Chapter 27
I felt the sky brighten up just a little.
“Maybe he got lost somewhere and is just staying put because it’s dark. Once the sun comes up, he’ll probably just pop back in, don’t you think?”
The bearded man called Masa-san said this while scratching his head.
“I hope so.”
Shinji nodded.
“Could you tell me about the person who went missing?”
Whether out of a sense of duty as a police officer or simply because it was something he had come to do, Kamiya asked Shinji.
“Um, Michio Kaneko…… I think? Everyone called him ‘Mitchi’. He was probably in his mid-twenties, a little taller than me, but not quite 180 cm. He had long hair that he tied back. He had a former delinquent vibe and was the hot-headed type.”
“I see. If we can’t find him, we’ll call the local police. You, come with me to the police station.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
Seeing Shinji bow politely, Kamiya said,
“… Not drinking and driving, searching for a missing biker—are you really the robber from that case?”
He raised his eyebrows.
Just as he was about to say something, Kamiya’s cell phone rang.
“Excuse me…… Yes, this is Kamiya. Ah, yes, right, no, it’s fine. I’m here now. …Well, actually, there’s a bit of a problem… No, not with him, it’s something else. Yes.
Was the caller Yasuhara? I guess I called out of concern because he hadn’t heard from Kamiya even though it had been a while since we left. I could hear Kamiya explaining the situation in detail.
“Got it. I’ll do that. Okay, then, see you later.”
She ended the call.
“Was that… Yasuhara-san?”
“Yes. He wanted to know what’s going on.”
“Right. We’ve kept him waiting for quite a while, haven’t we?”
Normally, she would have made the arrest and reported to Yasuhara long ago. Understandably, he would be suspicious.
“I’m really sorry.”
I smiled at Shinji, who was apologizing with a look of regret.
“I was worried because you weren’t at the school. But I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I thought I should at least take a shower before turning myself in, so I came here. I was hungry too. I never imagined things would turn out like this. I panicked when the bike just stopped working. I’m really glad it wasn’t completely broken down.”
My motorcycle broke down.
Realistically, pushing the bike all the way from here to the elementary school would be impossible.
“Well, it’s been sitting unused for a few years, so it can’t be helped.”
As I said that, I felt a sense of unease.
It stopped working…?
The bike had worked just fine the last time I came here with him—so why wouldn’t it start this time? The mileage shouldn’t be much different. Even Mitchi, who rode it last, is a biker. He wouldn’t have ridden it any differently than usual. Maybe something really is changing every time we come back here.
“Furuya-kun.”
Kamiya turned to face Shinji.
“Once again. I’m Atsuko Kamiya. You know that, right?”
“Yes, just by reputation.”
“I have a mountain of questions I want to ask—separate from the official statement. I was really surprised that the robber was waiting around because he was worried about drunk driving.”
“I mean, ‘Don’t ride if you’ve been drinking’ is just common sense, right?”
Kamiya’s lips curl upward at Shinji’s extremely serious reply.
“I see, I’m starting to understand why Hirose-san has fallen for you.”
“Heh.”
“Huh?”
Shinji and I exchanged glances, then lowered our heads simultaneously.
“Alright, let’s go.”
At Kamiya’s words, we started walking. The sky was already bright. As we walked, Shinji began to explain things.
“That way is a mountain pass, so I don’t think he could have gotten lost. I thought he might be on the animal trail behind the mountain or by the river, so I was about to go look there.”
“I see. I think so too.”
“Yesterday, I headed straight for the river, but it was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. I even called out his name, but there was no answer.”
We got into the car, left the campground behind, and drove onto a road running right alongside the river. Just then, Shinji spoke up.
“…… Huh?”
A figure was visible in the distance.
“Is something wrong?”
Kamiya stopped the car.
“That might be Mitchi-san standing over there.”
“Huh?”
Looking over, we could make out a man peering down from the guardrail. Kamiya brought the car to a slow stop.
“Hey, Mitchi-san!”
When Shinji poked his head out the window and shouted, the man turned toward us. And then, he shouted back.
“H, help me! Shiina-san, Shiina-san is in the river!”
At those desperate words, we exchanged glances for a moment. We got out of the car and started running.
“What happened?”
Kamiya asked as we ran. Mitchi pointed down from the guardrail, in the direction of the river. Looking down, we saw someone lying there, just as Mitchi had said.
“Shiina-san?”
A man was lying face down on the riverbank. From the road, it looks like there’s about a three-meter drop to the riverbank, making it difficult to descend directly. A stone staircase is visible a short distance away. That’s the only way down.
More importantly…
“Could he be hurt……?”
The color of the flowing river is red.
“Tch.”
Shinji clicked his tongue and stepped over the guardrail.
“Wait, Shinji. What are you going to do? From up here—”
Before I could finish my question, he’d already set his foot on the stone wall, preparing to climb down. Below was a rocky area, so jumping down could easily result in injury. However, the wall was stacked so tightly that descending while securing a foothold would have been impossible without a rope.
“I told you it’s dangerous!”
But Shinji didn’t stop. With his hands gripping the wall, he looked down. From his vantage point, the riverbed wasn’t that far away. After checking his footing, he gently let go and landed.
“Furuya-kun!”
Kamiya shouted instructions from above.
“Check if he’s okay!”
“Yes!”
Shinji waded into the river with a splash. When he reached the man lying on the ground, he placed a hand on his back and called out his name.
“Shiina-san! Are you alright?”
There was no response.
“Shiina-san!”
He turned the man onto his back, cradling him as he did so, and then—
“He’s still breathing! Kamiya-san, call an ambulance— hurry!”
He turned to us and shouted loudly.
“…… He’s alive.”
I covered my mouth and muttered.
“I’ll call the fire department and the police, so don’t touch him anymore! I’m coming over there.”
Saying that, Kamiya dashed off toward the stone steps a short distance away.
“Shiina-san, is alive……”
Next to me, Mitchi collapsed to his knees.
“What on earth happened?”
When I asked that,
“Yesterday, I got into an argument with Shiina-san… about Shinji’s motorcycle…”
He pieced together his words as he recalled the events.
“I’d had a few drinks, and I was pretty worked up. I left the scene to cool my head for a bit.”
He spoke in a low, mumbled voice.
“The road was pitch black at night, so I figured I’d head back to the campground in the morning. But then that guy went out of his way to come looking for me.”
“By ‘that guy,’ do you mean Shiina-san?”
“You know, that guy’s always going on and on about trivial stuff. He loves to lecture people. Going out of his way to chase after me… I mean, he’s just way too annoying.”
“Huh?”
Mitchi’s tone began to grow harsh.
“Just because he’s a little older, he acts all like some big brother—it really pisses me off.”
“Um, what?”
I took a step back.
“We got into a fight here too. But that guy was an idiot for picking a fight with me. I used to train in martial arts, you know? Well, he didn’t seem to know that. So I threw that talkative guy over there.”
He let out a soft chuckle.
