LU Chapter 21

# Chapter Twenty-one - "Legerdemain"

    "Oh don't be sour, Eimi. It was delightful spending time with our friends tonight."

    "I really wanted to try that crème brûlée."

    "Ms. Hanazawa was our guest. There's nothing wrong with letting her choose her favorite dessert."

    "Yeah, but still…"

    "It did make me slightly more comfortable as well. I'm still not accustomed to this style of dress, and the familiar surroundings did set me somewhat at ease."

    "Then I guess at least there's a silver lining… Sooner or later you're gonna end up with a gig that requires it, so now you'll be more used to it, so I guess it was sorta work training. You spending the night tonight?"

    "I think perhaps not. I've neglected certain responsibilities this week. Getting to bed early so I can catch up on practice in the morning feels like a good idea. I can practically feel my fingers losing dexterity with each day I neglect to play. I do wish to retrieve a book, though."

     "And you call my novels trashy. You and your crime novels. I swear, I don't get how anyone falls for your 'little lady' act. You're just gonna be up all night reading it again."

    "Ms. Inagawa, it is hardly some tome of kitschy pulp fiction. The Rokkenjima tragedy is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the modern era."

    "If you ask me, it's just creepy murder fanfiction."

    "Perhaps, but the latest theories are quite innovative nonetheless. After all, we're embroiled in our own mystery, are we not?"

    "Don't tell me…"

    "Regretfully I must end our splendid evening on a sour note. It seems the situation is more complex than we believed. Don't worry though. I did the chivalrous thing and defended your honor. I proved conclusively that you can't possibly be the culprit. You're far too short."

    "Hey! I'm not that… Really? How did you… You know what, nevermind. So who got 'em now?"

    "Ms. Chanel and myself received identical letters urging us to return to our former producer."

    "Hah! As if that would ever happen. Kouji wouldn't know what to do with a hit idol if you spotted him the choreography, let alone two of you."

    "A rather rude assessment, but perhaps an accurate one. Also, if you'll recall, a situation which she and I had little say in. There was also a third envelope. I'm sorry to say it bears your name."

    "Ugh. Great…"

    The elevator doors opened with an annoying little ding. Megumi exited first, a habit developed by my initial attempts to shake her off my tail. I'm a person who enjoys my privacy. Not in an "Ooh look at me! I'm so mysterious!" way like some people I know. I just learned as a very young child that there are certain things you don't talk about, and being alone makes it much less likely that you'll have a slip of the tongue and end up spilling something you're not supposed to. It's also not like I spent a lot of time around other kids my own age growing up. I had some cousins that visited now and then, and the kids of some of Daddy's business partners, but when a kid spends most of their time around adults they tend to get a little bored of kids' games. At least until my siblings were born and I went all in on being Eimi-Oneechan, but that's pretty different too, given the difference in age and responsibilities. Anyway, the point is that I enjoy living alone, and Megumi enjoys hanging out in my suite, even if she has to invite herself in, and unfortunately for me she's at least fifty-percent more nimble and sneaky than I am when it comes to getting into places where people don't want her. Not that it's awful having her around, just so long as she understands that we are **not** roommates, and that this is still entirely **my suite**, and that she's nothing more than a guest in my home and needs to behave accordingly.

    Megumi used the time afforded her by her freakishly fast walking to stand outside my door and dig in her bag for something. Catching up with her I pulled my keys from my own handbag - carefully attached to a small, famous plush kitten with no mouth - and flipped through the keys. Blue, for my parents' place, yellow for the safe I keep in my closet, pink for my… Next should have been the pink key for my company suite, but instead my keyring read blue-yellow-purple… green? I forget what that one's for, but one of the pieces of metal is missing altogether.

