Chapter 6: Investigation

“Huh?” Furuya Rei curiously leaned in to look at the Tokyo map in Date Wataru’s hand. The map clearly showed streets and important buildings, with some locations specifically marked with pencil.

He glanced over it and nodded, saying, “The center is indeed near the Police Academy.”

“What center?”

At this moment, Kitagawa Ryusei felt like a student struggling with a problem, watching a top student skip steps to solve it. He had just listed the known conditions and was already given the answer.

Morofushi Hiromitsu patiently explained from the side, “It’s the ‘common center’ rule that the instructor mentioned before. Specifically, it uses the criminal’s tendency to choose familiar locations to commit crimes. By marking all known crime locations, drawing a circle that includes all crime points with the furthest two points as the diameter, the criminal is likely to live near the center of the circle.”

This time, Kitagawa Ryusei understood and pondered, “Are you guessing the killer lives around the Police Academy?”

And even brazenly interacts with the police students every day?

“It’s just a suspicion. What we can think of, the seniors at the Metropolitan Police Department can definitely think of too,” Hagiwara Kenji smiled, “We saw that little Morofushi seemed very interested in this case, so we thought we’d discuss it together.”

“I just feel like these victims look somewhat familiar, but I haven’t found the connection yet.” Morofushi Hiromitsu frowned slightly, seemingly trying hard to recall something.

Seeing him distracted again, even the straightforward Matsuda Jinpei noticed something was off, “Are you okay?”

Morofushi Hiromitsu didn’t explain much, just waved his hand to indicate he was fine.

Kitagawa Ryusei understood. Although they hadn’t known each other long, he had roughly figured out Morofushi Hiromitsu’s personality.

Like Furuya Rei, Morofushi Hiromitsu’s sense of responsibility and justice far exceeded anyone else Kitagawa Ryusei had encountered. Coupled with his gentle and introverted nature and strong empathy, such people often habitually consider others’ feelings and are unwilling to trouble those around them with personal matters.

But he was clearly facing a problem.

Kitagawa Ryusei, who always advocated “never fight alone if you can gang up,” suggested, “If you’re concerned, we can investigate around the school together and see if we can find anything.”

“That’s right, Mr. Morofushi. If we split up, we have six people, doubling the efficiency!” Matsuda Jinpei was the first to stand up in support.

He had tried several times to ask about Morofushi Hiromitsu’s situation, but that blond bastard kept stopping him, saying it was better to let the other party open up voluntarily. But this hesitant approach didn’t suit him at all!

Stepping on the gas pedal was more his style!

Hagiwara Kenji received the signal and nodded in agreement.

“If we cause any more trouble, Onizuka Kyokan will kick us out, right?”

Date Wataru rubbed his chin, thought for a few seconds, and then clenched his right fist into his left palm, “But… please make sure to include me!”

The matter was settled in a few words, and before Morofushi Hiromitsu could react, the group was already eager to take action.

“Wait, you guys…” He looked to the most reliable Furuya Rei for help, “Zero?”

Unexpectedly, his most reliable childhood friend sheepishly rubbed his nose with his knuckles, avoiding his gaze and eagerly joining the others’ discussion.

“…You guys are really full of energy.” Seeing this, Morofushi Hiromitsu could only helplessly finish his sentence.

Perhaps with their help, things would really be different? Looking at the people around him, he felt the burden on his shoulders lighten for the first time.

*

The advantage of acting with people who have strong execution is that decisions are never delayed. But when acting with a group of passionate people with strong execution, the progress is likely unstoppable.

That afternoon, the six of them decided to take action and ran out of the school together.

To avoid alerting the enemy, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei chose to try their luck at the places where the girls disappeared, while the others went to check out a few key marked locations near the school.

It must be said that Morofushi Hiromitsu was indeed very concerned about this case. After they decided to investigate, he took out a detailed report.

“So far, there have been three victims, aged between six and eight, all with long black hair, double eyelids, and wearing twin braids at the time of the incident.”

