted Kanji in the back, totally enraptured in his work. She began to approach him, but was intercepted by Kanji’s mother.
“Oh, hello, Naoto dear.” Kanji’s mother had her hands clasped together. “I’m afraid Kanji’s busy with rush orders at the moment, so this isn’t really the time for a social call.”
“My apologies, Tatsumi-San.” Naoto briskly walked around Kanji’s mother. Ordinarily she wouldn’t be so rude, but there were less than twelve hours left to solve the case and she hadn’t even begun to form a hypothesis yet. “This is for a case I’m working. It will only take a moment.”
Naoto strolled over to Kanji and stood over him for a moment, watching him work. He didn’t notice her, currently engaged with some fabric with a pattern that seemed to resemble a giraffe’s hide. Naoto cleared her throat to get Kanji’s attention.
Kanji didn’t respond.
“Kanji-Kun” Naoto said.
Still no response. Kanji seemed like he was in a trance.
“Kanji-Kun!”
“Eh?” Kanji looked up at the short woman standing above him, a dull recognition appearing in his eyes. His voice and expression were tired. “Oh, hey Naoto. What’re you doin’ here?”
“I wanted to ask you some questions.”
“I’m kinda busy right now.” Kanji looked back down at the fabric. “Workin’ on a new obi for Master Daidara. His old one’s gettin’ kinda ratty, so I offered to make him a new one. He agrees, then tells me he wants it to look wild, so I wind up makin’ this brand new pattern for him. Took a lotta trial and error to get right.” Kanji grunted. “I don’t think anyone else is gonna want giraffe stuff. Maybe I can use the leftover fabric in a new stuffed animal.”
“I did not come to discuss fabrics, Kanji-Kun.”
“Uh… ok.” Kanji looked up at Naoto briefly, shrugged, then returned to work on the obi. “You’re the one who came into a freakin’ textile shop” he mumbled.
“Tell me, Kanji-Kun, have you ridden your ATV recently?”
“My quad bike?” Kanji shook his head. “I only use that thing when I gotta go up into the mountains to get dye materials, and I just came back from one of my trips a couple weeks ago. I’m good for the next three months.”
“And you’re certain about that?”
“Yeah.” Kanji stopped working on the obi for a second and stared off into the distance. “Unless I’ve been like, sleep-drivin’ or something. Is that a thing?”
“There have been reports of driving during somnambulistic episodes, but I doubt that you’re experiencing such a phenomenon.” Naoto pulled out the note and held it in front of Kanji’s face. “I believe you were wide awake when you threw this through my window.”
“Huh?” Kanji stared at the note. “I didn’t throw anything through your window.”
“Oh really?” Naoto sneered as she put the note away. “Because the culprit drove away on an all-terrain vehicle just like yours, and the tracks were headed in the direction of Inaba.”
“Lots of people have quad bikes, Naoto.”
“Yes, but not many who Yu would enlist in one of his birthday capers.”
“Oh, is that what this is about?” Kanji finally turned his attention to Naoto directly. Or, at least, he seemed to. It took Naoto a second to notice, but Kanji seemed to looking just above her. “I told Senpai after last time that I didn’t wanna get involved in that stuff anymore. You remember how that went, right?”
“Of course.” Something was definitely off with Kanji, but there was something strange even in the way he was off.
Generally, Kanji Tatsumi wasn’t a good liar. He’d stutter and get a little sweaty and his eyes would dart all over the place and his body would stiffen up. Naoto could tell from the way Kanji wasn’t quite looking at her that he was hiding something, but none of the usual symptoms were presenting themselves. Naoto had no idea what to make of this, and started looking around Kanji’s workstation instead.
“So if I asked you would tell me you’ve been here all morning?” Naoto stared at a kimono hanging from a nearby rack.
“Yup.” Kanji looked over to the same rack. “Making rush orders.”