    "My room key is missing…" I dug into my handbag to confirm it. How could a single key have slipped off the ring and fallen loose into the bag? I couldn't explain how, but stranger things have happened, and it would make more sense for it to be somewhere at the bottom of the bag than have evaporated off of the keychain entirely. Lipstick, mints, my sterling silver boba straw, and a few other things were readily found, but the key was nowhere to be seen. "Great, I'm going to have to find the building manager to let us in and change the lock…"

    "Eimi… Maybe you should open this…?" Megumi tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. She was holding one of those stupid black envelopes, but she was pinching one corner of it and moving the envelope around. She handed it over to me, because even though she can be incredibly nosy and bothersome as she's illustrating, Megumi draws the line at actually opening someone else's mail. I could tell immediately that the envelope had something other than a sheet of paper in it, and it was clear why she suggested what she did. Feeling the same corner she had, there was a hard mass inside, small and irregularly shaped. Tearing the envelope open, I shook out the object into my hand; small, metal, and coated in pink enamel. We looked at each other in shock.

    "Curious…" She said, completely missing how terrifying this was for me because this isn't actually *her* room or *her* crazy stalker. "Should we go inside?"

    "A-Are you crazy? How the hell did someone get this? What if they did something creepy, or what if they're still hiding in there? We're just two idols."

    "I understand."

    "Wh-What are you-?!"

    While I had been occupied having a minor freakout, Megumi had dug something out of her bag too. It jingled as she thrust it toward my door. She turned to wink at me then twisted her wrist. The door to my suite opened slightly.

    "What the-? When did you make that?!"

    "Remember about a month ago when you left to run errands suddenly, locking my workout kit inside? The time I had to borrow exercise clothes from Ms. Ono, and found several of her pets in the pocket? At the next opportunity that arose following that."

    "Megumin, remember when we talked about stuff like this? Just because we're best friends, this is ***not okay…***"

    "Really? Ms. Chanel, Ms. Hoshino, and Ms. Zhou have all shared keys to each other's rooms, and several of our friends have access to Ms. Han's room to care for her pet as needed. Besides, I've never needed to use it before, and losing track of your own key in such an unusual way only makes the case that my thinking was rather prescient. I gave you one to my room as well, should you ever need it. It's what best friends do."

    "Is ***that*** what the green key is? I was wondering… Hey! It's still not okay!"

    "Then I apologize. Perhaps you would be more comfortable if your spare key were inside of a fake rock here in the hallway? Or maybe you'd prefer Ms. Hanazawa hold onto it for safekeeping?"

    "Geeze, fine. But you've gotta stop doing weird stuff like that. People are seriously gonna get the wrong idea… Since it's your key, you have to go in first. As… punishment. Not because I'm scared or anything."

    "As you wish, Ms. Inagawa. If I'm set upon, I'll attempt to slow down the intruder while you flee."

    "Hold on a sec." I grabbed at the handle of my door and pulled it shut, a small clunk echoing down the otherwise empty hall. "How are you so calm about this?"

    "Logically, there can't be any danger waiting inside your apartment. It wouldn't make any sense."

    "Why not?"

    "As far as whomever procured your key would be aware, there exists only a single key to access your room. Even assuming they somehow traveled from the studio to your room, they would have needed to return in order to leave the key backstage where it was found. There's also the matter of how obviously they've drawn attention to your key having gone missing. If one wanted to engage in a plot to instill upon you bodily harm, there would be no reason to return the key nor draw attention as they have. Such an enterprise would be significantly more successful bereft of a warning that something is amiss. Those two facts mean that there are only a limited number of possibilities. Either the thief never utilized your key to access your room and merely wishes to make you believe they have, or the thief did enter your room but secured it after exiting. In either scenario, the room is empty."

    "Yeah but what if there's more than one person involved, and one of them took the key back to the studio while the other stayed hidden in a closet or something?"

    "If that's the case…" Megumi looked momentarily stumped. Maybe she's not as good a detective as she fancies herself. "Then hopefully you recall your naginatajutsu lessons."

    "What are you talking about?"

    "Did your mother not make you take those?"

