"There's been a murder."
Those four words sucked all the air out of the hallway. Kaho's eyes widened, her lips parting slightly. She glanced at Eiji. He seemed just as stricken. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing as he turned his gaze down at the floor. They both shuffled backwards, adding some distance between them and the police officers. The older of the two shook his head and sighed, slumping his shoulders. He used his head to gesture they carry on with their morning, but they didn't budge.
Kaho felt puny and small, like she was shrinking into nothing, the officers seemed to get bigger by the second, like they could squash her underfoot.
She shivered.
"Kaho! Eiji! There you are," Captain Hirano said, walking down the hallway. His pace was brisk as he walked to where the officers were, their faces blank and impassive, like they'd had this reaction dozens of times already.
Hirano looked rough, like he'd been roused from bed in the small hours, dark circles lined his eyes, and his hair was askew. He hadn't shaved, and a few stubborn hairs were sprouting on his upper lip, chin and cheeks. He took Eiji and Kaho by their arms and dragged them further down the hall and toward the dining area. Instead of stopping for breakfast, he marched them straight through the French doors and outside.
Hirano let them go when they reached the grass verge by where the team had attempted to meditate the previous evening.
The doors were open, all three coaches, Coach Itomi Adam from Kuroyama, Coach Tomogawa Goro from Seiran and Taiga. All three looked like they'd been forced from their beds. They probably had been.
Coach Itomi's face was covered in a mint green face mask, and his blond hair was swept off his face with a headband with plush ram horns on it. Beside him, Coach Tomogawa was wearing a vest and a pair of tracksuit bottoms that seemed to be on backwards. He had a pair of electric blue Crocs on his feet and a pair of massive black glasses on his nose. Taiga didn't look much better either.
"I found them," Hirano said, releasing Kaho and Eiji and scratching the stubble on his chin, "It's just Matsuoka now."
Taiga nodded. He looked just as rough and haggard as Hirano, but seemed to be more rigid and uptight than he had the previous day. He stood to attention, despite wearing a pair of plaid pyjama trousers and an old Kenjoku Kaijus jersey that she knew he slept in. He had a clipboard in his hands, and put two ticks on a sheet of paper. Likely a register of some sort. He rubbed his eyes.
"Matsuoka's missing?" Eiji asked.
"Not missing," Taiga hissed, "Just… not currently accounted for."
Kaho pursed her lips. She hadn't said much to him after she went to bed. There was a tiny voice in her head wondering if he'd been the victim of that attack, even though he shouldn't have been there, even though his room was on the other side of the reserve, even though it was irrational. He had no reason to wander, so why wasn't he there.
Where could he have gone? The question gnawed on her insides until a memory struck a chord with her. She snapped her head up and turned to her brother.
"Taiga! He might be on one of the trails," Kaho said, "Yesterday he told me he ran the medium trail before getting food."
Taiga groaned and crossed the gym. He gestured to Hirano to steer Kaho and Eiji to the rest of the team. Everyone looked rough. Some rougher than others.
Fumiko and Konoishi were once again in their yoga gear, but Fumiko was wearing a loose white translucent tank top over the top of her hot pink sports bra. She'd learned from the previous day and had covered up to avoid drawing any lecherous men's eyes. They had managed to grab a smoothie. Few of the students in the gym had them that morning, which struck Kaho as strange, since they'd all gone mad for them the previous morning.
Ryota was sat with Yamada and Yuta, while Omura was rolling Ryota's ball along the floor between him, Tomohiro, Nitta, and Matsushita. Sunada had headphones on, leaning his head against the wall, like he wanted to take a nap. Hirano sat with his fellow third years, choosing to leave Sunada to rest.
Kaho's stomach churned. She clutched her sides and groaned, slumping on the floor and leaning on Ryota's back as he hunched over his phone. She splayed her legs out in front of her. Eiji sat on the other side of her, beside Yuta.
"There are cops inside," Eiji said quietly, "Guarding some room. Said someone was murdered."
"Yikes," Yamada winced, his eye twitching, "Poor guy. Hope it wasn't painful."