“I see.” Naoto’s eyes trailed over to a table where some misshapen, discarded pieces of blue felt were lying around. “So you’ve been too busy to help Yu with his scheme.”
“YUP!”
Naoto looked back at Kanji. His eyes were fixed on the blue felt and all of his tells were out in full force. Stiffness, sweatiness, eyes darting around and focusing on the felt over and over again.
“A-anyway, I got a lotta work I still gotta get done, so I can’t talk anymore!” Kanji turned away from Naoto and started working on the obi again. “Come by tomorrow! We’ll grab lunch for your birthday or something!”
“Of course.” Naoto nodded. “I’ll quit distracting you. Until later, Kanji-Kun.”
Naoto turned away from Kanji and had to fight off a grin. She finally had her first real clue: Blue felt. Yu had asked Kanji to make something for her, which significantly narrowed down the possibilities of what her gift could be.
The moment Naoto stepped outside Tatsumi Textiles, she tripped on something large. In one moment, Naoto had lost all the thrill of being an ace detective and had gone to clumsily hopping on one foot and waving her arms about trying to keep from falling. Upon steadying herself, she turned around and saw that she had tripped on Teddie. Or, well, Teddie’s head. The ever-smiling top piece of Teddie’s original form was just lying on the ground outside of Kanji’s home.
Clearly, this was Naoto’s next lead.
Junes, thankfully, was just down the street, though finding Teddie out of costume was harder than expected. Despite her many trips there, Naoto was actually pretty sure she’d never explored the department store in full, and it was large. At first Naoto checked out the electronics department, especially the big TV the Investigation Team used to use to access the TV World, but there was nothing out of the ordinary there. Trips to the food court, clothing department, and the grocery section were equally fruitless. It dawned on Naoto that it was entirely possible that Teddie’s head — if it was indeed an indicator that she had to find Teddie and not another red herring— could have been pointing her to the Hanamura household, but she had to at least be thorough and finish searching Junes so long as she was here.
After exploring the rest of Junes, Naoto’s last stop was the small section dedicated to musical instruments. This part of the store was walled off behind doors so the sound of people testing out instruments wouldn’t bleed out and disturb other shoppers. Once Naoto passed through the door, the lights in the room turned off.
A single light turned back on, directly over a piano. Music started playing, and Naoto could make out two figures. First was Nanako, looking as graceful as ever while her fingers danced across the keys before her, a slow, jaunty tune coming out. On top of the piano was a figure with Rise’s old twin-tail hairstyle, but there was something off about it.
“She walked into my office, legs up to there.”
Naoto sighed as the person on top of the piano turned towards her. As she suspected, it was not Rise, but Teddie dressed as Rise. He was narrating into a microphone, though thankfully it wasn’t broadcasting to any nearby speakers. Teddie continued his little spiel, speaking in the closest thing to a husky voice he could pull off.
“I could tell from the look on her face that she was nothing but trouble. But I’ve always had a thing for trouble.”
“I believe this belongs to you.” Naoto walked up to the piano and placed the bear head next to Teddie.
“She had something GRIZZLY with her. I knew it was a bad sign, but I could BEAR-ly pass up a chance to get a-HEAD on this case.”
“What are you doing!?” Naoto had to take a deep breath to calm herself. She had to hand it to Yu: If his goal here was to waste her time, there were fewer ways more efficient to do it than to make her interact with Teddie.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Teddie’s voice returned to normal. “I’m doing a detective monologue!”
“Except it should be the other way around. I’m the detective and you’re the one dressed as the femme fatale. In this situation, I should be the one giving the monologue.”
“As if!” Teddie tore off the wig and threw it at Naoto’s face. “You don’t even dress like a real detective!”
“Well excuse me if I’m not as fond of costumes as you.” Naoto caught the wig and looked at Nanako. “I assume this means I’m to go see Rise?”
“Yup!” Nanako stopped playing piano and the lights came back on. “Bro also wanted me to give you a message!”
