Byakuyakou The Novel ~ Chapter 4
I'm late already, Nakamichi Masaharu thought. In the middle of the light rain, he's heading toward Karasawa Reiko's house.
Nakamichi Masaharu is teaching Math to Karasawa Yukiho at her home. In other words, he's a private(home) teacher. He is a college student majoring engineering. He has confident in Math since highschool, so he started this part-time job. Until spring this year, he was teaching a 3rd grade highschool male student, but then he has graduated, so he had to find another student he can teach. Then Masaharu's mother told him, that her Sadou(tea ceremony) sensei is looking for a home teacher for her 2nd grade highschool student daughter. That Sadou sensei is Karasawa Reiko. And so, that's how Masaharu become Yukiho's home teacher. He feels so grateful now to his mother, because not only he gets stable income now, but he has his own certain reason for always looking forward to meet Yukiho.
As he reached his destination, Karasawa Reiko welcomed him and apologized that Yukiho is not home yet. Apparently she is still busy preparing the culture festival that will be held soon in her school. She has to keep her good relationship with her seniors, so she can't just leave. Nakamichi said it's fine and that it's true she has to keep good relationship with her seniors.
Yukiho is aiming to major English literature in university. That's what she is best at since junior high. But university entrance exam includes various subjects and not just English. Yukiho's grades in any subjects are actually quite superior, but apparently she is weak in Math. So Reiko thinks she needs a home teacher to teach her Math.
As Reiko served Masaharu tea, they started talking about how difficult it is to enter the university nowadays and that for the students to prepare themselves in a very early stage is necessary. And that's exactly why Reiko transferred Yukiho from the Ooe public school to the Seika Gakuen private school once she has adopted her.
Then the topic turns to how Reiko adopted Yukiho and how they met the first time.
It was about 2 years before Yukiho's mother's death, during Yukiho's father's seventh anniversary of death, that they met. Reiko is her father's cousin. And when Yukiho heard that Reiko teaches tea ceremony, she seem very interested. Since then Yukiho frequently visits Reiko's house. Reiko's house is quite a distance from Osaka and Yukiho came there by bus. Yukiho asked Reiko to teach her tea ceremony. Yukiho is a smart and nice girl, so Reiko loves her very much. When she heard about her mother's death, she immediately adopted her without thinking twice.
Masaharu asked whether Yukiho's mother's death was caused by a traffic accident, but Reiko explained that it was a gas accident. She remembered how Yukiho cried and sobbed so loud that time.
After she started living there, not only tea ceremony but Yukiho asked Reiko to teach her flowers-arranging too. Seem like Yukiho has interests in lady-like activities. Then, Masaharu mentioned, "Speaking of that, Yukiho-san doesn't speak in Kansai dialect, ne?".
Reiko said, for Yukiho, Kansai dialect sounds bad, and so she always tries her best not to speak in Kansai-ben. Then, Reiko mentioned how she used to live in the Kanto area for a long time so she cannot speak in Kansai-ben anymore. Masaharu said that's exactly the same with him, he was born in Osaka but he used to live in the Kanto area for a long time, so he can't speak in Kansai-ben anymore now.
This is definitely not a boring topic for him. It's the period when Masaharu likes to know more about Karasawa Yukiho in details. But from what she just said, Masaharu realized that this adoptive mother of hers doesn't know her well.
There was one happening that left him a deep impression. It was July, and he just finished his 2 hours lesson for Yukiho. While drinking the tea, Yukiho asked him many things about college activities. Five minutes later, Reiko came and told Yukiho, "You have a phone call from the English speech contest comitee,".
After Yukiho left the room, Masaharu also went down. When he was passing by Yukiho who was talking on the phone, he saw Yukiho's expression was so serious. But when he gave a sign that he's going home, Yukiho immediately smile widely to him and waved her hand a bit.
Masaharu made comments outside when he was putting on his shoes, "Heee... so Yukiho-san will participate in an English speech contest! Amazing!". Reiko tilt her head, "Saa... I've never heard about it though,".