"You hope dying wasn't painful?" Yuta asked dryly, "Not quick?"
"Would you rather die slowly and painful or quickly and potentially painfully?" Yamada said.
"Technically," Ryota interjected, "We're all slowly dying."
Kaho elbowed him in the ribs, "Shut up, a man literally just died."
Ryota swallowed hard and put his hands together, saying a quick silent prayer for the departed soul. Eiji, Yuta, Yamada and Kaho did the same, like the prayer would cleanse them of the discussion.
Yuta reached for his phone, that had fallen between his crossed legs and sighed, "Not to sound insensitive, but like what is that going to mean for our training?"
Ryota shrugged, "You know Coach. He'll probably put us back on that log thing 'til the guy's arrested."
Captain Hirano glared at the second years. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and mimed zipping his lips. The second years sighed and lowered their heads, returning to whatever they'd been doing on their phones.
Without the squeak of trainers, and the thudding of basketballs, the group looked bigger, vaster. The Hanagawa team was like a drop of water in an ocean of other players. The Kuroyama and Seiran teams were also clustered together in their familiar circles, the familiarity of their team's company was like a safety net. Kaho certainly appreciated it when things were bleak and scary, but she still wanted Naseru to come charging through the doors like he wasn't gone. She took a few steadying breaths.
"I'm hungry," Matsushita whined, "I would kill for that strawberry smoothie and those white chocolate and blackberry wheat biscuit things."
"Oh, Hisashi, gross! Those were rancid," Nitta said, "You heathen."
"Food is food," Matsushita retorted, crossing his arms.
"Food is food," Nitta echoed, "Shit! We should still have some of that chicken left in the room! Hey! Coach? Coach! Can we go back to our room?"
"Nobody's going anywhere," Coach Tomogawa said, his arms crossed.
"If you're wanting to eat that rotisserie chicken – don't. I told the housekeeping department to get rid of it. You don't even have a fridge, boys. It would have gone off."
"But Coach!" Matsushita whined, "We spent our money on that!"
Taiga ignored them. He crossed the room and approached Akane. Despite the hour, and the bedraggled state of most of the people in the gym, Akane seemed reasonably put together. Her heavy eyeliner from the previous day stained her under-eyes, giving her a panda-like expression. She'd lacquered her lips in red lipstick and was wearing a pair of cycling shorts and a canary yellow 'Lakers' jersey. She was wearing trainers, and had a singular earbud in her heavily pierced ear. She scowled at the bench beside her, where a singular walkie talkie stood. Akane popped a stick of bright blue gum in her mouth and gave Taiga some space.
Without the squeak of trainers, and the thudding of basketballs, the group looked bigger, vaster. The Hanagawa team was like a drop of water in an ocean of other players. The Kuroyama and Seiran teams were also clustered together in their familiar circles, the familiarity of their team's company was like a safety net.
Kaho watched Taiga picked up the walkie talkie and fiddled with dials and knobs until a burst of static echoed through the gym.
"Hello?" Taiga said tentatively, "Mr Tsukishima? Mr Shirotani?"
"Wrong channel," a gruff voice muttered, "The old geezers are on Channel Three. Over."
Taiga scowled at the walkie talkie; his eyes narrowed. He pursed his lips and shook the walkie talkie, turning it over in his hands. He squinted at the device and turned a knob. The static burst through again.
"Hello?" Taiga said.
"Ah! Mr Kenjoku Kaiju! We found your kid!" Mr Shirotani said, "I think he's your kid. Six foot something, dark skin, braids, grumpy face."
"That's Matsuoka," Taiga said.
"We'll bring him over," Mr Tsukishima said, "See you in five."
Taiga put the walkie talkie down and ran his hand through his hair, "He's coming. He's the last straggler. You hear me, Goro? Adam? They've got the last kid!"
"Good!" Coach Tomogawa said. He ran a hand through his hair, "I guess we should get started, huh, Taiga?"
Taiga nodded, yawning into the crook of his elbow, "God I need a 'Pokari'."