“And what would that be?”
“‘Hurry up! You’re not even halfway done! Don’t you want me to be un-kidnapped!?’”
“He’s having entirely too much fun with this” Naoto grumbled.
“Well you can’t blame him.” Nanako giggled and Naoto’s mood lightened a little. Despite Nanako now being in high school, Naoto still couldn’t help but see her as that adorable little girl she’d first met over six years ago. “If I lost this game every year I’d be trying extra-hard to stump you too, Sis!”
“You sound like you’re rooting for him” Naoto noted.
“Maybe a little…”
“So I take it you won’t just tell me what my present is?”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to!” Nanako stuck her tongue out. “Bro didn’t tell any of us what he got you this time!”
“That’s right!” Teddie shouted exuberantly. “Even I don’t know what you’re getting this year, Nao-Chan! I just have to do and say what Sensei tells me to and I won’t let him down again!”
“Very well then.” Naoto tossed the wig back to Teddie. “I’m off to find Rise now.”
‘Finding’ might not have been the right term, as it wasn’t much of a search. Naoto walked into Rise’s grandmother’s tofu shop and there was Rise, all dressed up in an apron and headscarf.
“Good afternoon, Rise-Chan.”
“Hi, Naoto-Kun!”
“Naoto-Kun?” Yukiko popped up from behind the counter, apparently having been on the floor. She was wearing the same outfit as Rise.
“Yukiko-Senpai!” Naoto was taken off guard. This was already more people than Yu usually roped into helping him with his surprises. Ordinarily he’d just enlist one or two of their friends. So far, five were involved, and Naoto had a feeling there’d be more to come.
On the bright side, it meant Naoto wouldn’t have to go to the Amagi Inn. She was sure this day still had yet to escalate, and diving for clues in a hot spring wasn’t exactly on her list of detective fantasies.
“What are you doing here?” Naoto asked as she regained her composure.
“Rise-Chan’s teaching me how to make tofu” Yukiko answered.
“Oh.” Naoto completely forgot about the investigation for a second, distracted by the seeds of genuine danger being planted right before her eyes. “Are you two certain that’s a good idea?”
“It’s just for fun” Rise said. “It’s not like Yukiko-Senpai’s gonna stop ordering from grandma for her inn’s kitchen.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Naoto stroked her chin as she tried to find the right words. “With all due respect, Senpai, whenever you’re preparing food you tend to… experiment. With unwelcome results.”
“That won’t be a problem!” Rise stood tall, placing her hands on her hips. “She’s got an expert supervising her, after all!”
“And were the expert anybody else, I wouldn’t worry.” Naoto knit her brow. “But Rise-Chan, you also like to experiment in the kitchen sometimes, and I’m afraid you might get swept up in our Senpai’s enthusiasm.”
“You have a good point.” Rise looked at Yukiko worriedly, though her expression became cheery again as a lightbulb went off in her head. “I know! Naoto-Kun, why don’t you join us!?”
“Oh yes!” Yukiko clasped her hands together. “That’s an excellent idea! You’ll be able to help us stay on track, Naoto-Kun!”
“I’m afraid I don’t have time” Naoto said. “Midnight is only 10 hours away and I still have to figure out what Yu’s gotten me for… Oh.” Naoto blushed a little as the realization came to her. She had been so worried about Rise and Yukiko unleashing a new bioweapon on Inaba that she ignored the obvious. “This is all part of the investigation, isn’t it?”
“Maybe…” Rise said coyly.
“Very well.” Naoto sighed and started to walk around the counter. “I will join you in your tofu-making.”
“Not dressed like that you won’t!” Rise grabbed Naoto’s hat and shoved an apron and headscarf into her arms. “You’ve got the wrong headwear for this job, Naoto-Kun!”
