***
Eiichi had noticed a consistent change in Noda during their time escorting Yukichi off campus. She had been mentally chewing on something in the back of her thoughts the entire time as she giggled through their conversation.
Eiichi carried the amp, while Yukichi kept his guitar in a carry bag with backpack straps, slung over his shoulders, and his school tote bag in hand. Noda and Yukichi talked exuberantly with Eiichi making an interjection here and there.
They took the train and Eiichi mentioned his stop was coming up, which made Noda mention it was hers as well.
“You don’t need to follow me all the way home. My house isn’t far from where I get off,” said Yukichi.
“Okay.” Eiichi handed him his amp.
“It was great meeting you, Asako-san,” Yukichi said, nodding.
“And you as well, Ebina-san.”
“And...I wanted to know if you both would like to hang out sometime at my house, or anywhere really.”
“That would be fine!” Noda said ecstatically. “I’ve been trying to get this guy to be more outgoing anyways.” She elbowed Eiichi.
“I go out, you’re just never around for it.”
“Which is why I’m worried.”
Yukichi chuckled, “I know it must be strange, hanging out with a first-year.”
“Not at all. If you’re Eiichi’s kouhai, then you’re mine too.”
The train slowed to a stop and the doors slid open.
Yukichi nodded again. “Thank you. Well, see ya!”
They stepped off and bid Yukichi a wave from the platform before the shuttle began humming forward.
It was here that Noda smirked at Eiichi. “With that talent and those looks, that kid will be a real lady-killer if he grows a few more inches.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Eiichi turned around and began walking.
Noda crept up beside him. “So...a tough loner like you suddenly making friends with the little people. I think I’m starting to rub off on you.”
“Give it a rest...”
“Oh no, you’re getting softer every day, Eiichi. Better watch out,” she teased.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah! Or your deepest, darkest fears will become manifest! Eiichi Kozuka might be making—” she gasped for effect. “Friends.”
“Then I guess the last days are upon us.”
“I’ll keep track to see if we have any blood moons.”
“Or blue ones...”
They left the station. The sun was just beginning to set behind the distant, unseen mountains, and street lamps were flickering on. Noda was silent the entire time, tired of picking on him, and he noticed she was still chewing on what had been bothering her from before.
“I’ve made my decision...” she muttered.
They stopped under a street lamp.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah...I realize that you need me to help out with this, even though in doing it, we’re both putting our futures at risk. I don’t want that girl to get the wrong idea about us, but there isn’t much else we can do...She’s so terrified...If what you’re saying is right...I know if I were her, I would be so desperate, I would do just about anything to get this guy off my back and out of my life...”
Seeing Yukichi’s expression from earlier, his elation and joy over his newfound freedom, thanks to someone who went out of their way, and risked their own wellbeing for the sake of his own…these were results she could not argue with. It had conjured an epiphany. Yes, they both had a lot to cherish and be thankful for, the outcome of the last situation had brought all of that to light. But what good was all of it, if they knew someone else who did not have it, or once had it taken from them? How could either of them go about their joyful little lives, knowing that someone else was suffering, who should be sharing that same joy?
What made Eiichi sad was knowing that this was how he used to live his life. He had never wanted his abilities to begin with, and wanted to pretend they didn’t exist, and forget about the pain that surrounded him every day.
“Eiichi...I don’t know how it is you’re so knowledgeable about people. Frankly, it’s a little weird you know so much while being such a recluse.”
Eiichi had already been lighting up a smoke, “Ever heard of people-watching?”
She ignored this to avoid him asked more questions that he would simply answer himself.
“Anyhoo, you’re very useful because of that.” She became flush. “I’m only going to say this once, so don’t go getting a big head over it or anything, got it?”
“I’ll shut up.”
“And you better not tell anyone else I said this!”
“Why would I tell anyone?”
“Because, it might...sound weird...”
“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”
“Yeah,” she breathed a laugh. “You are pretty weird...”
“Well, don’t rub it in!”
Noda took a moment, and self-consciously adjusted the camera strap on her arm.
“But...it’s like you can see through people. I don’t know how to explain it, but you take one look at someone, and it’s almost as if you know everything there is to know about them.”
This had to be the second thing he had heard today that no one had ever said to him. As much as she seemed a spaz and an airhead, Noda was really quick on the uptake. While he observed everyone, including her, it seemed she had been fixating on him, and had mentally logged every encounter up to this point, just like when he first met her.
He attempted to keep his composure and not let her psyche overcome him.
“I think...someone like you is meant for this sort of thing. And if you are, I want to help. I just don’t know if I will always be of use...”
“How?”
“I don’t know...with photos and everything. Anyone can do that...”
Eiichi raised an eyebrow, “Am I talking to Noda Asako, or some girl that just looks like her?”
“What?” she lifted her gaze in the yellow light.
He kept a straight face and spoke calmly to her. “I’m just saying, those don’t sound like your words. The first few times you followed me, I felt like I had to pay you money just to get you to leave me alone. You were aware too, I’m sure, but yet you kept showing up. And every time we wound up in trouble, you had a lot to offer. Noda Asako is a very determined girl. She sees something she likes and she goes for it. She pushes forward, even in the face of danger. She’s clever, and finds a way to make something work. She does something good for someone, even if she knows they won’t like it. She can be very annoying sometimes, but it’s for good cause.”
He took a moment to drink in her astonished gaze.
“Noda is a photographer. It’s what she loves to do more than anything. I don’t understand it in the least, but she does. It comes easy to her, she sees and understands things about it that no one else does. When people see a sunrise, they think it’s just a sunrise, but Noda sees an opportunity. She can find anything significant enough to be recorded and documented, and history needs to be recorded, where would we be today without it?”
When he finished, she remained frozen and agape.
“So, do I know you as well as you say I do, or did I just prove you wrong?”
Noda closed her mouth. “Yeah, I realize now I was wrong.”
She waited to see if she got a rise out of him because of this.
His answer was a smirk, which twitched its way into a smile. Convulsing shoulders, tight chest, he found himself attempting to hold in a fit of hilarity. She was trying to do the same.
They were soon belting laughter at each other. Eiichi leaned forward, and Noda giggled uncontrollably, arms over her stomach.
“I think we’re both pretty weird...” he wiped his eyes.
“Yeah! Yeah, I think we are!” she blurted between her chuckles.
When they were able to contain themselves, Noda presented her hand with a grin.
> “I’m in. Let’s do this together.”
Even if they didn’t get a ‘thank you’ or ‘job well done’, even if they wound up in cuffs, she would rather they at least tried.
He took it. “Good, because I’m going to need you. I know it’s scary, but you can bet, if we both get caught, I’ll be right in it with you. I don’t know if it would be that good of a defense, but we can show the pictures you took and plead that we may have been interfering with police investigation.”
“So what’s the plan?”
They left the light of the street lamp and continued their walk.
“Her stalker could be someone close to her. Or someone who has access to the school database, which would explain how they got her locker combination. We can only do so much surveillance at school for obvious reasons, but after school gives us a broader window. The thing is, she’s going to recognize us if she sees us in our uniforms. And it won’t take long for her to make us, since she has both our names.”
“So we just have to be extra careful.”
“We could do that or...”
“Or what?”
“We hide just like a stalker. In plain sight...”
Eiichi P.I., Vol. 1 Page 24