After Masaharu left the house, he stopped by at a ramen shop right next to the station for late dinner. While eating gyoza and fried rice, he was watching TV. When he coincidentally turned to the window direction, he saw a girl passing by in a hurry. It's Yukiho. Her expression is unusual and she stopped a taxi. Masaharu take a look at his watch, it's 10 o'clock. No matter how he think of it, it must be an unexpected matter.
Masaharu got worried and he called Karasawa's house from the ramen shop's telephone. "Oh, Nakamichi-sensei, what's wrong?" Reiko answered the phone. "Ano... Yukiho-san wa?", "Yukiho? You want to talk to her?", "Eh? Is she there with you?", "No, she's in her room. She said, she has to take care of her club's matter early in the morning, so she has to sleep early. But she might be still awake,". As he heard this, he just realized that Yukiho is doing something not good right now.
"Oh, its fine then, I will talk to her directly next time. It's not something urgent,", "Really? But...", "Really, it's okay. Please just let her sleep.", "I see, then I will tell her tomorrow morning that you called,", "Yes, please do so. I'm very sorry to bother you late at night,".
Masaharu came to a conclusion that maybe Yukiho went out of the house quietly without telling her mother. And it might be related to the previous phone call she received. He was quite worried about it. But then his worries disappeared in the next morning. When she called him back, Masaharu told her that he saw her passing by from the ramen shop. Then Yukiho told him that her friend just broke up with her boyfriend and was about to commit suicide, and so all of her close friends gathered to stop her from doing that. Yukiho said, she cannot tell her mother about things like this.
When he was recalling that happening, suddenly, Reiko said, "Seem like, she's back,". Reiko left the room. Masaharu stood up and faced the glass door. He checked whether or not his hair is okay. And he said to himself, 'You idiot! What is your heart beating faster for?'.
***
Nakamichi Masaharu is in the 6th research room, Electrical Engineering Dept of Engineering Science Faculty in Kita-Osaka University, when someone called him, "Oyy, Nakamichi! Look at this,". Minobe, one of his senior, showed him the computer screen. "That's 'Submarine', what's with that?". Submarine is a game created by the 6th research room students just for fun. "Look carefully, it's a bit different," Minobe said. Minobe explained that it's not their "Submarine", but the game software name is "Marine Crush" produced by a company named "Mugen Kikaku". In other words, somebody has stolen their game idea and sold it to public. Minobe is quite pissed about this and decided to gather the 6th research room students to find the culprit, who has leaked their game idea to outsiders. But Masaharu reminded Minobe, that it might have happened accidentally, like when they were not paying attention, someone might have stolen the software.
When they have gathered all the students of that research room, no one seem to be the culprit. They said, "Even if I leak it out, I won't be so stupid to make this immediately exposed,", "If I'd like to sell it anyhow, I'll talk to you guys and we'd sell it together since it'll make more profits,". When they were asked whether or not they lend it to someone, about 3 of them said they have let their friends play the game in front of them, but it was for a short time that it's impossible those people would have time to copy and steal the game's idea.
In the end, they couldn't think of anyone who would have the chance to steal the game.
***
It was when a friend asked Masaharu to accompany him to go to a library to get data for his assignments, that Masaharu suddenly felt the urge to investigate more on Yukiho's background. In the library, he looked through the old newspapers and found Nishimoto Fumiyo's accident article. Although Yukiho was not mentioned at all in it, but he is sure this is it, as it fits with what Karasawa Reiko told him.
His friend told him that he knows someone who live near the place where the accident happened. He's their junior in the ice hockey club, Uchimura.
And so Masaharu asked Uchimura to guide him to Nishimoto Fumiyo's apartement. As a junior, Uchimura couldn't reject his senior's request, so he went with Masaharu and introduced him to the landlord, Tagawa, who found Nishimoto Fumiyo's body that time.
Tagawa talked alot about the incident that time. He was asked by the police so many times, like "Did you touch the nabe pot?", "Was the door really locked?". It was really troublesome for him that time. The theory was that Nishimoto Fumiyo left the nabe boiling over, and the nabe soup turned off the fire and left the gas on. But if it's really the case, the stove around the nabe should be more dirty, while the fact is it was quite clean around the nabe. Another strange part is the window. Fumiyo's apartement doesn't has a ventilation fan, so she should normally open the window when she cooks. But then, she may be just careless.