"You need many, many, many things," Coach Itomi said, "But a 'Pokari' would be a start."
There was a drinks-only vending machine just outside, but without actual trousers on, Taiga was strapped for cash. Nobody had any coins on their person. Nobody expected to need to pay for stuff over breakfast that was supposed to be complimentary.
Coach Itomi blew his whistle, snapping the teens to attention. They groaned as they sat up, took off their headphones and rubbed their faces.
"I want the teams lined up," Coach Itomi said, "Kuroyama. I want three lines. Starters. Benchers. Then club members, second years first, then firsts. Got it."
The boys from Kuroyama groaned, shuffling to their feet and stretching their sluggish muscles as they trudged to their respective spots.
"Now," Coach Tomogawa interjected, "Seiran, two lines, Seiran Basketball Team and Seiran Basketball Club."
Seiran did the same, carving out two lines, one of ten people – their basketball team, and one about double the size, likely their club.
Taiga shrugged, "Line up."
Hanagawa shuffled into an order of their own, muscling in together. Sunada shuffled on his ass to the front, Captain Hirano ended up in the middle of the line, squishing himself between Konoishi and Nitta.
As Hanagawa settled into their own line, The two old men, Mr Tsukishima and Mr Shirotani walked arm-in-arm as they shuffled toward the door to the gym. Naseru was just a few steps in front of them, like he wanted to be free of them.
He strode toward the back of the Hanagawa pack, not wanting anyone's attention more than he already had it. He, like most of the students, didn't seem to know why they hadn't been allowed to have their breakfast in the dining area, or that they were supposed to go to their gym, instead of spending their fleeting free time under the watchful eyes of the coaches.
"Morning students," Mr Tsukishima said. His smile was small, seemingly forced. He hobbled toward the centre of the gym, Mr Shirotani wasn't far behind him. They were both wearing white dress shirts under their khaki green waistcoats.
"Unfortunately, something unforeseen took place on the premises last night. A man was killed," Mr Tsukishima said
A collective gasp echoed through the gym. Despite the mutterings amongst the Hanagawa second-year students, it seemed word hadn't reached many of the other kids in the gym.
"In the wake of his death, certain facilities will remain closed while the police investigate the circumstances," Mr Shirotani added, "Since the death was deemed suspicious, an officer would like to speak to you all. We thought it best to gather you all here. Please do your best to co-operate and not impede the investigation going forward. Our colleagues are having a similar discussion with our premium guests in the dining area. You will be escorted to breakfast after they have left."
Mr Shirotani and Mr Tsukishima gestured to the doorway where another officer made his way inside.
He wore a powder blue shirt and black trousers, freshly pressed. A silver name tag glistened over his breast pocket. His shoes shone under the gym lights as he strode in. He was short, the same height as Mr Tsukishima, at about five foot tall, and had a slim build, a square face and straight hairline. Frown lines marred his face, and a scowl was etched on his lips. He stared at the lines of students and adjusted a pair of edgeless glasses on his snub nose.
"Good morning," he barked, baritone voice harsh like a drill sergeants, "My name is Officer Takahashi of the local Police Department. We're here investigating an incident that took place here last night. While we investigate, areas of the reserve will be cordoned off to the public, yourselves included. We appreciate your patience and cooperation while we ensure justice is served."
One of the students from Kuroyama put his hand up.
"Yes?"
The student got to his feet, bowed quickly, and turned to Officer Takahashi, "Sir, we are here to train for the upcoming season, which areas are being cordoned off?"
"We can't say for certain at this time, but Mr Shirotani and Mr Tsukishima have guaranteed that the victim hadn't ventured anywhere near this space, so you are free to play ball until your heart's content-"
"So," Matsushita interrupted, raising his hand, "Can we go and get food from our rooms?"
"Hisashi!" Captain Hirano hissed.
"I am sure that an escort for food can be arranged within the hour-"
He was cut off by static from his radio.
"Please excuse me, children," Officer Takahashi said, bowing his head and making his way outside, radio to his ear.