"Matsuoka, I-" Kaho said.
"What even is this?" he demanded, "If Naseru's page is blank, that's a bad sign that he's still on the wrong path? What kind of path do you think I'm on Aigawa."
"Matsuoka," Captain Hirano said, "Calm down."
Naseru got to his feet and trudged away from the decking. One of the supervising officers followed him, a few steps behind him. Kaho watched him go, feeling her heart shrivel up like a raisin. She deflated and leaned against Ryota and couldn't contain her sobs anymore.
Kaho hadn't noticed the second supervising officer slink towards them. He was a short man with dark brown hair, a round face and big smile. His brown eyes glistened in the dimming light, "Just give him five minutes to cool his head, hun," he said.
Taiga raised a brow at the officer.
"I have a teenager that's explosive like that. He'll burn out his initial reaction and come back if he's anything like my boy."
Kaho bit her tongue, not wanting to retort, and tell this stranger that there was nobody in this world like Matsuoka Naseru, and that might be the problem.
They waited in awkward silence for Naseru and the other officer to come back, when the officer watching over Hanagawa sighed, grabbing his radio from his belt, "I'm taking the kids to their rooms."
Taiga pouted, any budding plans to be supervised while they fished had been stomped out before they could fully form. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Officer, my manager here, wants to write her notes up on my laptop, can I please go to my room first so she had it?"
The officer shrugged, "Course."
Kaho trudged through the growing darkness. The team followed the officer in a single-file line, except for Fumiko, who slipped into step with Kaho. She found her hand and squeezed it.
"You're Naoru's girlfriend, is he anything like his brother?" Kaho asked quietly.
"I don't know Matsuoka like I know Naoru," Fumiko said, "But Naoru is calculated and sharp, like his little brother, so maybe they're kind of alike?"
"If the shoe was on the other foot?"
Fumiko shook her head, "I wouldn't have a clue where to even start to find either of them if they'd stormed off like that, I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Kaho said.
The group of students went from Taiga's room to Captain Hirano's room to Ryota's room to Konoishi's. Naseru wasn't there. Taiga and the supervising officer dropped the girls off at their room, and they let themselves in.
Fumiko set down Taiga's laptop on Kaho's bed and launched herself on hers. She rolled along the quilts and encased herself in a blanket burrito. She sniffed.
"Do you smell that?" she asked.
Kaho inhaled deeply. Did a lingering smell of sick linger in the room? She couldn't smell anything.
"What?"
Fumiko shuddered, "I can smell him. Like he was in here."
Kaho felt bile rise in her throat. She took another deep breath. She went to her bed and sniffed her duvet, then tentatively took one of the pillows from Fumiko's bed. She inhaled again. She could smell it. Him. Sato Kenta.
He'd been in the room. He'd been in their room. On Fumiko's blankets.
Fumiko thrashed in her blankets and hurled it into the corner, bolting to the bathroom. Kaho followed her and pulled Fumiko's hair back so it didn't fall into the toilet as she gagged and wretched. Fumiko trembled on the bathroom floor. She looked pale. Scared.
"His mark might have changed," Fumiko said, "Fuck. What if he's after you now? Or me. It was my bed!"
"Do you want me to grab your phone? You could call your mum? Or Taiga? Maybe Naoru?"
"No," Fumiko said, her skin was pale and her breaths were quick and shallow. She was hyperventilating, "Satoru. Get Satoru."
Kaho nodded and left Fumiko in the bathroom. Fortunately, the log cabin where Konoishi, Omura and Tomohiro were staying with Naseru for the trip was situated directly opposite the girls'.
Kaho crossed the gap between the rooms and hammered on the door. Konoishi opened the door. He was in his pyjamas, a big bag of marshmallows open under his arm.
"Kaho, you okay?"
She shook her head, "Fumiko's asking for you."
"Peace out guys," Konoishi said, closing his cabin door and making his way into the room Kaho and Fumiko were sharing.
"Fumiko," Konoishi said, extending the 'o' sound.
"In here," she squeaked.
Konoishi gestured for Kaho to sort out the laptop, and potentially help Akane, if she arrived in the coming minutes. He would sit in the bathroom with Fumiko. Kaho headed to the empty chest of drawers. A small lamp sat on top of it, it was at least as old as her mother, with beads hanging from the shade like a cascade of jewelled tears. She followed the wire to a plug socket, and saw a plastic casing concealing the port. Kaho cursed under her breath, of course the light fixtures were secured in their sockets, for the guests' safety.
