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Jaybird Inn, Second Floor Sleeping Quarters
Tokyo, Japan
6:00AM, Sunday, 6th January 2013
The air inside the Jaybird Inn is thick, Karasuno’s simultaneously eager and fearful anticipation for the day's slated match against Inarizaki—Interhigh runner ups and favorites to take the tournament—is what fills it.
Tanaka wakes first, quietly rising from his futon and stepping around his teammates to head for the bathroom. Part of him wishes he was still like them, asleep, still a world away from the upcoming challenge. Alas, they were all to be awakened within the next hour if they weren't already, so, with bravery, he pushes his thoughts aside and continues his careful steps toward the hallway.
The first door on the left is the bathroom. Further down the hall is the staircase down to the rest of the inn, which included the sacred, sacred room where Yachi—but most importantly—Kiyoko-san slept.
So full of beauty, elegance, and grace must've been that downstairs room, but Tanaka sighs, knowing he cannot lose himself with such a high stakes match in only a few hours.
Jaybird Inn, Second Floor Bathroom
Tokyo, Japan
6:01AM
Carrying his toiletries bag, he enters the bathroom and first brushes his teeth. While doing so, he appraises his appearance in the mirror, thankful to find no blemishes on his skin and that his shaved hair was even—for terrible would it be if Karasuno won big and he got interviewed and didn't look his best!
Finished with his teeth, Tanaka splashes some water on his face, cold shocking the last vestiges of sleep from him. When he turns to grab a hand towel off the shelf behind him is when he discovers that he's been standing in a crime scene.
Pooled at the bottom of the bag lining the knee-high wastebin by the wall is a liquid. Not just any liquid, no—Tanaka recognizes it from its yellowed color: urine. Soaking in the release is the packaging for several inn-courtesy hand soaps, dental floss, and a bandage wrapper.
Tanaka’s gaze remains fixed on the puzzling, shameful scene, not sure how to react. He knows he cannot do nothing. After a second he backs away and notes the rest of the room. Nothing by the sinks and mirrors is out of order, and the single toilet stall—unfortunate in count for a group of twelve, but made to do with coordinated turn-taking and use of the downstairs bathrooms—is likewise in array and functional, which he learns through making use of it.
Through the walls, Tanaka is alerted to the sounds of his teammates stirring, perhaps awoken by the flush. He reasons that he must confront all of them with the situation in the wastebin—he must take charge and find the culprit.
Jaybird Inn, Second Floor Sleeping Quarters
Tokyo, Japan
6:05AM
When he steps out he sees that everyone—sans Yamaguchi, still out cold—is in the process of rising. Likely one of them, perhaps Daichi, woke first and chose to stir the others after seeing the time.
“Everyone,” Tanaka says, standing in the entryway; heads turn, “a crime has been committed.”
Many gasp, most loudly Hinata and Asahi, the latter of whom speaking up after in distress. “What kind of crime?!”
Tanaka closes his eyes and breathes in, delivering such news is always tough. “Someone—one of you—must’ve gone into the bathroom some time during the night and… and peed in the wastebin.”
More gasps, many noises of disgust. Some questions of how and why—mostly why—anyone would do such a thing when there was a perfectly fine toilet in the same room. Several feet scramble on the wooden floor to go see for themselves. Chief amongst them is Daichi, who rushes past Tanaka in the hallway, then holds his arm out in the bathroom door, urging those behind him—Nishinoya and Hinata—to stay back.
Some din inside the bathroom, then the group, again headed by Daichi, fills back into the main room past Tanaka.
“I can confirm,” Daichi starts, “it's pee. Which of you did it?”
The team, and the room, falls silent. Not a confession, not a clue, not a whisper. Then, after many seconds tense enough to cut with a knife, Tsukishima clicks his tongue.
“Well, obviously it was Hinata.”
Standing on the opposite side of the room by Daichi and Tanaka, Hinata gasps, incensed. “What do you mean ‘obviously?’”
“I mean… just look at you. Who else would do something so stupid and weird?”
The rest of the team quietly mumbles to themselves, some in agreement, others with more faith in Hinata's regularness as a person.
“What's that supposed to mean?!” Hinata asks, but then continues, “I didn't do it!”
Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “Well, then who did?”
Hinata furrows his brow, thinking, then puffs his chest with confidence. “I think it's you, Stinkyshima! Why were you so quick to start pointing fingers?”
