"Damn it! Which deranged criminal did this?! To...to lay such a vicious hand on so many innocent children and teachers! This is simply inhuman and unforgivable!"
His words were powerful and resonant, full of "hatred" for the murderer and "sympathy" for the victims. He perfectly positioned himself as an observer equally shocked by the tragedy and strongly condemning the perpetrator.
The sunlight shone on this death camp, and also on Kanjuro's handsome face, filled with "compassion" and "anger." He held the "trembling" and "sobbing" Tsurumi Rumi, like a protector.
And in a corner unseen by anyone, deep within his profound eyes, a flicker of satisfied, almost appreciative light, as if admiring his own masterpiece, flashed and disappeared. This collective death "art," scripted by him, guided by him as the "lead actor," and personally approved by him, was finally presented in its entirety before all "audiences."
Chaos, fear, suspicion, grief... these intense emotions were his best stage backdrop. And he remained the perfect "outsider," detached, even able to step forward to "uphold justice." The tragedy shocked the entire region. Large numbers of police quickly entered the camp, setting up long cordon lines. The school trip site, once filled with laughter, was now shrouded in an atmosphere of solemnity and sorrow. The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant, attempting to mask the lingering scent of blood and death that could not be completely dispelled.
Kanjuro held Tsurumi Rumi's hand, and along with the other high school students, underwent routine police questioning. They were arranged in a temporarily designated interrogation area, surrounded by solemn-faced police officers and forensic personnel moving back and forth.
A stern-faced police officer held a notebook, his gaze sweeping between Kanjuro and the particularly "frightened" Tsurumi Rumi, who was clinging to him.
"Kanjuro-kun, little Tsurumi Rumi," the officer's voice was as gentle as possible, "According to records, you two were the only ones not at the elementary school camp last night. Could you explain in detail where you were last night and what you were doing?"
Kanjuro's face showed an appropriate gravity and cooperativeness. He gently patted Rumi's back to comfort her, then met the officer's gaze calmly, his tone clear and steady:
"Officer, last night I felt that Rumi was young and might not be used to group living, and she was a bit scared, so I took her back to our high school camping area to rest in my tent 20." He paused, then very naturally offered "witnesses." "At that time, my classmates Miura Yumiko and Ebina Hina were also in my tent. They can prove that Rumi and I were there all night and did not leave."
His statement was reasonable and he proactively provided corroborating evidence.
Just then, another police officer had also finished questioning Yumiko and Ebina. Both almost simultaneously confirmed Kanjuro's statement.
"Yes, Officer, Mr. Kanjuro and Rumi were with us all night."
"We were listening to Lord Ye Xiao... Kanjuro-kun tell stories." Ebina quickly corrected herself, but her submissive attitude was evident.
The police recorded the statements, finding no obvious loopholes for now.
However, Yui Yuigahama, seeing the officer repeatedly question Kanjuro, especially the scrutinizing look in his eyes, suddenly flared up in anger. She abruptly stepped forward, urgently defending her "father," and spoke emotionally to the officer:
"What do you mean by this? Are you suspecting Kanjuro? He was with us the whole day yesterday! How could he possibly do such a terrible thing! He's so gentle, and he's so good to Rumi!" Her logic was simple and direct, completely swayed by emotion.
The questioning officer maintained professional composure in the face of Yuigahama's emotional accusations, explaining, "Student, please don't get agitated. We are just following routine procedures, needing to rule out all possibilities, especially unusual movements. This is our duty."
Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka stood not far away, watching the scene, her lips tightly pressed, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She knew, she knew what a dangerous presence Kanjuro was; the shadow of ten years ago was still a nightmare she couldn't shake. She was almost certain that this tragedy was absolutely inseparable from Kanjuro! That man had the ability and the motive to do such an inhumane thing—as long as he found it "interesting" or "necessary." But... where was the evidence? She had no evidence. And the consequences of publicly accusing Kanjuro... she couldn't imagine. Ultimately, the fear deeply ingrained in her bones and her apprehension of the unknown power behind Kanjuro made her swallow all her words, only watching Kanjuro with a complex and heavy gaze, remaining silent.
Yukinoshita Yukino was also silent. Her ice-blue eyes were like the most precise instruments, analyzing the situation before her. Kanjuro's alibi seemed perfect, Yumiko's and Ebina's testimonies were highly consistent, Yuigahama's emotional defense, and Tsurumi Rumi's flawless, frightened demeanor... everything pointed to Kanjuro being unrelated to the case. Her rationality told her that without evidence, any accusation based on intuition was weak and could even alert the enemy. She could only suppress all her suspicions and chills deep in her heart, observing coldly, searching for any small flaws that might exist.
