The Single Boot on a Rainy Day

A cold, steady rain washed the hillside town in shades of dismal gray.

Past the middle of November, Tsukimizaka was chilled to the bone by sea winds that turned every breath into puffs of white mist.

"Whoa-whoa, that puddle is way too deep! Water got inside my sneakers~!"

Holding down the hem of her yellow rain cape, Koharu Hoshikawa took a flying leap across a muddy pool of water. Her thin braid swung through the air, and the star hairpin clipped into her hair caught the dim light.

Right then, something squirmed inside her chest pocket.

"Koharu, you're bouncing around way too much-pock! My head is spinning-pock~!"

Poking its face out was the palm-sized ball of red yarn—Pocke, the talking mitten spirit. Shivering into its fluffy white collar, it burrowed back beneath the rain cape.

"Sorry, sorry! But if we don't hurry, the rain's only gonna get heavier!"

Just as Koharu started jogging down the sloping street—

"Waaah... sniff... waaaah...!"

A tiny, weeping voice drifted out from beneath the tin awning of an old bus stop just ahead of the shopping arcade.

Huddled in the corner of a wooden bench was a little girl wearing a yellow kindergarten cap. She couldn't have been more than five years old.

Looking down at the girl's feet, Koharu caught her breath. On her right foot was a gleaming red rain boot. But on her left was only a white strawberry-patterned sock, completely drenched in muddy rainwater.

"What happened, sweetie? Your foot must be freezing!"

Just as Koharu rushed forward, a large black umbrella was smoothly extended from the side.

"...Get under the umbrella."

A low, quiet voice. Looking up, Koharu saw a boy with silky silver hair dampened by the rain. Hands shoved into the pockets of his long navy coat, he was looking down at the little girl with calm, slate-blue eyes.

"Oh... Yomi!"

It was Kanata Yomi, the transfer student in Class 5-2. The boy made of ice, who spoke to no one and brushed off every greeting with a muttered "...Whatever," was standing in the downpour, letting his own shoulder get soaked to shield a crying little girl.

"Wait, what are you doing here?"

"...Nothing. Just passing by."

Kanata averted his eyes, but his hand holding the umbrella never wavered.

The little girl sniffled and rubbed her nose.

"Mina's boot... is gone... I tripped on the stairs at the top of the hill, and one of them rolled all the way down..."

"Isn't your mom with you?" Koharu asked gently.

Mina shook her head.

"Mommy is in the hospital. She bought them for me before she went in. She said, 'Even on rainy days, hop over the puddles and stay cheerful'... It's Mina's biggest treasure...!"

Her tiny fists trembled with the cold and grief.

A precious promise with her mother, sealed inside a little rain boot. Hearing that made Koharu's chest squeeze tight.

Being someone who lost things constantly, Koharu understood the hollow loneliness of losing a treasure better than anyone in the world.

"Don't worry, Mina-chan! We will definitely bring it back to you!"

Koharu wrapped Mina's cold, wet foot in a clean hand towel from her pocket and gave her a reassuring smile.

"...Don't go throwing around words like 'definitely' so easily," Kanata cut in coldly. "If it fell into a storm drain and got washed away, it might already be floating out at sea."

"It won't be! That boot is full of her mother's love! It wants to come home to Mina-chan just as much as she wants it back!"

A faint flicker rippled across Kanata's eyes.

At that exact moment, Pocke shivered violently inside Koharu's pocket.

(Prickle, prickle... tingle, tingle...!)

"Yikes, Koharu! My yarn is prickling like crazy-pock!"

Whenever they got close to Kanata, Pocke's yarn always reacted like this. Koharu reached out and gave Kanata's coat sleeve a firm yank.

"You have to help us too, Yomi! You gave her your umbrella, so I know you're actually really nice!"

"...Stop jumping to ridiculous conclusions."

Kanata scowled, but he didn't pull his arm away.

---

"Heeey, Koharuuu!"

Splashing through the rain from the top of the slope came her childhood friend Taiga Inukai. Bandage across his nose, he was clutching a brown paper bag in one hand.

"I picked up ten fresh croquettes from the butcher! ...Wait, why is the new kid here?"

"...None of your business."

"What did you say?!"

"Cease this at once, Inukai."

Approaching beneath an elegant navy umbrella was class president Ayame Kujo. In her hands, she clutched her violet Unforgettable Notebook.

"Miss Hoshikawa, have we encountered another incident?"

When Koharu explained the situation, Ayame flipped open her notebook with a grave expression.

"Calculating the runoff from the stairs to the bus stop, the trajectory narrows down to three distinct drainage paths."

"You're amazing, Ayame!"

"I-It is merely elementary physics. More importantly... Pocke... is the little one cold in this rain...?"

Ayame glanced at Pocke peeking from Koharu's cape, her expression threatening to melt into pure adoration before she quickly cleared her throat with a sharp ahem.

"In any case, haste is imperative."