Tsukishima flicks his wrist, dismissing the accusation out of hand. “I thought I was just pointing out the obvious. Now, if it was me, why on earth would I have done it?”
Hinata balks at the question. “Well why on earth would I have done it?”
Tanaka steps forward, extending his arms out in either direction with his palms up. “Alright! Stop, stop! This isn't getting anywhere. What we need is a proper investigation: everyone gets interrogated, one by one.”
Beside him, Daichi holds a tone. “Erm, I have to talk with the coach soon. I don't have the time to—”
Tanaka holds up his hand. “Don't worry, Captain. I’ll do it,” he volunteers, then lowers his hand and holds it solemnly over his chest, “I didn't choose for it to happen this way, but I was first on the scene. I feel it is my duty and I will rise to it.”
Daichi shrugs, not overly fussed. “Alright, I have faith in you,” he says, then turns to speak to the group, “Tanaka is in charge of the… pee situation.”
Some mumblings among the group, a mix of immediate thoughts on the prospect of the investigation, others voicing their half-hearted belief in the overseeing detective.
Tanaka bows to Daichi. “I will not fail you,” he promises, both to his captain and to the skeptical among the crowd.
Daichi nods, then Tanaka clears his throat. “Okay! First point of order: nobody tampers with the crime scene! Find somewhere else to toss your trash.
“Second!” he continues, “I will be calling each of you in to be interviewed… starting with Hinata.”
Hinata jumps, panicky. “Why me?!”
Tanaka points his chin toward the opposite side of the room. “Right now, Tsukishima’s word is our only lead,” he explains, then wraps an arm around Hinata's shoulder and guides him into the hallway. “Let's talk somewhere quieter.”
Jaybird Inn, First Floor Landing
Tokyo, Japan
Interrogation 1
6:09AM
Tanaka takes Hinata to the bottom of the stairs, where he procures two chairs by the entryway and positions them facing each other. He sits in the one with his back to the front doors and Hinata takes the other.
“So, Hinata. Tell me why it isn't you.”
Suspiciously, Tanaka notes, Hinata cannot appear to sit still as he prepares to answer, continually crossing his legs back and forth, rocking.
“It's not me because… because I didn't do it! I didn't go to the bathroom at all during the night!”
Tanaka hums, then leans forward with his elbows on his thighs. “And why should I believe you?”
Hinata looks down at himself then up again. “B-because I really need to go to the bathroom right now!”
The way Hinata squirms certainly seems to corroborate his claim. Tanaka straightens his back. “I see… and if you had been the one to pee in the wastebin then you wouldn't be in such a bad way right now…”
“Exactly!” Hinata agrees, then looks down the hall toward the first floor bathroom. “So, uh… can I go now?”
Just one more thing. “Do you have any other information that might be relevant to the case?”
Hinata shakes his head. “I don't think so.”
Tanaka stands up. “Then you're free to go.”
“Thank you!” Hinata says, then darts off down the hall.
Jaybird Inn, Second Floor Sleeping Quarters
Tokyo, Japan
6:11AM
As of yet, the case is cold, but Tanaka is determined. He returns upstairs and, without any leads pointing him to any clear next suspect of the remaining nine—Yamaguchi is too deep of a sleeper to have woken during the night, and is thus dismissed out of hand—he chooses to go by year, continuing with the firsts.
Kageyama happens to be standing nearest; Tanaka flags him down and the two make their way to the interview room—err, interview hallway.
Jaybird Inn, First Floor Landing
Tokyo, Japan
Interrogation 2
6:12AM
“Tell me, why isn't it you?”
Kageyama is much stiller than the previous occupant of his seat, though expecting all non-guilty suspects to be at Hinata’s level of urgency was unreasonable. Hinata famously had a small bladder—and every subsequent interviewee will have possibly used the upstairs bathroom since the investigation started.
“Because it wasn't me?” Kageyama offers, confused, apparently, by the question.
“That's the best you got?” Tanaka asks.
Kageyama furrows his brow. “Yes. Why would I pee in the trash?”
“Exactly! Why would you?”
“I don't know!” Kageyama says, voice raising,
Tanaka rubs his chin. “Hmm,” he ponders aloud, “you don't know why you would do it… a pretty convincing alibi.”
“It is?”