Next to her body, they also found cold medicine, and she consumed 5 times than normal. Inside the trash can, they found many alcoholic drinks can. So the police suspected it was a suicide, but Yukiho testified that her mother usually drink alcohol when she feels cold and she usually take her cold medicine more than usual to be able to sleep.
In the end, the police solved the case as an accident. Then, Tagawa told them about Nishimoto Fumiyo's poor life that she's always late in paying the rent. "And perhaps because of that poor life, somehow, there's a part of Yukiho that has become cold. When she found her mother's body, she didn't cry at all. I was a bit suprised,".
Masaharu was surprised to hear this, coz it's so different than what Reiko said about how Yukiho cried so loudly that time.
***
Yukiho's chestnut-colored long hair is hiding her side face. She tucked them back behind her ear with her left middle finger, but a few strands fell back. It's Masaharu's favorite gesture. As he see her white and smooth cheek, he felt an impulse to kiss it. He had always felt that way ever since the first time he came here.
Finally, Yukiho managed to solve the math problem even before the time is up. When Masaharu said it was a perfect answer, she gathered her both hands in front of her chest saying, "Really?? Ureshii(I'm so happy)!!!".
They decided to take a break and Yukiho left the room to bring more tea for him. Everytime he's alone in Yukiho's room, he can never be calm. He always think of taking a peek at her drawer, taking a look at the notebook placed on her bookshelf, and if only he can find out her make-up brand name, he'll be satisfied enough. But it'll be a bad thing if he do that and Yukiho caught him. Then he was thinking he should've brought the magazine he just bought today to this room. He left the magazine inside the bag he placed on the first floor. The bag is quite big and kind of dirty, so he always leave the bag on the first floor when he is teaching Yukiho.
When he saw her pink cassette tape, it reminds him of the "Submarine" game. They still can't find the culprit. They tried to call the company "Mugen Kikaku" but a woman answered and she said she can't tell them where they get the program and she didn't let them talk to the technical expert. Masaharu gave an idea about visiting the company, but his senpai, Minobe said it will be no use, they won't listen to them and most of all they don't have any concrete proof that "Marine Crush" stole their "Submarine" idea. On the contrary, they might accuse them that "Submarine" stole the idea from "Marine Crush". In other words, there's nothing they can do about it. "I still want to find the culprit. Find him and I want to hit him once or twice. That's all I can do," Minobe said.
Minobe asked all of the 6th research students to list the names that they have showed "Submarine" too. Minobe gathered about more than 10 or so names, and he thinks one of them must be related to "Mugen Kikaku". But then it doesn't mean that they are related directly as well. So it is almost impossible to trace how the game's idea leaked.
Masaharu himself has never talked about "Submarine" game to anyone, except... Yukiho. It was when she asked him, "Sensei, what kind of research are you doing?". At first, Masaharu talked about his graduation research. But image analysis and graph theory are definitely not something a 2nd grade highschool girl has interest in. Yukiho didn't show any trace of feeling bored in her face in the beginning, but starting in the middle of it, it's obvious that she started to feel bored.
And so Masaharu start to brought up "Submarine" game and Yukiho's eyes were immediately sparkling with joy, "Waaa, sounds interesting! What kind of game did you make?". Masaharu drew "Submarine" game screen on a paper in a simple way. And Yukiho listened to him seriously. "Heee, sugoi naa. Sensei, you can make such an amazing game, ne,", "I didn't make this by myself, I did it together with my fellow research room friends,", "But you understand how to make it desho?", "Well, yeah", "Jya, yappari sugoi(then you are amazing)". Masaharu felt very happy to hear her respect him.
"I want to try to play that game, naa" she said. Masaharu explained that as long as they have a personal computer here, they can play the game. For the game program, they can use a normal cassette tape as the storage medium and insert it to the computer. (note, this is 1979) Somehow Yukiho seem to have high interest in this topic.
"Nee, sensei, can you please show me that tape once?", "The tape? That's fine, but you can't do anything with the tape. It's the same tape that you have, anyway,", "It's okay, just show it to me please,", "Alright then". Probably that time Yukiho thought since it is something that can be inserted to a computer, it must be different than the usual tape. So on the next lesson, Masaharu brought the tape and showed it Yukiho. She said, "Heee... it's really just a normal tape, ne. I didn't know it can be used for such things. Thank you. It's very important right? You should put this back to your bag now,". Masaharu agreed to that and immediately put it back to his bag on the first floor.