"All right, let's search on my bike!" Taiga pointed toward his mountain bike propped against a lamppost. "Koharu can ride on the back pegs! New kid, you take that spare clunker city bike over there—"

"I refuse."

Kanata's rejection was instantaneous.

"Straddling two narrow rubber tires while expending physical labor to maintain unstable balance is an exceptionally irrational method of transportation. I will not ride it."

"Huh?! What kind of fancy excuse is that?!"

Koharu, however, didn't miss the subtle truth. She noticed the way Kanata was eyeing the bicycle pedals—warily, as if staring at a venomous snake.

"...Yomi, can you not ride a bicycle?"

Kanata's eyebrows shot up.

"...! Wh-Who said I cannot ride?! I simply have no need to do so!"

A furious blush swept over Kanata's pale cheeks, burning bright red all the way to the tips of his ears.

"Bullseye-pock! His face is as red as a boiled octopus-pock~!"

"BWAHAHAHA! Are you serious?! All that acting cool, and you can't even ride a two-wheeler?!"

Taiga roared with laughter, and even Ayame pressed a hand to her mouth to suppress her trembling shoulders.

"Silence, ball of yarn!"

Kanata yanked his coat collar up, turned his back to them, and began marching down the street.

"We are searching for the boot, are we not? Follow me."

"Hey, wait up!"

Koharu ran after him, fighting to hold back her giggles. In the freezing rain, her chest felt delightfully warm. She had discovered Yomi's secret, adorable weakness.

"Which way do we look?" Taiga asked.

Kanata pointed toward a narrow flight of stone steps tucked behind the shopping arcade.

"The old street gutters empty into the disused irrigation channel behind the mountain. Given the velocity of the rain runoff, a lightweight rubber boot would have been swept into the culvert."

"How do you know about an old shortcut like that?"

As Koharu stared in wonder, Kanata murmured softly:

"...I merely got lost down there a long time ago."

Without another word, he descended the slick stone stairs. He only just transferred here, so what does he mean by 'a long time ago'...?

Before Koharu could puzzle it out, a music-box melody chimed across the rain-swept town.

Dong, ding — chiming softly...

"The five o'clock chime...!"

Twilight time had begun.

---

Bong...

For a single heartbeat, the raindrops seemed to freeze in midair, catching the sunset light and shimmering like golden sand.

...So cold... Mina-chan... Where are you...?

Through the sound of falling rain came a faint, weeping cry.

"I hear it! It's the voice of Mina-chan's rain boot!"

Koharu stepped forward, her voice ringing with conviction.

"Leave that lost thing to me — I'll bring it home!"

Pocke floated out from her chest pocket.

"Pocke, let's go!"

"Leave it to me-pock!"

"Star Glass, open!"

Pocke dissolved into motes of light and snapped onto Koharu's left hand as a red knitted mitten, its eyes snapping open on the wool.

Her cape flared into radiant sunset orange, the star beret settled atop her head, and the brass Star Glass gleamed in her right hand.

"Lost-and-Found Detective Koharu Hoshikawa, ready for duty!"

While Kanata watched in stunned silence, Koharu peered through the lens.

A glowing crimson thread of memory rose from the wet stones, leading directly into the depths of an old storm drain sealed with a rusted iron grating.

"Over there! Deep inside the old irrigation tunnel!"

Koharu slipped through the iron bars into the underground channel.

"Wait up, Koharu!" "Honestly, you two!"

Taiga, Ayame, and Kanata dove into the gloom right behind her.

Rainwater surged through the concrete tunnel with a deafening roar, reeking of mildew and damp earth. Slick green moss carpeted the walls.

"Yikes, it's pitch-black...! Ghosts are totally outside my field of expertise!" Taiga shivered, clutching Koharu's back with his teeth chattering.

Just then, a sinister rumbling shook the floor of the canal.

Squish, squish, squish, squish...!

"It's here-pock!"

Emerging from the shadows was a colossal silhouette cloaked in black vapor.

Dozens upon dozens of solitary sneakers, sandals, and loafers were bound together into a thrashing centipede by dark, swirling fog. And trapped right at its center was a tiny, pristine red rain boot, glowing faintly.

"A Stray!" Ayame yelled. "The grief of abandoned footwear that was never collected has coalesced into a monster!"

GRRRRAAAWL!

The shoe beast glared with glowing red eyes and charged!

"WAAAH! Eat this—freshly fried croquette missile!"

Taiga whipped a croquette from his paper bag and hurled it, only for it to plop uselessly into the water.

"Shoes don't eat fried food!"

"I didn't have anything else to throw!"

"Miss Hoshikawa, the red boot in the center is its core! Sever that, and the creature will disperse!"

"Got it! Pocke, leap!"

Koharu sprinted along the raised walkway—and then, slip!

Her foot skated over the slick moss, pitching her headfirst toward the churning, muddy torrent below.

"Koharu—!"

As the rushing water rushed up to meet her, Koharu squeezed her eyes shut—

GRAB!

A hand seized her right wrist with iron strength.

"...Careless."