“Yes,” Tanaka confirms; Kageyama could be faking his ignorance, but entertaining the idea now when there were so many more interviews to conduct would not be worth it, “you're ruled out… for now.”
“So I’m done?”
Tanaka hums. “Well, do you have any useful information?”
Kageyama leans back in his seat, considering, then speaks. “I don't know if it's useful, but last night I got woken up by someone next to me getting out of their futon. I didn't open my eyes to check who, though.”
Huh… “You couldn't tell which side of you it was?”
Kageyama shakes his head. “I don't remember.”
If logic and the facts so far followed, though, Kageyama’s memory wasn't needed. “If it wasn't Hinata then it must've been Tsukishima…” Tanaka reasoned, “you can go back now. Tell him to come down next.”
Kageyama nods. “I will, Tanaka-san.”
At the same time, Hinata returns from the bathroom and comes upon the interrogation.
“Kageyama, was it you?” he asks.
Kageyama scowls. “No!”
“His alibi checks out,” Tanaka adds.
Hinata and Kageyama continue to bicker to themselves as they go up the stairs together. Meanwhile, Tanaka sits, waiting for his next suspect.
Interrogation 3
6:15AM
Tsukishima makes his way down and Tanaka gestures for him to sit.
“You wouldn't lie to me, right Tsukishima?”
He clicks his tongue. “No.”
“Alright, then,” Tanaka says. “Tell me everything you know.”
Tsukishima flicks his eyes upwards, debating what he wants to admit, but goes through with it a second later. “I did get up last night—”
“Aha!” Tanaka cuts off, “a confession!”
Tsukishima groans. “No! I'm not confessing to peeing in the waste basket. I didn't even go to the bathroom.”
Tanaka deflates, sinking into his chair. “Then where did you go?”
A sigh. “I woke up with a dry spot in my throat. I went to get a sip of water before I’d cough and wake anyone.”
So courteous… or was it an act? “Do you have any way to prove that's what you did?”
“No, that’s…” Tsukishima trails off, initially offended by the concept of burden, but then realizing something, “actually, I do.”
Tanaka nods. “Go on, then.”
Tsukishima stands up. “Come.”
“Hmm,” Tanaka hums, “this is quite unusual for an interrogation, but… I’ll allow it.”
Jaybird Inn, First Floor Water Cooler
Tokyo, Japan
6:17AM
“Look,” Tsukishima points at the trashcan beside the water jug, “just one cup. Mine. It was empty when I was here last night.”
Right… The team all had their own water bottles which they’d use to fill up with. Tsukishima, though, just needing a sip in the middle of the night, wouldn't need so much. No one else would've had reason to use a disposable cup, then.
Tsukishima was telling the truth.
…at least about getting water. He could've still gone into the bathroom after, but that seemed unlikely given that he could've denied getting up at all—not knowing Kageyama’s testimony already proved he did—but chose not to. He was not someone who had anything to hide.
“This puts you in the clear, then,” Tanaka rules. “Did you see anything on the way back?”
Tsukishima hums. “Yes, I did. Someone was in the bathroom when I went back upstairs—the light was on.”
“Did you see who it was?”
Tsukishima shakes his head. “I only saw that one of the third years’ futons was empty, but I didn't pay attention to whose it was.”
A third year?! “Well, did you hear a flush after?”
In theory, if someone went into the bathroom and didn’t flush, that'd mean they had to be the wastebin pisser—because they didn't use the toilet. But a third year…
“I don't remember,” Tsukishima answers. “I think I fell back asleep right away.”
Mm… so there was no exonerating flush to prove that whichever third year was in the bathroom definitely wasn't the culprit. Though loath to believe one of his seniors could be guilty, Tanaka made a promise to dutifully carry out the investigation—even if the man he swore to was now in the top three list of suspects.
He sighs and puts a hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder. “Well, you’ve been very helpful, Tsukishima. Go back and tell… you know what? Tell all three of them to come down. I’ll be waiting for them.”
(Reverse) Joint Interrogation 4, 5, & 6
6:22AM
When the third years come down Tanaka has already found two more chairs. Now blocking the stairs, Daichi, Sugawara, and Asahi all have to precariously climb over said chairs to sit in them.
After he settles, Daichi dusts his hands. “So, you figured it out?”
Tanaka’s heart skips a beat and he presses his lips into a line. It hurts him so, to hear the assumption that the three were called to report the findings of the investigation, not realizing that they were being treated equally by the law. Cruel is the life of a detective investigating his own family.