The police questioning temporarily concluded. Based on the information currently available, Kanjuro and his "witnesses" provided a perfect alibi, and there was no direct evidence to link them to the tragedy.
Kanjuro, holding Tsurumi Rumi's hand, calmly walked out of the interrogation area. From an unnoticed angle, he lowered his head and gave Rumi a faint, approving smile. Rumi, in turn, looked up with her small face, responding with a dependent and secretive look.
The sun still shone, but it could not dispel the heavy gloom hanging over the camp. A tragedy that shocked the world had occurred, yet the biggest suspect, through meticulous planning and the "help" of those around him, whether active or passive, remained safely out of it, as if merely an unfortunate witness to this tragedy.
True darkness often hides beneath the most seemingly righteous facade. The on-site investigation and preliminary questioning lasted for several hours, but the results were frustrating. The forensic doctor's preliminary judgment was mass poisoning, with the source of the poison suspected to be dinner, but the specific type of toxin, and why it acted so rapidly with such consistent symptoms (bleeding from all seven orifices), still required further laboratory analysis. As for suspects, apart from the only little girl not present, Tsurumi Rumi, and the high school student who took her away, Kanjuro, who seemed somewhat "special," no clear clues or motives could be found. There were no signs of forced entry, no suspicious containers or items were found; it was as if death had descended out of nowhere, precisely harvesting all life in that camp.
The experienced female Officer Miwako Sato took off her gloves and rubbed her temples, her face etched with fatigue and solemnity. She looked at the small bodies covered with white sheets, once full of life, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in her heart. She subconsciously sighed softly, her voice carrying a hint of imperceptible hope:
"If only... if only Shinichi Kudo were here now. With his abilities, he would surely notice details we've overlooked..." The image of the high school Detective who could always find the truth in the mist flashed through her mind.
Officer Takagi Wataru, standing nearby, smiled helplessly and comforted her, "Officer Sato, for such a serious case, if Kudo were here, it's indeed very likely he would have found a breakthrough. However, that would probably also immediately attract frantic national media coverage, and the pressure would be even greater." He paused, trying to make his tone sound more positive, "It's okay, we'll follow procedure and we'll find clues eventually."
Miwako Sato didn't reply, only hummed, but her gaze involuntarily returned to the direction where the high school students were gathered, more precisely, falling on Kanjuro, who was subtly surrounded by several girls.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Her Detective's intuition screamed at her. That high school student named Kanjuro, overly handsome and overly composed, displayed "gravity" and "cooperation" in the face of such a horrifying tragedy, which was beyond reproach, but it always felt... distant. As if he was merely playing the role of a properly "shocked citizen."
More importantly, there was the state of the people around him. The girl named Yui Yuigahama defended him almost blindly; the girls named Miura Yumiko and Ebina Hina gave highly consistent testimonies, and the unconscious obedience in their eyes towards Kanjuro almost formed a pattern; and then there was the little girl named Tsurumi Rumi, whose dependence on Kanjuro was extraordinary. The breakdown and stupor she should have shown after such a huge fright seemed to be replaced by a strange "sense of security" in her; as long as she was by Kanjuro's side, she appeared unusually "calm."
These subtle anomalies, perhaps insignificant when viewed individually, became particularly glaring when combined, especially against the backdrop of this bizarre tragedy.
"Takagi," Miwako Sato suddenly spoke, her voice low and firm, "You continue to follow up on the on-site physical evidence analysis and autopsy report, especially the toxicology part. It must be expedited."
"Then Officer Sato, you..."
"Me?" Miwako Sato took a deep breath, her gaze sharp as an eagle's, firmly fixed on Kanjuro in the distance. "I think we might have overlooked the most obvious 'clue.' I want to go and have a good 'chat' with Kanjuro-kun and the several 'witnesses' around him."
She didn't believe in perfect coincidences, nor in flawless testimonies. This young man named Kanjuro was shrouded in too much mystery. There must be some carefully concealed connection between him and this tragedy. As a Detective, she intended to pry open this hard shell, even if unimaginable darkness lay beneath.
Takagi saw the familiar gleam in Sato's eyes, knowing she had found a new direction for investigation. Though worried, he nodded, "I understand, Officer Sato, please be very careful."
Miwako Sato adjusted her police uniform and walked with determined steps towards Kanjuro. Her intuition told her that the key to the truth might very well be in the hands of that seemingly flawless, handsome young man.
Meanwhile, Kanjuro, who was gently comforting Yui Yuigahama, seemed to sense something. The corner of his eye caught sight of the female officer walking towards him. The imperceptible curve of his lips deepened slightly.