    Tired of waiting in suspense, Megumi once again twisted the doorknob and gave the door to my suite a gentle shove. It swung open, revealing a bizarre sight. As the light from the hallway streamed in, most of my kitchenette and living room looked just as we had left them this morning, but my coffee table had been placed front and center far closer to the door than it normally sits, and was far busier than I normally kept it. It could have been considered pretty if not for how disturbing it is. The first piece of the elaborate display to catch my eye was the flashing lights - two of them, set up like spotlights illuminating something in the center of the table. Wisps of sweet agarwood smoke lingered in the air giving the spotlights a hazy quality, and a few embers of incense were still visible directly on the glass top of the table - rude and noxious, and from the strength it'll probably take a week to air out, if it ever fully leaves. Megumi came to her senses first, looking away from the strange fantasia playing out and finding the light switch. With that flipped the entire scene was far less insidious. The lights were nothing but common penlights propped up by magazines, cups, and rubber bands, and their target appeared to be a run of the mill small cardboard box. I'd probably built something not too different for my dolls when I was little and wanted to play idols.

    "How bizarre…"

    "What do you think it means?"

    "At a guess, I would say that they want us to look inside of the box."

    "Gee, thanks. I never would have figured that out…"

    The box was completely innocuous and typical. Picture a cardboard box in your mind. Is it plain brown? Rectangular? Does it have those little floppy pieces that fold in on themselves at the top to close it? Maybe big enough to pack a lunch for two people inside, or to ship some small souvenirs back from a beachside vacation? Congratulations. You've just imagined this exact box.

    "Eimi, do you want me to open it for you?"

    "No." *Yes*. "It's just a little cardboard box. What's going to be in it, a human thumb or something?" *Please don't be anything gross…*

    I took a deep breath and parted the flaps on top of the box. They weren't even taped shut or anything, just folded down so it looked like it was closed.

    "Ahh!" I nearly fainted! Something jumped out of the box as soon as I opened the first flap, scaring me half to death. There must have been half a dozen of whatever it is! I nearly fell back on my butt stumbling away.

    I probably could have died!

    "My, my… How amusing…" Megumi taunted me heartlessly, her mouth hidden behind her hand as she stifled a laugh. "Novelty spring snakes. I'm starting to reconsider whether Ms. Chanel may be behind this."

    "It's not funny! I could have died!"

    "Indeed, Eimi. They look quite vicious." One of the killer snakes was hoisted up so Megumi could get a closer look. "They appear perfectly normal. I bet Ms. Ono would be willing to take them if they don't match your decorating style."

    "Well she's welcome to 'em! Hmph. All that effort for a dumb kiddy joke…"

    "There appear to be some items remaining in the box. You'll never guess what they are."

    "What else did they take? Is it my inhaler? Or maybe my favorite stuffy?"

    Megumi reached into the box and withdrew a stack of envelopes, still black just like always, fanning them out and pretending to cool herself off.

    "How are you so calm?"

    "I'm difficult to fluster. It's a gift. It helps that in a perverse way this has all been somewhat entertaining… At least if you ignore the theft and invasion of privacy. This last chain of letters is almost like a scavenger hunt. First letters for myself, you, and Ms. Chanel which led to these letters for Ms. Hanazawa, Ms. Junko, Ms. Hoshino, and… It would seem you've received a second letter as well. Curious. Our entire leadership, at least insofar as our current production is concerned. And then there's one with my name, which is even more curious given the company it keeps. I suppose it's lucky I'm here."

    "Well whoever's doing this, they're really pissing me off." I grabbed the box and, seeing it empty, squashed it. It didn't help anything, but it made me feel better to throw it across the room toward the window, where it bounced off pointlessly because it weighs nothing. "Gimme it. We may as well get it over with."

    Inside this envelope was an actual letter, and thankfully no further stolen belongings. This is bad though. Like, really bad. Vegan meat bad. Bubblegum colored hair bad. *Disco* bad. Real disco like my parents listen to, not our song.