“No…” Tanaka says, mournfully, “but I have a lead.”
“Well, what is it?” Daichi asks. To either side of him, Sugawara is tilting his head, curious, while Asahi clams up.
“It’s not definite…” Tanaka prefaces, “but the culprit may be… one of you.”
Tanaka watches their reactions; Suga tilts his head the other way, Daichi narrows his lips, and Asahi’s eyes go big as he starts to fiddle with his hands.
Daichi huffs; Tanaka fears he may sour at his own detective turning on him, but Daichi takes the accusation with grace. “Well, it wasn’t me.”
“I believe you,” Tanaka says quickly.
Suga hums. “I didn’t get up at all during the—”
“It was me!” Asahi blurts out. “It was me, okay? I did it. I must’ve peed in the trash!”
The other three gasp; Tanaka’s face drops, shocked not only by the identity of the culprit—someone who was seemingly above acts of delinquency—but also that the confession had come so easily. Disappointing, even, that he’d only made it halfway through the possible suspects and it was already over.
“I can’t believe this, Asahi-san,” Tanaka says after a moment to recover. “Why? Why did you do it?”
Asahi droops his head and cries. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I—”
“Hold on,” Sugawara interrupts, leaning past Daichi to face the guilty party. “What do you mean ‘must’ve?’”
Asahi looks up at him. “Well… I did get up to use the bathroom last night, and I—and I must’ve been more tired than I thought that I peed in the trash instead of the toilet,” he explains, then buries his head in his hands and returns to crying, “I’m so sorry!”
Tanaka sighs, but also lights up a little, realizing the case is not yet over. “Asahi-san, did you actually pee in the wastebin, or are you just convincing yourself that you did?”
Asahi sniffs. “I… I don’t know. I thought I used the toilet, but maybe I didn’t.”
Daichi puts a hand on Asahi’s arm. “Hey, you need to trust yourself. You remember using the toilet?”
All Asahi can muster is a weak nod.
“Then you probably did,” Daichi assures. “The culprit is still out there.”
Suga reaches over and puts a hand on Asahi’s knee. Across, Tanaka issues support from a third direction. “He’s right. I don’t think it was any of you.”
Asahi lifts his head, evidence of his distress still visible in the red of his face, but otherwise steeled. “Well, if you think so... and you’re the detective…”
“That’s right,” Tanaka says, then sits up a bit in his seat, ready to steer the investigation onward. “As far as I’m concerned you’re all no longer suspects,” he declares, “but before I let you go, did any of you see or hear anything during the night? Any clues at all?
The three take a moment to consider. Daichi and Asahi both shake their heads. Sugawara, however, speaks up.
“I don’t have anything,” he says, “but might I suggest you interview Narita next? His futon was closest to the bathroom, he might’ve seen something.”
Tanaka’s eyes twinkle. “An excellent idea, Suga-san!” he exclaims, then stands up. “You three go back and tell him to come down.”
“Will do,” Daichi says, then rises with the other two. They examine the arrangement of the chairs relative to the stairs, silently debating the best way to climb over when Tanaka steps in.
“I’ll get these,” Tanaka intervenes, moving to push the extra two chairs aside.
“God speed, Detective,” Sugawara adds as the three leave.
Tanaka nods. “Thank you.”
He needs it.
Interrogation 7
6:28AM
“Tanaka-san,” Narita acknowledges as he sits.
Calm, Tanaka notes. “I trust you know why you’re here?”
Narita tilts his head. “About the… pee thing?”
Mm. Perhaps the angle was too obtuse. “Well, right, but—you know what? Here, let's just get out of the way the question I ask everybody: was it you?”
Narita shakes his head. “No. I never got out of my futon.”
“Right, I’ll believe you,” Tanaka says—though he had no way of corroborating the claim—”but, speaking of, you were closest to the bathroom. Did you see anything? Hear anything?”
A pause, then Narita nods. “Well, I’m a pretty light sleeper, so I got woken up twice last night by the toilet flushing. Not sure if that means anything, though.”
Twice… interesting. Very interesting. “No, that’s very helpful, Narita-san,” Tanaka says, then ponders aloud to himself, “that means there were three…”
“Three?” Narita hears.
Tanaka holds a tone, supposing he’ll explain himself. “In the bathroom—the two you heard, and the culprit.”