That's all about Submarine that he talked and showed to Yukiho. Since then, Yukiho never brought it up again. Of course, Masaharu didn't tell Minobe about this. It is unnecessary. The possibility that Yukiho steal the game's idea is next to zero. To duplicate the game's program, she would need 2 hours and also the duplicating device. Even if she pretend to go to the toilet and steal the tape on the first floor that time, she didn't has enough time and Masaharu doesn't think there's a duplicating device at all in this house.
Yukiho went back and served the tea. Accidentally Masaharu spilled the tea and groped his handkerchief from his pocket, then something is dropped to the floor. Yukiho picked up a small paper and she read what's on the paper, she widened her eyes. It's written Tagawa's real estate agent address, a location map drawing and his phone number. Masaharu lied that he was only accompanying his friend to that place.
But then Yukiho started to tell Masaharu that it reminds her of something sad. How her birth mother died, that she didn't bring the keys that time and came home late. And Tagawa helped her opened the door to her apartement and found her mother's dead body. If only she came home earlier, she said. Then, tears started falling down from her eyes.
Masaharu felt like embracing her now. He regret that he has thought of a weird suspicion before. After talking to that Tagawa guy, he kept thinking about the incident and he is almost sure that Nishimoto Fumiyo commited a suicide. But the fact that the nabe soup was spilled a bit, means someone was trying to hide that fact. She is none other than Yukiho. Why? Thinking of her life future in the society, if people knows her mother commited suicide, it would be a minus point for her.
But if that's the case, Masaharu started to think something scary. When Yukiho came home, did she find her mother's condition can still be helped or not?? The police said if only they found her 30 minutes earlier, she can still escape death.
Yukiho has visited Karasawa Reiko's house a few times, so it's not impossible that she thinks if something happens to her mother, she would like to live in that decent house.
So that means she was the one who let her mother...?
No way, seeing her crying like this now, there's no way she is that kind of girl, Masaharu thought.
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Really enjoyed summarizing this one!!
Nakamichi Masaharu is one of my favorite character, perhaps because how Higashino-sensei described him having a crush on Yukiho ^_^ Too bad the drama deleted this plot =( It's actually just a filler chapter, but somehow I really like it^^ Perhaps, the simplicity of the case. Nothing complicated in this one. Ryoji and Yukiho were just trying to get more money together, nothing else.
First of all, the part where Masaharu saw Yukiho walked out of the house at night. That must be the night Hanaoka Yuko, Sonomura Tomohiko's lover, died, desho? To make up the fact that Hanaoka Yuko died after 11 o'clock, Ryoji called Yukiho's house saying he's from the English speech contest comitee, and then he asked Yukiho's help to come to the love hotel around 10 o'clock. And then Yukiho was the one who asked shampoo to the hotel staff... Desho?
So how did they get the Submarine game duplicate? Of course, Ryoji came to Yukiho's house quietly that time. Bringing a device that can duplicate the Submarine tape. Two hours is enough since Masaharu's lesson with Yukiho is usually 2 hours. Of course Yukiho has to say, "You better put that tape back to your bag now,". So that Ryoji can work on it at the first floor.
You know, the TBS drama never show it, but from later hints, I can say Ryoji frequently goes to this Karasawa's house and is quite familiar already with it. The Korean movie adaptation showed this part, though.
Last but not least, about how Yukiho's mother died. We can safely say everything Nakamichi Masaharu imagined is the TRUTH.
I have finished reading the whole book and in this novel, I can safely say anything the characters imagined regarding Ryoji and Yukiho's case and relation is the TRUTH. We don't get to read any chapter from Ryoji and Yukiho's POV so we can only rely from the other characters' guesses and imagination to know what happen behind the crime scenes.
Really sad Nakamichi Masaharu never appeared again... such a filler chapter and a filler character, lol XD
Next chapter!! Shinozuka Kazunari and Kawashima Eriko's love story! Another fave of mine!^o^