“Right.” Naoto grumbled as she tried to get all of her hair under the white headscarf. Although she was no longer trying to hide her femininity, she didn’t do much to advertise it, making simple adjustments like growing her hair out, wearing minimal makeup, and ceasing to bind her chest. The art of hairstyling was completely lost on her, even trying to get her hair into even the messiest of updos. Thankfully, Rise noticed the trouble Naoto was having and helped her get her hair under control, and led her to an already in-progress batch of tofu.
In fact, it was more than in-progress. It was nearly done. Before Naoto was a large pot of thick soy paste, and as far as she could tell, all that was left to do was shape and cut the tofu.
“At least this won’t take long” Naoto muttered under her breath.
“Alright.” Rise pointed to a large rectangular metal mold with some holes in it, the inside lined with a white cloth. “Now, Senpai, we just take the paste and smush it into this mold, pushing down on it with some weight to flatten out the top and squeeze out any extra water.”
“Just like that?” Yukiko asked. Naoto noted that she had a slightly stilted tone to her voice, as if she were following a script. “We don’t add anything else in there?”
“Nope.” Rise shook her head. If Naoto had to guess, Rise was following a script too, but due to her training as an entertainer the performance was actually convincing. “This is how you make ordinary old tofu!”
“But what if we did something unordinary?” Yukiko’s eyes lit up. “What if we gave people something new and exciting?”
“You sound like you have an idea” Naoto remarked. She was aware that she had been asked to reign Yukiko in, but given how this was all obviously part of Yu’s plan, she figured the next clue would likely be found in Yukiko’s shenanigans.
“Well, summer IS just around the corner…” Yukiko reached into her pocket. “So I was thinking we could make a special summery tofu. And I brought just the thing for it too!”
Yukiko produced a pack of nori from her pocket and held it out proudly.
“Ooh!” Rise grabbed the pack and ripped it open, holding some of the seaweed sheets over the tofu mixture and starting to crumble them up. “This is great, Yukiko-Senpai! We can make special tofu with a crunchy surprise inside! That’s sure to get peoples’ attention!”
“And that’s not all!” Yukiko reached into a cabinet under the counter and pulled out a gallon jug of distilled seawater. “I was thinking we could mix in some saltwater to add some flavor!”
“Brilliant!” Rise shouted. Naoto withheld a comment about how adding more water would dilute the tofu. already putting together what Yu was telling her. At this point she began removing her apron and headscarf and retrieved her hat, heading for the door.
“And what’s more, I thought we could give it a special summery shape.” Yukiko reached under the cabinet again and pulled out a sandcastle mold.
“Yes, yes, I understand.” Naoto rolled her eyes as she exited the tofu shop. “I’m supposed to go to the beach now. You two are laying it on far too thick.”
By the time Naoto finally arrived at Shichiri Beach, she was growing weary of Yu sending her from place to place, and so being met with a waiting Chie and Yosuke filled her not with curiosity or surprise, but a gnawing resentment.
“Don’t you two have more important work to be doing?” Naoto asked.
“We all wear many hats” Yosuke said.
“Cheer up, Naoto-Kun! This is gonna be fun!” Chie tossed a folded-up piece of yellowed paper to Naoto. “We’re going on a treasure hunt!”
Contrary to Chie’s claims, the hunt was not fun. The hunt was long and arduous, with the treasure being very difficult to find even with the aid of a map. And this was not because of Yu’s cleverness. This was because Yu was exceptionally terrible at making maps. Different parts of the beach were drawn to different scales — none of them correct — and the trio had to do a lot of backtracking and dug quite a few holes only to start over again and again. By the time Naoto had found the right spot, the sun had almost completely finished setting.
Thankfully, the treasure wasn’t buried very deep. Though Naoto’s relief was short-lived once she opened the small wooden chest and found a blue cap not dissimilar to her own inside. Of course, this hat belonged to Marie, which meant that Naoto had to go all the way back to Inaba and then some to find the local goddess, likely on top of the hill overlooking the town. It took Naoto a couple hours to reach the location, and by the time she reached her strangest friend’s usual haunt, the stars were already out in full force.
