Until the Rain Stops

Chapter 1

In lieu of something difficult, how about a kid's story?

Many tales have already been told about the Rokkenjima disaster of 1986, the riddle, and the eighteen deaths. This is not one of them. Instead, our story begins during the Ushiromiya Reunion just before the turn of the decade, in the autumn of 1979.

Rainstorms were part of the reality of living in Japan, doubly so when it came to the minor outlying islands like Rokkenjima. As such, the downpour occurring outside of the Ushiromiya mansion wasn't unexpected, but it was inconvenient to Ushiromiya Battler, who threw the window drapes closed and groaned, "I wanted to go to the beach."

The parlor in the mansion was large enough to contain two long sofas and a few tables, but snug enough to feel homelike. From one of these sofas, Ushiromiya George pushed up his glasses and stated, "It wouldn't be safe to go to the beach right now. The waves—"

"Yeah, yeah," Battler threw himself onto the couch next to his other cousin, Jessica, who scooted away from him. "I just wish it wasn't so boring."

"I could get checkers?" Jessica said.

Battler stuck out his tongue. "You know I stink at checkers."

"Cards?"

George furiously shook his head. "Battler's a sore loser."

Before Jessica could suggest anything else, one of the maids, Shannon, walked in with a plate of cookies. "I heard you talking," she said, her voice high and light, almost a whisper, "And I thought you might like—"

"Snacks? Hell yeah!" Battler dashed over, ignoring Jessica's smirk and George's eye rolling. This was just one of the many reasons he liked Shannon. Sure, she was two years younger than himself and his cousins, but she got him. She seemed to know just when he wanted to eat, and what foods he liked, and what his interests were. He had been surprised to learn that behind her shy, mousy face was a delight in murder mysteries, even some of the really violent ones that he liked.

After he brought the plate to the table, he waved her over and said, "Sit with us! We were just trying to figure out what to do until the rain stopped."

The young maid politely bowed, passed around the table, took up an empty stretch of couch that placed her on Jessica's other side, and neatly folded her hands on her lap. "What would you like to do?" she asked.

"Well, that's just it," Jessica said. "Battler doesn't want to play any of the usual games."

Shannon put a finger to her lips, in thought, then her eyes widened and she said, "How about a murder mystery?"

"A murder mystery?" Battler said, "Out of a book?"

"No, I'll make one up, and you can try to solve it."

"Huh? You're a kid! You can't write a whole mystery!"

"She can too!" Jessica shouted. "Everyone knows that girls are smarter than boys!"

"Yeah right!" Battler said.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Proooove it!" Jessica said, a big maniacal grin on her face. "I bet the rain will stop before you figure out Shannon's mystery!"

Shannon's face went red with embarrassment. "Um... it's not the best mystery..."

"It's fine!" Jessica said, wrapping an arm around the maid as a show of support. "Battlers a big dummy, you've got this!"

"Hey!"

"Fine by me," George said. "If Battler wants to make a goof out of himself, I'm all for it."

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Battler huffed, stood, and said, "Fine, I'll do it myself. But there needs to be rules."