If Asahi’s memory is indeed trustworthy, then… one of the remaining suspects—Nishinoya, Ennoshita, and Kinoshita—had to be the other innocent bathroom-goer. Or… technically the wastebin pisser could’ve flushed the toilet, but it’d make no sense for them to do so.
…and one of the three, perhaps, may also be the culprit.
Narita hums. “I see.”
“Alright,” Tanaka says after a beat, clearing his throat, “you’re dismissed. Tell… mm, how about… Kinoshita?—to come down next.”
Narita stands. “I will.”
Interrogation 8
6:31AM
“I’ll cut to the chase,” Tanaka says, “did you go to the bathroom last night?”
“Yes,” Kinoshita answers, “I did.”
Tanaka leans back in his seat, reveling in a concrete admission. “Interesting. How can I know that you weren’t the wastebin pisser, then?”
Technically, he could wait until after he’d completed the interviews, and if neither Ennoshita or Nishinoya admitted to being in the bathroom, then that’d prove Kinoshita was one of the two innocents, or vice versa and mean one of the claimants was lying—or that it really was Asahi. Still, though, if Kinoshita had proof that’d make things easier.
“Um, well…” Kinoshita starts, sounding bashful—or suspicious? “I didn’t go into the bathroom because I needed the toilet; I, uh… I have a spot of acne on my shoulder and… and I needed to put a bandage on it. I only used the toilet after since I was already there.”
Tanaka rubs his chin. “I see… but why does that prove it's not you?”
“Well, when I threw the wrapper away there wasn’t pee in the trash,” Kinoshita explains.
Ah. That was right, there was a bandage wrapper in the trash—and it was at the bottom, not floating on the surface of the crime scene. Sure, Kinoshita could’ve thrown the wrapper away and then peed in the wastebin, but given that his story was checking out, Tanaka wasn’t keen to believe he was lying.
“Your story aligns with the facts,” Tanaka says, “but one more thing: do you have any other information that relates to the case?”
Kinoshita shakes his head. “Can’t think of anything.”
Tanaka nods. “Alright, you can head back. Send, uh… Ennoshita after you.”
Rising from his chair, Kinoshita agrees and starts up the stairs. Meanwhile, Tanaka holds his hands in a triangle over his mouth, considering all the facts, the dwindling list of suspects, and how he’s no closer to having a number one suspect than he was at the start of the investigation.
Have heart, he tells himself. There were still two interrogations to go…
Interrogation 9
6:35AM
“Have you solved it yet?” Ennoshita asks as he comes down, sounding already sure of the answer.
Tanaka frowns. “Have you no faith in my detective skills?”
“No-no, nothing like that,” Ennoshita dismisses, “I was just wondering.”
Tanaka puffs his chest out. “Leave the questions to me, alright?” he says; he gets a non-snarky flick of the eyes in response. “I’ll ask you, then: did you do it?”
Ennoshita hums. “No, but I have a bit of information for you.”
Oh? Tanaka raises an eyebrow, beckoning.
“Last night,” Ennoshita goes straight into elaborating, “I had this nightmare where I got subbed in at match point and we lost because I touched the net. Needless to say, I woke up with my heart racing.”
Okay… “Go on.”
“Right,” Ennoshita continues, “so as I lay there, trying to fall back asleep, I hear someone near me get up.”
Tanaka narrows his eyes. “Who?”
Ennoshita holds a tone. “Mm, I was laying on my stomach—and I was tired, after all—so I didn’t get a look.”
“Was it Kinoshita?” Tanaka asks.
“Maybe”—Ennoshita shrugs—”it was close enough that it had to be one of us,” he says, referring to the second years, “but I think it might’ve been on the other side of me.”
“So definitely not Kinoshita or Narita?”
That would leave only one…
“Not definitely. You said Kinoshita?” Ennoshita asks; Tanaka nods, “it’s possible he’s the one I heard, but I can’t say for sure.”
Tanaka puffs up one cheek and passes the air from one side to another, stewing on the information. It could’ve just been Kinoshita, but…
“Well, that sounds like all there is to know,” Tanaka says, “that just leaves Noya-san. Send him down.”
Ennoshita stands, but then pauses. “What about Yamaguchi?”
Tanaka shakes his head. “No way he ever wakes up in the middle of sleeping.”
