𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 | 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙥𝙖 𝙫3

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻: 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁

Kyoko took Shuichi's hand and dragged him away.

"W-what is it, Kirigiri-senpai? W-we should head back. . .Kaede is worrying about us—"

She put a finger over his mouth. "That is most definitely a suspect for Alpha6."

Shuichi's eyes widened.

Why was Alpha6 even sent to Lil E? Because some others couldn't figure it out, and they were still on an uprise. Solving this could give them more notice.

"Really? Like. . .the culprit? Or an accomplice? Or. . .or. . .maybe a person orchestrating this entire thing—"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Look at that person. Closely. Piece together some things, all right? What do you see?"

Shuichi turned and squinted at a person sitting three tables behind theirs. It hit him. That person—she or he—was wearing the same type of hair clips from the body.

"Maybe they just have it? What if the brand is pretty popular and teens often wear it?"

"Think about it logically, Saihara. Have you seen anyone were those in your entire life? Probably not. I've already inspected those accessories, and I found out that it isn't from any store. It could very well be one that they made on their own."

I guess she really is a a detective. . .

"Nothing expected less for you," he muttered. "What do we do now?"

"Just make sure not to call backup. That's way too suspicious." She turned around to look at people. "I want you to go back and then sit down with Akamatsu-san. Don't even think about looking at her. Or him. Whoever's sitting at that table. We must not brush the possibility that they are incredibly perceptive, so I must return soon as well."

Shuichi nodded slowly. He almost felt like curling himself into a little ball and bow down at her feet.

He returned, but he was almost shaking. He couldn't fail this, not at his superior's orders.

"Hey Shuichi, what's wrong?"

"H-hm? A-ah, that's just, uh," he said. That's it. I'm finished. I fumbled with my words too much.

The person sitting got up from their chair and began rushing out. Shuichi looked at where Kyoko was standing before in a nervous pursuit. Was she going to chase them?

After they had rushed out of the door, Kyoko proceeded to calmly walk over to their table.

"Uh," Rantaro started, "what was that?"

Kaede nodded as she was also pretty curious about it. A person running, then Kyoko returning. The amount of damage the person caused was pretty big.

"That person was a suspect for Alpha6," she said. Shuichi glanced over to Kaede who had an upset face. Weird. He didn't think she would be upset about finding a suspect.

"Oh, that's nice," she mumbled. She began picking at her food. Kyoko looked at her with her normal sedate face, except she seemed to be scanning her.

"Miss Akamatsu, you must know that feelings can not interrupt work. I may be free to talk at noon, if you'd like, but please focus on the current situation. Don't take it personally." Kaede flushed and began viciously picking at her food while Kyoko continued to speak.

Shuichi and Rantaro shared a look, both questioning what had just happened. What a weird exchange, they thought.

-

"Hana, it's okay. It's okay." Hana buried her head into Kokichi's arms, who patted her head. Since no one could see him, he let his sad face overwhelm himself.

"I-I'm so sorry, K-kokichi. I just thought. . .that—" she gasped for breath and continued to cry. It was loud and uneven, so the least he could do was soothe her.

"Come and sit down, 'kay? Nothing's going to hurt you, I'm going to help you. That's the end of whatever 'punishment' you excepted. I may be a little disappointed but—oh now, don't cry just because of that."

He sat her on the couch in the living room where no one else was at the time. He played with her hair.

"Y'know, you shouldn't be all shaken up about me. I thought that if you haven't killed in a while, you'd be pretty upset with all that blood. But I guess you did do it in a way that didn't produce much blood."

"D-don't—"

"Don't talk about it? Okay." He pulled her in tightly, sliding his hand in an up and down motion on her back.

Kokichi waited until she calmed down before he continued speaking.

"I looked into it. He wasn't a bad guy and he would definitely not resent you for killing him. If it was an accident or somewhat, I'm sure he wouldn't mind and I know what you're thinking." He ran on the sentence a little longer when he saw her face droop. " 'He's a good guy so why did I kill him' right? You don't know the answer to that question, so it might suddenly come to you. I want you to tell me when you remember."

She was bobbing her head every second he was speaking. Kokichi sighed and put her back.

"Don't fret. Lil E is looking into this, and—" he didn't want to say that they had no chance. She had so carelessly just marched into a place and left so much hints to be used against her.

"I know that I messed up. At the coffee place in the mall, I mean," she sniffled. Kokichi was surprised. She knew?

"Don't fret."

She stopped making heavy breaths and fell back in the couch. The leader smiled at this.

Must be exhausted. Well, can't blame her. I am too.

He was already tilting a little back, but then he sat straight up again with a serious face.

But I have work to do.

-

"That's what happened, chief."

Lil E was connected to the police, and right now, they were standing in front of the 'big guy' of everything.

"Thank you, Kirigiri. You may be dismissed." He turned to Shuichi. "I want Saihara to stay."

He gulped and went through his memories to see if he had done anything wrong. When he couldn't recall anything, he just began to fiddle with his fingers since the chief said pulling his hat down when face to face is rude.

The door shut and the chief walked up to Shuichi to put his hand on the detective's shoulder.

"You're worrying a lot. Personally, I don't understand why, but I'm sure you have your reasons."

Shuichi was shocked at the chief's affection, since he must've been told to keep his work and hide his feelings. Like Kyoko.

"I may have been quite cold to you in the past, and that won't change. Just remember that everyone has their reasons and that you must do what you think is right.

He left the room, leaving Shuichi by himself. The detective hid his escalating smile that he was not able to stop with his cap.

"Thank you, chief."

He looked up and put his hat away.

"I know."