“Marie? Are you here?”
Naoto stood at the very top of the hill, but nobody else was there. She started waving Marie’s hat above her head.
“Marie!? I have your hat!”
A strong gust of wind kicked up from behind Naoto, taking not just Marie’s hat, but also Naoto’s. Naoto tried to grab the hats from the air but they were already out of her reach. The wind carried them to the edge of the hill, where Marie had appeared out of nowhere to catch both hats. Marie donned her own cap and twirled Naoto’s on her finger.
“Now I have your hat” Marie said. “Is this how the game goes?”
“Please, Marie.” Naoto strode over and snatched her hat back. “Did Yu ask you to do something?”
“Yes. This piece is called ‘Age’.” Marie cleared her throat and threw her arms out. “A dry riverbed, filling gradually… As the rains continue, the rising levels are celebrated… And yet, all dread a day when it will rise too high…” Marie turned her back to Naoto and faced the town. “What will flow along with the waters? And just where do they go? Follow the path by day to a place of plenty… Follow by night to a place of pleasure… There, all things will come to a head.”
Marie stepped off the hill, dropping out of sight rapidly. Naoto ran over to the edge, only to find the goddess has disappeared completely. Naoto looked down upon Inaba, most of the town’s lights out already. With any luck, this was the final leg of her journey.
It wasn’t Marie’s most artful poem, although Naoto suspected that this was because it was written to fit Yu’s design instead of coming from a place of genuine pathos. Still, it was enough. Marie had told Naoto to go somewhere plentiful in the day and pleasurable at night. Naoto could think of only one spot in all of Inaba the matched that description: The Shiroku Store, or as it became at night, the Shiroku Pub.
Naoto walked into the pub at five minutes to midnight, though it was a bit different from how it usually appeared. All of the pink and purple lighting had been replaced with much more ordinary yellow lighting, and the enka music Shiroku normally played had been replaced with smooth jazz. In addition, all of Naoto’s friends were there chatting with each other, dressed up in black suits and fedoras, save for Dojima who had foregone the hat and suit jacket for a vest and bowtie as he stood behind the bar. Overall, it felt like walking into a detective movie.
“Hey.” Dojima nodded his head towards an empty seat at the bar. “What’re you having?”
“Bourbon. On the rocks.” Naoto sat at the bar as Dojima began pouring. “So, Yu roped your into this as well, Dojima-San?”
“Hey, I’m just serving tonight, kid.” Dojima handed Naoto her drink. “I told my nephew that I wanted as little as possible to do with whatever scheme he cooked up this year.”
“And where IS your nephew?” Naoto looked up at the clock. “There’s only four minutes until his little game comes to an end.”
“Dunno.” Dojima shrugged. “Like I said, I’m just serving drinks tonight.”
“Yes, well-“ Naoto cut herself off as the atmosphere in the room changed. Everybody else had gone quiet, and she felt a familiar presence lurking behind her.
“Happy Almost-Birthday!” Yu shouted from behind Naoto. “Are you ready for your present?”
“Oh, yes.” Naoto smirked and put down her drink, not even looking at Yu. “I’m sure I’ll be pleased with the coat.”
A chorus of groans rang out through the room. Naoto turned around on her stool to see a dejected Yu holding a blue trench coat.
“How did you know!?” Yu sat down on the stool next to Naoto. “I made sure none of the clues pointed towards a coat!”
“Exactly. You overplayed your hand.” Naoto leaned back against the bar. “At first I wasn’t sure why Kanji-Kun kept looking above my eyes, but after seeing the blue felt he tried to hide, I realized you must have coached him to stare at my hat while lying to me. The lines you gave everyone were on the nose too. Teddie said that I ‘don’t even dress like a real detective’, Rise-Chan told me I had the ‘wrong headwear for the job’, Yosuke-Senpai said ‘we all wear many hats’, and Marie took my hat and told me things would come to ‘a head’. And an amateur might have settled for that, but it was clear that you were trying to mislead me from the start.”