“Mm, you’re right,” Ennoshita says. “I’ll go get Nishinoya.”
“I’ll be here.”
Interrogation 10
6:40AM
Nishinoya pauses a few steps from the chair, taking in Tanaka before him. “The case has been rough, Detective Ryu?”
Do I look older? Tanaka shakes his head, committed to seeing it through to the end. “Sit, Noya-san.”
Nishinoya grabs either side of the stairway and jumps over the back of the chair, landing straight on it. “Woo! I’ll make it easy for you, Ryu; it wasn’t me.”
Tanaka nods slowly. “And you never got out of your futon?”
“Nope!”
“And did you see anything?”
“Nope!”
Tanaka presses his lips into a line, meets Nishinoya’s eyes, then lets out a breath. “You’d never lie to me. I trust you.”
Nishinoya’s gaze morphs from playful to serious, reading between the lines. “But someone else lied to you?”
It wasn’t becoming of a detective to be so honest with a suspect, but it’d been a lonely, lonely task. Tanaka sighs. “Well, no one’s confessed.”
Nishinoya leans forward and grabs Tanaka by both arms, shaking him. “C’mon Ryu! Don’t sound so down!” he says, “you’ve got clues, don’t you?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, you don’t need a confession, then!” Nishinoya asserts; Tanaka’s mood rises with the contagion of confidence. “Be a detective—put the pieces together!”
Sitting taller, Tanaka huffs. “Yeah… yeah! I can do this!”
Nishinoya lets go of him. “I believe in you, Detective!”
“Alright!” Tanaka says, loud and proud, “you go back upstairs. I’ll follow in a bit once I’ve gathered my findings.”
“You got this, Ryu!” Nishinoya stands, squeezes Tanaka’s shoulder, then turns around and ascends the stairs two at a time.
Tanaka then sat alone, left with only the evidence and—perhaps—the truth.
Jaybird Inn, Second Floor Sleeping Quarters
Tokyo, Japan
6:44AM
Standing in the entry way, Tanaka claps his hands, drawing everyone’s attention—except Yamaguchi, who’s still out like a log.
“Everyone!” he announces, “the investigation has concluded!”
Whatever idle talk had been going pauses in favor of whispered mumblings about what may have been found. Hinata, who was putting one leg through his shorts, jumps up and down in excitement and falls over with a thud, but keeps the energy going from the floor.
“Oooh! Who did it?”
Tanaka holds up a hand. “Patience, Hinata,” he says, then clears his throat. “After reviewing all of your testimonies, I’ve drawn three conclusions. First, is that at least one person in this room is lying.”
Several gasps, more whisperering. Tanaka continues: “Second, is that at most four people got up last night: Tsukishima, to get water, Asahi and Kinoshita to the bathroom, and fourth… the culprit to… commit the… crime.”
That last part sounded cooler in Tanaka’s head. Meanwhile, Sugawara made a noise. “What do you mean ‘at most?’”
At that, Tanaka held a tone and sighed. “Well… that gets to my third conclusion… which is that I have absolutely no freaking idea who did it. Maybe it wasn’t four people who got up and it was one of those three, or just as likely it could’ve been any of you.
“The point is,” Tanaka closes, “is that I don’t know—and without a confession, we may never know.”
The room erupts yet again into various mumblings about the case and its result, lots of disappointment, some theorizing, but mostly indifference; the match was drawing nearer, and priorities were shifting—Daichi had even left in the middle of the results being announced to go downstairs to speak with the coach.
Nishinoya approaches Tanaka. “Hey, you still did good, Ryu.”
Tanaka nods and sighs. “I know.”
Practice Gym, Hallway Bathroom
Tokyo, Japan
8:45AM, Sunday, 6th January 2013
Karasuno is wrapping their final practice before departing for the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Tanaka is alone in the bathroom, washing his face at the sinks, when the door opens.
Ennoshita enters. “There you are.”
Tanaka wipes his face with a paper towel and looks up. “The bus is here?”
Ennoshita shakes his head. “Not yet.”
When Ennoshita makes no move to go to a stall or use the sinks, Tanaka narrows his eyes. He’s here with a purpose… and it’s me?
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Ennoshita asks, though says it more in the tone of a statement than a question.
Tanaka tilts his head. “Huh?”
“The wastebin,” Ennoshita elaborates; Tanaka tenses, “I’ve been thinking how… strange it is, that you woke up before everyone. Almost like you had to make sure you were the one to ‘discover’ it.”