Gasping for breath, Kanata gripped an overhead rusty water pipe with one hand and hauled Koharu upward with all his might.

They collapsed onto the stone ledge together, chest heaving.

And that was when Koharu realized.

The hand that had grabbed her wrist was as freezing as midwinter ice.

(Why...? Why is his hand so cold...?)

Noticing her stare, Kanata quickly pulled his hand back, tucking it behind his coat.

"...You're uninjured."

"Y-Yeah...! Thank you, Yomi!"

ROAAAR! The monster was bearing down on them once more. There was no time to hesitate.

---

"Pocke, full power on the Star Glass!"

"Understood-pock! Threads of memory at maximum-pock!"

Koharu leveled the Star Glass, locking onto the red boot.

Beyond the brass lens, a tender light flickered to life.

The boot's cherished memories rushed into Koharu's heart.

A sterile white hospital room. A young mother with a gentle smile was slipping the shiny red boots onto little Mina's feet.

'Mina, you look just like a sweet little strawberry.'

'Mommy, I want to play outside soon!'

'Even on rainy days, hop over the puddles and stay cheerful, all right? Mommy will be watching over you from the hospital window.'

The mother's warm hands gently caressed the smooth rubber surface. Days of little Mina splashing joyfully through puddles with a sparkling laugh.

(You were trying to protect Mina-chan's smile this whole time, weren't you...?!)

Tears spilled down Koharu's cheeks.

Spreading her arms wide, she called out with a voice that echoed through the tunnel:

"Found you. — Welcome home, lost thing!"

Chime—!

Golden light blazed from the Star Glass, bathing the cavern in warmth and enveloping the thrashing monster.

The dark mist dissolved in an instant, and the dozens of shoes floated gently into the air. Cleansed of all grime, they performed a joyful little tap dance in midair before transforming into shimmering particles of light that drifted up toward the town above.

And then—plop.

Into Koharu's outstretched palm fell the tiny red boot.

"It's back-pock...!" Pocke breathed in relief.

"You did it, Koharu!" Taiga cheered, and Ayame smiled with quiet pride.

Koharu turned around and saw Kanata standing near the tunnel's opening, watching the golden light ascend toward the sky. Across his face was a faint, gentle expression, like ice slowly thawing under the spring sun.

"...So they really do reach them."

The murmur wasn't directed at anyone, yet it sounded infinitely warm.

Outside, the rain had stopped, and crimson sunset light peeked through gaps in the clouds.

Back at the bus stop, Mina clutched her red boot to her chest and wept tears of joy.

"Mommy's boot...!"

Pulling the boot over her strawberry sock, she gave a mighty leap into a clear puddle with a happy splish!

"I jumped! Thank you, big sisters, big brothers!"

As they waved goodbye to the beaming girl, Kanata stood a short distance away, folding his umbrella. Koharu ran up to him.

"Thank you so much, Kanata!"

"...What?"

Kanata blinked in surprise, stopping in his tracks.

"'Kanata'...?"

"Well, you helped us search, and you saved my life! Calling you 'Yomi' like you're some stranger feels totally wrong now. We're fellow detectives, Kanata!"

Koharu beamed at him. Kanata pulled his muffler up over his mouth, looking thoroughly awkward.

"...I have no recollection of joining your detective team."

"Even though we made such an awesome team?!"

"...Hoshikawa."

Kanata halted and turned around. A deep, heavy shadow hung over his slate-blue eyes.

"Why do you go so far for other people's lost things? Nobody asked you to... Why do you risk your own life to recover strangers' memories?"

It was an agonizingly earnest question. Koharu looked up at the fiery sunset sky.

"Because, Kanata... lost things are always waiting."

"...Waiting?"

"Yeah. Even when it's dark and freezing and they feel like crying, they believe that their favorite person in the world will come back for them. That's why I want to go get them. Being left all alone, with nobody ever coming to pick you up... that's just too sad."

"......!"

Kanata's breath caught in his throat. His gray-blue eyes shook with violent emotion, and his hand instinctively pressed against his inner coat pocket.

Resting deep inside that pocket was a worn, red right mitten—though Koharu didn't know it yet.

"...You are hopelessly naive."

Kanata turned his back to her.

"Most of the time, nobody ever comes."

Leaving those quiet words behind, Kanata walked down the twilight slope all by himself.

"Kanata...?"

Pocke whispered softly in Koharu's ear.

"Koharu... that guy still smelled terribly lonely-pock..."

Late that night.

In the cold wind sweeping over the high bluffs of Tsukimizaka, outside the gates of Ayame Kujo's home.

Having finished her shift at the hospital, Dr. Reiko Kujo reached out to open the gate when she noticed a jet-black card wedged into the mailbox.

Under the pale moonlight, elegant silver calligraphy shone against the dark paper:

"Tonight, I shall take Dr. Reiko Kujo's most precious memory. — Phantom Thief Midnight"

Tomorrow, December 1st—was Ayame Kujo's eleventh birthday.