“Ok, fair…” Yu scratched his head. “But how did you figure out it was a coat?”
“I guessed.” Naoto chuckled and finished off her drink. “Because if you DID want me to think I was getting a Detective’s hat, it would be bad if the real gift disappointed me, so instead you got me another mainstay of classic detective outfits.”
“Yeah… You got me.” Yu’s head hung low, but not low enough for Naoto to miss the tiny grin forming on his face. “Except-“
“Kanji-Kun hates to waste material, so you actually had the hat made too.” Naoto rose from the stool and took off her hat. “I’ll accept my rewards for a successful investigation now.”
“Alright, fine.” Yu sighed and held up his hands, revealing the matching blue fedora he was hiding behind the trench coat. He placed the hat on Naoto’s head then walked around her, putting the coat on.
“How do I look?” Naoto asked the room.
“Wow!” Chie was the first to speak up. “You look awesome, Naoto-Kun!”
“I’ll say!” Rise gave two thumbs up. “Very detectivey!”
“I’m glad that it’s still blue” Marie said. “It suits you.”
“It’s good,” Kanji said, “but now I kinda wish Senpai’d told me about the coat. I coulda made the hat match a little better. And you’ll prob’ly wanna match some suits with it too.”
“Don’t worry about it” Dojima said. “It’s a very sharp outfit.”
“I think it looks great on, you, Sis!” Nanako beamed at Naoto. “You’re gonna look great on your next investigation!”
“That’s FUR sure!” Teddie yelled. “Nao-Chan’s gonna be the sexiest detective in all of Japan!”
“Give it a rest!” Yosuke smacked Teddie on the back of the head. “You look good, Naoto. Now I kinda want a jacket like that too.” Yosuke looked to Yu. “Where’d you get it, partner?”
“Mitsuru-San got me in contact with her personal tailor” Yu said. “He talks a lot, but he does good work.”
“I wouldn’t bother, Yosuke.” Chie turned her nose up. “There’s no way you could pull off a coat like that.”
“I have to agree” Yukiko said. “Something that cool just doesn’t suit you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Yosuke shouted.
“Oh!” Nanako pointed to the clock on the wall. “It’s midnight, everybody! You know what that means!”
Everybody turned to Naoto with big grins on their faces.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
“Now it’s time to get this party going!” Teddie exclaimed.
“I think not.” Naoto yawned. “I’ve been running around town all day. I’d be happy to celebrate with you all when the sun’s up, but for now, I think it’s time for bed.”
“Alright.” Yu put his arm around Naoto’s shoulder. “Thanks for your help everyone. I’m gonna get the master detective home.”
Naoto was too tired to drive, so Yu took the wheel. There was silence for the first few minutes, Naoto rolling down the window of the car so she could smoke. As they reached the edge of town and got on the road to Naoto’s mansion, Yu finally broke the silence.
“I don’t think I’m going to do this anymore.”
“Oh?” Naoto had her seat leaning back, and tipped up the brim of her new fedora to look at Yu. “Why not?”
“It’s getting to be too much hassle, and I just don’t think I can beat you.” Yu yawned. “Can we just agree to stop making a game of this and you can just pretend to be surprised at my gifts from now on?”
“How surprised?” Naoto snickered and put out her cigarette. “Should I clasp my hands to my face and squeal for joy?”
“Maybe just stop reinforcing how you already knew what you were getting, then?”
“I can do that.” Naoto tilted the brim of her hat down and shut her eyes. “But you have to do something for me first.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re paying to replace that window Kanji broke.”
“Damn it” Yu grumbled. “I told him not to break the window.”
“Well, he did. And I don’t want it affecting my homeowner’s insurance, so I’ll just take the money out of your share from our next case.”
“Yes, dear.”