From what could be seen of the church, it seemed that Mass was already underway. The lights were turned on, unlike most nights, making it shine amid the falling snow. The fact that it was the only thing that could faintly be seen through the darkness made it look incredibly illusory.
"This way," I beckoned Kirigiri.
The front entrance to the school was already open. It was usually shut at this hour, but it had been left open to let the choir use the classrooms for Christmas prep. But the power was off, and the building was dark.
"Is this where we're going?" Kirigiri hesitated to enter.
"Yep. Not afraid of ghosts, are you?"
"...I do not believe there are any ghosts present."
"You haven't heard? Actually, they say there are a lot here at night."
"...You're lying. Such a thing is implausible and illogical." Kirigiri vigilantly observed her surroundings. Was it just me, or had she gone stiff, too?
"It's fine, see?" I gripped Kirigiri's slender wrist and walked down the pitch dark hallway. Holy night though it may have been, it was eerie being in an empty school building at night. If we do see a monster, I wonder if it'll be a ghost turkey, or Santa Claus with a hatchet or something.
I brought Kirigiri up the stairs. When we made it to the top, I forced open the door that greeted us.
"How did you open that without a key?"
"There's a trick to it, actually. If you jiggle the doorknob up and down the lock will come loose."
"—I see."
We stepped out onto the roof. It was covered in a thin layer of snow. Needless to say, there was no sign of anyone around. On this Christmas night, at least, we were the first to set foot on it.
We went up to the fence together, looking down towards the church. It was like one big lamp lighting the area. We could see people going to Mass: girls in school uniforms, parents with their children, boys and girls coupled off together.
"See? Isn't it pretty?"
I stole a glance at Kirigiri to try and read her reaction. But she remained stoic, looking down past the fence with the same expression as she always had.
"Hey, Kirigiri-chan? Maybe you can't tell, but I'm really thankful for you," I said, and at last she inclined her head to look at me. "We met in the worst way, but I'm still glad that you were there with me. It's like... I've been working as a detective and going to school all this time, but I still just felt—off, no matter what I did. Like, why the heck am I doing this detective thing anyway?"
"I see."
"I, um... I've never told you this before, but I lost my little sister when I was younger."
Kirigiri watched me wordlessly.
"She was kidnapped, and then murdered before we ever got her back. That case is still unsolved. So yeah, that's why I became a detective. I felt so guilty that I couldn't protect my sister. What if I had been kidnapped instead? We looked so much alike. The more I think about it—"
I couldn't summon the words to finish the sentence. I threaded my fingers through the fence and looked up at the distant snowfall.
"Sometimes, I start to lose sight of why I'm still a detective. Of course I want to be useful, and help people out when they're in trouble. But maybe I'm just fooling myself... or that's what I end up thinking, anyway. Maybe I just want forgiveness, and I'm just distracting myself from the truth with detective work..."
"Hmm."
"But when I look at you, that just seems like a stupid half-baked feeling. I—don't understand your reasons for being a detective, but you're just so brilliant at it. I thought I might want to learn from your straightforward attitude."
"My reasons for being a detective..." Kirigiri murmured, looking up at the snow with me.
"You've never thought about it?"
"No," came the immediate reply.
"You're so cool. You're a born detective. But maybe one day... you'll start to doubt yourself like I do. If that ever happens, try to stay pure, the way you are now. I just wanted to tell you that one thing."
Updates theoretically come on Sundays! I was so busy this weekend that I literally forgot that translation is a thing I do!! Next weekend will also be busy, and actually the weekend after that will also be busy, so... bear with me I guess...