With the lamp out of the question, Kaho took Taiga's laptop in her hands and slunk toward the solitary wooden wardrobe. It was tall and smooth, a similar tone and shade to the wood of the room. She screwed her eyes closed and swung the doors open, heart in her throat.
The wardrobe was empty. Sato Kenta wasn't hiding in her closet. Just some coat hangers. Kaho sighed and slid alongside the foot of Fumiko's bed and curled up in a ball, trying to calm her breathing. She needed to set up the DVD for Akane. She needed to protect Akane so Kenta couldn't kill her Shoji wouldn't be accused of her murder. She needed to because it was the right thing to do, and she needed to find Naseru.
She opened her phone, and saw the last text he'd sent her. The eel emoji. Her heart felt like it had been wrenched from her chest.
'Naseru, please let me explain.'
She sent the text, turned on the computer and waited for Akane, or better yet, a reply.
Konoishi left the bathroom before Akane arrived. He scooped up the offending sheets and marched out of the door.
"Call your brother and ask him to call the front desk because one of you needs new bedding."
He was gone for a few moments. Kaho and Fumiko lurked in the doorway of their little cabin, "Are you okay?"
"No," Fumiko said, "But I'll cope. Somehow. Do you think we could barricade the door?"
Kaho shrugged. Fumiko walked to one of the drawer units and gave it a gentle shove. It didn't budge. She tried again, and it stayed put.
"Looks like that's not happening…"
"What do you want to do?" Kaho asked quietly, "I'm sure we could make a case for-"
"And say what?" Fumiko hissed, "That the mysterious murderer was in our room? That he was in my bed?" her voice cracked.
She slumped down in the doorway, leaning her head against the doorframe. Kaho stepped away from Fumiko and grabbed her phone, punching in Taiga's number.
"Hey!" Fumiko said, "What are you doing?"
Kaho ignored her, "Taiga, I'm really, really sorry. This is so gross but I didn't notice this morning, but could you call Mr Shirotani or Mr Tsukishima so I can get new sheets for my room?"
"You need anything else? Pads? Tampons? Fresh clothes? I know we're on lockdown but I reckon the cops would supervise me if you need new stuff because you're-"
"Um. I think I'm okay. I'll get back to you. But, uh, yeah, just a new blanket. I'll remake the bed. But please."
"Kaho, if needs must, you can have my blanket," Taiga declared, "I'll get it sorted for you."
"Okay, Thank you."
"And Kaho?" Taiga asked, his voice quiet and reproachful, "Your letter thing mentioned heartbreak. Do you know if she, you, whatever, if the heartbreak is about Kasumi?"
Kaho swallowed the lump in her throat. Takamura Kasumi was a sore spot, like a sceptic wound, he never mentioned her, not when he could avoid it. She'd been a Hokkaido Komainu while Taiga was still in the Kenjoku Kaijus, and was just a few months older than him, one of the youngest people in her grade. She'd graduated a whole year before him and chosen to chase her dreams and leave the country as soon as the opportunity arose, instead of waiting for him. He never followed, not after the fallout with Aya, Naseru's brother.
"I still talk to her, you know," Taiga said quietly, "We write. Sometimes she sends postcards, when she plays internationally."
"I – I didn't know that," Kaho conceded, lowering her head, "I hope you get to see her again soon."
"Right," Taiga said thickly, "I'm going to call the old guys at the main building for another blanket, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks, Taiga."
Fumiko stared at her from the doorway, her eyes wide and inquisitive, like she'd misjudged the situation.
"A girlfriend?" Fumiko asked quietly.
"An estranged ex," Kaho corrected, "Takamura Kasumi from the Red Wolves."
"As in the team in China?" Fumiko's mouth fell slack.
Kaho nodded and sat beside her in the doorway, just as Konoishi strode out of his room. He stood between the two cabins and unfurled the blanket, a massive
"What are you doing, Satoru?" Fumiko asked, leaning on the doorframe.
"Does this look enough like blood?"
Fumiko and Kaho shared a glance. The bedding was stained a bright red, like someone had smeared a huge blob of cherry sauce all over the blanket. Kaho pursed her lips.
Fumiko shook her head, "Satoru. You're a genius, but it needs to be a bit darker."
He saluted her, kicking open the door to his shared room, "We need to make it darker, boys!"