Tanaka shifts his eyes left and right, as if to confirm the obvious that he was, indeed, being cornered. “Why is that so odd? Someone was going to wake up first. It just happened to be me.”
“You’re right,” Ennoshita concedes, "it's not strange by itself—though you’re not usually one to wake up so early.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Tanaka lets out a chuckle. “Well, being away from home messes up my sleep schedule. You should know what that’s like.”
Ennoshita hums. “Of course, of course… but then I thought more about what I heard last night, and I’m quite certain now that the person I heard was to the right of me. It couldn’t have been Kinoshita.”
“Okay…” Tanaka drawls, thinking, “what if it was Asahi-san? Or Tsukishima?”
Ennoshita shakes his head. “No, they were both on the other side of the room. Who I heard was close. It had to be either you or Nishinoya—and you ruled out Nishinoya.”
Sweating, Tanaka takes a step backward. “Well, maybe Noya lied.”
Tilting his chin down, Ennoshita pierces Tanaka with a knowing look. “You’d really throw him under the bus?”
Tanaka presses his lips in a line, weighing the incredulous choice between loyalty to his friend and his own self interest.
“You don’t have to answer that,” Ennoshita says after only a beat. “There’s just two things I don’t understand: Why did you do it, and why bother with the detective act? No one would’ve found out who did it.”
A long, pregnant pause, then Tanaka sighs, the game up. “There was a spider on the seat; I didn’t want to lift it…” he confesses, ashamed, “and I forgot to go before bed and I’d drank that soda from the vending machine earlier. I wasn’t going to make it to the downstairs toilet.”
Ennoshita closes his eyes, processing. “And why fake the investigation?”
Another sigh. “Even if no one would’ve figured it out, if word of the whole situation made its way to Kiyoko-san, then… then she would never know for sure that it wasn’t me,” Tanaka explains; Ennoshita’s face drops, expression conveying something to the effect of ‘of course it’s about her—it’s always about her,’ “so by taking on the role of detective, that was supposed to rule me out for sure.”
Ennoshita narrows his eyes. “All so she wouldn’t think there was even a chance it was you?"
“Yes,” Tanaka admits, then grabs Ennoshita by both arms—whose eyes go wide, startled, “you’re not going to tell anyone, are you? Please don’t tell anyone!”
Ennoshita brushes him off and shakes his head. “No. We don’t need any more drama before the match today.”
Tanaka’s shoulders relax, his secret safe, but then he considers Ennoshita’s words more carefully. “But what about after the match?”
Ennoshita purses his lips. “Well, let me see here”—he digs into his gym bag, which he’s carrying under his arm, and rips out a sheet from his volleyball journal, handing it and a pen to Tanaka—”sign this.”
Thinking only of his reputation in the eyes of Shimizu, Tanaka does as he’s told right away, handing the paper back to Ennoshita. Only then does he ask: “What was that for?”
Ennoshita smirks. “Call it a blank check—an I.O.U. In the future, if I hand this back to you, then it means you have to do one favor for me—anything—no questions asked.”
Tanaka’s heart sinks. Ennoshita, by all means, was a very nice person... but he was also a very smart person—he knew exactly how to seize leverage to the greatest effect, and in fair fashion at that. Tanaka couldn’t be mad about it, but he could be regretful.
“Uh, can I just give you money instead?”
Ennoshita shakes his head. “Too late, it's already signed,” he says, showing the I.O.U. one last time before slipping it inside his bag.
Tanaka sighs, no cards to play. “Well, then… I accept my fate for your secrecy, Ennoshita-san.”
“Mm,” Ennoshita hums, acknowledging. The room falls silent for a few beats until he speaks up again. “So why didn’t you just take some toilet paper and push the spider into the—”
Tanaka puts up a hand, seeking to employ the only thing he got out of the deal. “I don’t want to talk about it. Your lips are sealed!”
Ennoshita huffs. “Very well,” he says with a small grin, then turns for the door and leaves.
Tanaka remains in the bathroom, calming himself after what has just transpired. He faces the mirror again and steels his expression. Sure, he'd thought he’d gotten away with it earlier when he declared the results of his own investigation inconclusive, but true detective work is defined not by what is simply asserted, but by the truth—and only now would it actually be true to say…
Case Closed.