(Oh? A sharp police lady?)
(It seems the game isn't quite over yet...)
(Alright, let me see how many layers of 'truth' you can uncover.)
His expression remained impeccably grave and cooperative, as if completely unaware of and fully welcoming the deeper interrogation to come.
Miwako Sato's investigation fell into a peculiar loop. She privately questioned the three girls most closely associated with Kanjuro, separately.
In front of Yui Yuigahama, as soon as she mentioned, "Was Kanjuro acting strangely last night?" the girl became agitated as if a raw nerve had been touched: "Daddy Kanjuro absolutely couldn't do such a thing! He's so gentle! He was taking care of Rumi and us all last night! Why do you police officers insist on suspecting him?" Her defense was unequivocally firm, even carrying a sense of offended grievance.
Facing Miura Yumiko, Sato received an even more standardized answer. Yumiko crossed her arms, her tone impatient: "We've already said what needed to be said. My Husband Kanjuro was with us all night. You can't find the murderer, so you just randomly suspect a good person?" Her testimony was consistent with before, but the address "My Husband Kanjuro" and the unconscious dependence in her eyes made Sato frown deeply.
Ebina Hina was even more silent. She merely pushed up her glasses and repeated in a flat, emotionless tone: "Lord Kanjuro was in the tent all night. I can testify to that." Her obedience was almost mechanical, as if stating an undeniable truth.
Three people, three different personalities, yet they provided testimonies that were highly consistent and flawless, all carrying unconditional trust and protection for Kanjuro. This in itself was abnormal. Sato felt as if she were knocking against a wall constructed of pure emotion—hard, smooth, and without any cracks.
When she turned her gaze toward Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had been silently observing, she caught a fleeting, extremely complex emotion on the latter's face—it was fear, deep fear, mixed with helplessness and some kind of... resignation?
"Teacher Hiratsuka," Sato approached and lowered her voice, "Do you seem to know something? About Kanjuro-kun? Any information, no matter how minor, could help the case."
Hiratsuka Shizuka's body trembled almost imperceptibly. She looked up at Sato, her eyes filled with struggle, which finally settled into a solemnity bordering on pleading. She took a deep breath, her voice hoarse and low, every word squeezed out from between her teeth:
"Officer Sato... listen to my advice. Some things are best left uninvestigated. Don't look into this any further." She paused, her gaze instinctively glancing toward Kanjuro in the distance, fear practically overflowing. "Otherwise... the consequences are something neither you nor I can bear."
This was not a threat; it was the desperate warning of someone who had experienced something terrifying. Miwako Sato's heart sank sharply. Hiratsuka Shizuka's fear was so genuine that it further confirmed her intuition—Kanjuro was absolutely no ordinary person.
This resistance did not make her retreat; instead, it lit a fire in the darkness, making her curiosity and desire to investigate Kanjuro burn even brighter. What exactly could terrify an adult teacher to this extent? What could make several young girls so devoted that they would even commit perjury?
Finally, she found Yukinoshita Yukino, who was standing alone in the corner. This cool-tempered young girl had appeared the calmest and most detached from the very beginning.
"Classmate Yukinoshita," Sato tried to keep her tone level, "Do you have anything you want to say about Kanjuro? Anything you found unusual?"
Yukinoshita Yukino raised her icy blue eyes and looked at Sato. Her gaze was clear and sharp, as if it could see through everything. She was silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing something. Finally, she spoke softly, yet with exceptional clarity:
"I don't know anything, Officer."
Her words paused, and her gaze swept over Kanjuro, who was surrounded by girls in the distance. An extremely complex emotion flashed in her eyes—disgust, detachment, but also... a hint of an imperceptible bond that was being forcibly suppressed?
"Although I... don't like Uncle Kanjuro," she finally used the title that revealed their unusual relationship, causing Sato's pupils to constrict, "I still wouldn't want him to... go to prison."
"Uncle"? This term clicked into Sato's mind like the final piece of a puzzle. The relationship between Kanjuro and these girls was absolutely not just that of ordinary classmates or lovers! It involved more complex, more hidden ties, perhaps even related to... family ethics?
Yukinoshita's answer also provided no substantial information, but her phrase "wouldn't want him to go to prison," and that crucial term "Uncle," chilled Sato more than the fierce protection offered by the previous three girls. This was a defense rooted in deep understanding, bordering on resignation.
The questioning was over. Miwako Sato stood rooted to the spot, looking at the handsome young man nearby, who was surrounded by girls, looking composed and even slightly compassionate. Sunlight fell upon him, yet it seemed unable to penetrate the invisible shadow surrounding him.
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