“One girl was found two weeks ago, abandoned under a crowded overpass. The hospital examination only found anemia symptoms; another girl was killed, her body found in an abandoned factory in the suburbs, with no external injuries. The autopsy showed she died from a fever due to illness without timely medical treatment.”

“The whereabouts of the third girl are still unknown.”

Morofushi Hiromitsu briefly explained the case information, his gaze lingering on the personal information of the last girl before moving away.

After listening, Furuya Rei fell into thought, “Is there any interpersonal connection between these three girls and their families?”

“None at all, which is the most troubling point for the police at the moment.” Morofushi Hiromitsu closed the file in his hand.

“Excluding the possibility of randomly selecting victims, shouldn’t we investigate the common characteristics of the kidnapped girls?” Kitagawa Ryusei suggested.

Seeing him speak so confidently, Date Wataru was curious, “How can you be sure the perpetrator didn’t randomly select victims?”

“No deliberate harm to the kidnapped, no ransom demands from their families…”

Under the streetlight, Kitagawa Ryusei’s eyes were unclear, his expression dark. He spoke softly, almost inaudibly, as if laughing, “If I did this, it would definitely be to find a specific person.”

“…”

A chill seemed to pass through, instantly lowering the surrounding temperature.

“This…” Furuya Rei suddenly felt he was underdressed for the outing, “Kitagawa, try not to empathize with the criminal.”

That expression just now made him want to arrest his classmate.

“Just a guess,” Kitagawa Ryusei quickly returned to his usual self, as if the previous scene was just their illusion, “If the perpetrator is imprisoning the girls, there must be traces of their lives left behind. Let’s check the nearby busy shops for clues?”

He turned his head and found Morofushi Hiromitsu lost in thought again, prompting him to ask, “Morofushi-kun?”

Called back to reality, Morofushi Hiromitsu quickly said, “Sorry, I just seemed to remember something.”

The photos of the three girls in the file were deeply imprinted in his mind, overlapping as if merging into one figure, yet always separated by a thin mist.

…Who do they resemble? What does this have to do with him?

And what does it have to do with his parents’ death?

Pain throbbed in his head, but Morofushi Hiromitsu couldn’t recall anything.

The others tacitly refrained from asking further, fearing to add unnecessary pressure.

Finally, Date Wataru made the arrangements, “Let’s split up to find clues! I’ll go to the nearby convenience store; Furuya and Kitagawa, you check the restaurants and clinics; Morofushi, you’re familiar with Tokyo, so you can handle the unmarked places on the map. Any other questions?”

The three spoke in unison, “No.”

Satisfied, he clapped his hands, “Then it’s decided, we’ll meet back here in two hours!”

Splitting into three groups indeed increased efficiency. Kitagawa Ryusei walked out of a restaurant, casually asking the person beside him, “Actually, Morofushi’s distraction is because of his parents’ case, right?”

Furuya Rei lowered his head, crossing out one of the addresses in his notebook, and looked at him, “How do you know?”

Kitagawa Ryusei didn’t hide it, “He left a newspaper from fifteen years ago in the locker room. It recorded a murder case in Nagano. Although it didn’t reveal names, it mentioned the victims’ young son was present at the scene.”

After a moment of silence, Furuya Rei acknowledged it. He recalled when he first met Morofushi Hiromitsu, a hint of sadness in his eyes, “After the incident, Hiro came to Tokyo. Initially, he was in a terrible state, with some memory confusion, and even suffered from aphasia for a time.”

“Even so, Morofushi-kun still grew into a gentle person…” Kitagawa Ryusei remarked, “No matter how much he hates the perpetrator, if given the chance to catch them, he would still choose to hand the criminal over to the law, right?”

Knowing his childhood friend’s character well, Furuya Rei nodded in agreement, “He would definitely do that. Besides the law, no one has the right to judge others’ crimes, right? Otherwise, it would be no different from the criminals.”

Under the emerging moonlight, the blond youth’s expression was serious and firm, showing no sign of wavering as he spoke.