    *My dearest Eimi.*

*I've been writing to you for quite some time, and I have to say my patience is wearing thin. You never write back, you never call. It's like I'm nothing to you, while we both know your fans are the best thing that's ever happened to you. You really think this little "experimental phase" of yours is going to work out? What happened to the Eimi that snuck off to coffee shops to meet boys? Now we're all just supposed to believe you're playing for a new team called Interlunium? Isn't eleven idols a bit excessive? How can your ego handle having that much competition?*

*They don't even like you, you know. They pretend to, but that's only because they don't know who you really are. I bet they'd hate you if they knew your secret. That prissy little friend of yours would **never** be friends with a girl like you if she had any idea what you get up to when you're out of the spotlight. All your fans are abuzz about it, you know. Everyone is **very** curious what that deal is, but that's the least of your problems. You know that your current situation is temporary and it must drive you insane to not know when everything will come crumbling down. Because everything **WILL** come crumbling down.*

*So I'll make it easy on you.*

*You have one week. If you haven't gone back to your old producer and started making music like the **old Eimi** used to, your fans will never forgive you. And some of us know your **horrible secret.** If you don't want it told to every newspaper on the island, you'd better do the right thing. End of business Friday. Sign a new contract or your career is over. Don't believe me? Check out what I included. Your fans know you'll do the right thing.*

*Sincerely,*

*A fed up fan.*

    To make it plain and clear, the included addendum attached to the letter with a thick paperclip was several photographs. One of the front of Daddy's estate. That's creepy enough, but it's a close-up shot of the front door. Someone could get that without being caught with the right camera, but it'd have to be a really good lense. But another was a photo of our main dining room, where Daddy does a lot of his more delicate business deals, and the last photo made me shriek, drawing the concern of Megumi, who had been hovering at a safe distance, checking the cupboards and fridge to make sure there were no other secrets waiting to be discovered.

    "Eimi? What's wrong? What is it?"

    "This photo… It's… I-It's…" Showing it to her wasn't enough. How could it be? Megumi hadn't ever been to Daddy's estate, so to her it could be nearly anywhere. The rug - a red and yellow Persian - may as well just be a cheap copy. The red, linen curtain shades held no significance to her. Even the canopy bed with cute pink Egyptian cotton sheets would be entirely foreign. But to me, this was all very significant, because, "That's my bedroom. A-At Daddy's. Whoever did this went into my room at home…"

    Which means that all of their clumsily worded threats over the past months have had venom behind their bite that I'd never realized. If someone was able to get that kind of photograph then they can't possibly be bluffing. When they say they know my secrets, they have to mean it.

    "If that's the case, I think we should alert the other recipients as quickly as we can."

    "Y-Yeah. These letters mean business…" I tucked mine into my purse. I didn't want Megumi to see it, because the letter is probably right. Not about everything, because they've made quite a few assumptions. But about Megumi not wanting to be my friend if she knew?

    That part is probably true.

    "What does yours say?"

    Megumi had opened and read her letter at the same time I'd opened mine, and she had the same neutral expression she always wore. She's utterly frustrating sometimes, you know. She's impossible to read unless she's having a fit of laughter or she's about to fall asleep and lets her guard down.

    "It says nothing but lies and scurrilous rumors. Absolutely nothing which I haven't heard before and nothing which deserves even an ounce of my attention. This vulgarian doesn't know me at all. That's the most important takeaway I've gleaned from their repeated attempts to manipulate me. I seem to be unknowable to friends and ill-wishers alike."

    "What should we do?"

    "I'll message our friends and ask them to meet us on the third floor to discuss this. I don't fancy waiting until tomorrow to deal with it."

    "That's smart… Can I sleep over at your place tonight? Unless you want to sleep over here, but this place is giving me the creeps…"

    "I suppose my practice can be put off another day."

    "Fine, just forget about it then. I'll be fine here."

    "Eimi?"

    "You don't seem very happy about it."

    "Why would I be happy at your distress? I'd be quite happy if you could sleep in your own bed comfortably. It feels wrong to enjoy the thought of your company when it stems from your fears."

    "Sometimes I could swear you're an alien or something."

    "Perhaps I am. Would it surprise you if I were a ten-thousand year old alien who decided to be an idol to wile away the years until I locate my brethren on this planet?"

    "I mean, honestly…?"

    "How rude, Ms. Inagawa. I would punish you but you're under enough duress. Now come. Gather what you need for the night and we'll go meet our friends."

\_\_\_\_

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