Kitagawa Ryusei stared at the other’s face, made more striking by his mixed heritage. After a long while, he lost count of how many times he had marveled, “Your sense of justice always amazes me.”

Hearing similar words from the youth’s mouth countless times, Furuya Rei finally couldn’t help but ask, “You? Don’t you think you’re the same, Kitagawa?”

Would someone without a sense of justice risk their life to rush into a burning building to save strangers?

“We’re different.” Seeing through his thoughts, Kitagawa Ryusei genuinely felt it wasn’t the same.

He had a special ability, subconsciously knowing he wouldn’t be in danger, so he had the confidence to take risks at will. This was entirely different from the determination of ordinary people willing to sacrifice themselves for others.

“Before entering the Police Academy, my life goal was to be a ‘bad guy.'”

Furuya Rei was incredulous, “Huh? Really?”

From any angle, Kitagawa Ryusei didn’t seem to fit the image of a “bad guy.”

Ignoring what Furuya Rei was thinking, Kitagawa Ryusei showed a triumphant smile and prepared to head to the next shop.

“Ring—”

Furuya Rei’s phone suddenly rang in his bag.

“It’s Hiro calling. Did he find any clues?” Furuya Rei pressed the answer button, “Hiro?”

But the voice on the other end wasn’t Morofushi Hiromitsu’s.

A stranger’s sharp curses, a child’s suppressed sobs, and heavy, almost out-of-control breathing.

And a tapping sound hidden beneath the chaos.

Furuya Rei and Kitagawa Ryusei exchanged a glance, holding their breath. He carefully deciphered the code from the phone, “S, o, t, o, k, u, r, a, 119.”

“Sotokura!”

“It should be the Sotokura Laundry near the school. Someone’s injured,” Kitagawa Ryusei quickly recalled the map in his mind, dialed emergency services on his phone to briefly explain the situation, and immediately notified the others.

The closest to Morofushi Hiromitsu were Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei, “Jinpei and I are nearby, we’ll head over immediately!”

The laundry was only two streets away from Kitagawa Ryusei and Furuya Rei. They didn’t bother finding transportation and sprinted in that direction.

Fortunately, there weren’t many pedestrians on the street at this time. Furuya Rei gritted his teeth, his expression serious.

His phone remained connected, “Hiro, you’re alone. Hide with the victim, don’t confront the perpetrator head-on. We’re almost there!”

He felt a growing unease. Since the call began, he hadn’t heard Morofushi Hiromitsu speak, only the sound of breathing.

A five-minute journey took them only two minutes.

Before Furuya Rei could suppress his unease, an unexpected explosion sounded from afar!

“It’s in the direction of the laundry!” Furuya Rei looked up sharply, unable to think further, hoping the explosion hadn’t affected Morofushi Hiromitsu and the others.

Before he could say anything, Matsuda Jinpei’s voice came from both the phone and the distance, “Weren’t the bombs already defused? How come there’s another one?!”

Amidst the fire and smoke, Matsuda Jinpei restrained a man with bound hands, while Hagiwara Kenji carried a bloodied girl in his arms.

The two ran out from the building where the explosion occurred.

Morofushi Hiromitsu walked out last, his eyes bloodshot as if they were about to bleed.

He looked even more disheveled than when Kitagawa Ryusei had saved someone, with cuts from sharp objects, his coat torn, part of it wrapped around the rescued girl.

“Hiro!”

Noticing the worried gazes of the others, Morofushi Hiromitsu opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound, blood dripping from his fingertips.

Kitagawa Ryusei sensed something, sparing a glance at the bound, crazed stranger.

The man screamed hoarsely at Morofushi Hiromitsu, “You took her away! Give me back my Yuri!!”

Ignoring the words in his ears, Morofushi Hiromitsu slowly clenched his hands, hoarsely murmuring, “…It was really me who harmed these children.”

“…”

Silence fell, only the crackling of flames behind them making any sound, as everyone cast puzzled looks at the young man.

Finally, Furuya Rei broke the silence, “Let’s get to the hospital for a check-up. We can talk about the rest later.”