This story is a work of fiction, with no relationship to real persons or groups.
Hey...
You...
What are you doing at the holy barrier?
What are you doing?!
I'm sorry, Kurusu.
If I'd gone to get the camera myself...
Don't worry about it, Kawahara-kun.
It was my decision to go get it.
But...
Big Bro Takuru!
Wh-Where's Kurusu?
Kurusu!
Kurusu...
You...
K-Kawa...
Kawahara-kun?
What is wrong with you?
What the hell do you think you're doing?
Wait... Kawahara-kun!
I don't know if you're playing detective or what,
but this happened because you decided to do something stupid!
She could've died!
Say something!
Kawahara-kun, please!
Stop...
Please...
Kurusu...
Kurusu, I'm sorry.
I...
Takuru, stay with us tonight.
Yeah.
Thanks, Takuru.
If I hadn't put up that camera...
I agree that it wasn't a good idea,
but you couldn't have predicted that this would happen, right?
What was the guy who attacked you like?
It was too dark to see.
But he was in his twenties or thirties.
I'm sorry, but can you turn off the lights?
It's really bright when I'm lying face up.
S-Sure.
When the police arrested him,
he was saying weird stuff about, "You fools didn't notice my warning,"
and, "I am a holy messenger of the victim! Don't touch me."
Sumo Sticker Hunter
The admin of that page?
...is currently in AH Tokyo General Hospital
Someone from the police is supposed to come ask me questions tomorrow.
I think I'll learn the details then.
Kurusu?
It's nothing. I'm fine.
Yuuto got a love letter from a girl.
Konno-san. You remember her?
No, sorry.
She was the girl who brought handouts to the house when Yuuto stayed home.
One of the boys in class teased him for it.
And Yui said, "If someone bullies you again, tell me, okay?
I'll get them back!"
Dad said it was the same thing that I once said to you.
Oh, right.
Dad's had really bad headaches lately,
so he's been trying to use some of the clinic's medicine,
even though it's only because he drinks too much.
So I told him he's not allowed to drink anymore.
Yui still doesn't do well around boys.
But she made a new friend who's a boy in her class!
Oh, and their heights.
It's bothering Yuuto.
He says it doesn't, but I know it does.
I told him he'll get bigger soon, and he got upset.
Also, the air conditioner's not working well,
so we're all saving up to buy a new one.
Dad was opposed to it, though.
But I joined forces with Yui...
Maybe he'll get upset if I take his alcohol away, too.
But it's for his health.
And then...
Takuru...
Give up on pursuing...
I knew what she was trying to say all too well.
I hadn't been in my room for about six months,
but it hadn't changed a bit since I'd left.
Same old bookshelves, same old desk, and the same old bed.
It was all as I remembered it.
I'd heard about my parents' death about a year after the earthquake,
when I'd woken up from my coma.
Both Dad and Kurusu had told me they'd died in the earthquake.
Robbery at Evacuation Area?
Saneo Miyashiro
However, the truth was different.
My parents had been murdered.
But what hurt me more
was that Dad and Kurusu had been hiding something from me.
So six months ago, I ran away from Aoba Dorm
and moved to Miyashita Park.
Long time no see, Big Bro Takuru!
Yeah.
You shouldn't be up this late.
It's fine. We won't be up for long!
Is Big Sis Nono going to be okay?
Yeah.
She's sleeping now.
I see.
I'm glad.
Big Bro Takuru...
What is it?
D-Did you get... t-taller?
Never mind.
Look, I don't know what happened, but come back already.
It's your job to clean the bathroom!
A-And do the shopping, too.
Goodnight.
Night.
Damn it!
What is wrong with me?
We're not family or anything,
Kurusu.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry...
I'm so sorry!
Cultural Festival
The next day, in contrast to the students excitedly working on the cultural festival,
a sense of gloom had descended on the members of the newspaper club.
We were told to hold an on-stage panel with Watabe during the cultural festival.
I was surprised.
But the newspaper club could avoid being shut down if we accepted.
No matter what Watabe was planning, we had no reason to refuse.
The newspaper club was temporarily suspended,
and at Nono's request, we agreed to help the student council instead.
We were so busy preparing for the cultural festival
that I gradually began to forget about the case.
What is it, Miyashiro?
The police said the guy who stabbed Nono has nothing to do with the murders.
I see.
I guess we can rest assured, then.
Onoe?
Maybe it really is a bug.
It was sitting in the same spot.
Huh? What are you talking about?
Huh?
What's it doing here?
Their expressions are different?
No way.
I'll have Arimura check tomorrow.
If they actually are,
this cultural festival might be a lot of fun.
It is now 9:30.
Are you ready, everyone?
I now declare the opening of the third Hekihou Academy Culture Festival!
Ribbit Froggy Café
Third Annual Hekihou Festival
Experiment Show!
He's not here.
Yup.
He's fifteen minutes late.
What happened to Watabe-san?
He was in the green room, right?
Y-Yeah.
That was about an hour ago, I think.
I said hello.
Fine, I guess I'll go get him.
Wait, Shin-chan! I'll go, too!
W-Wait...
Huh? It hasn't started yet?
Ciao, Senpai!
Arimura-san!
He's really late, huh?
Uh, yes.
I sent someone to get him, but...
O-Oh, right.
Um, Arimura-san...
You want us to talk to Watabe about that image...
The stickers, I mean.
That's right.
We're interested in them, too.
How much do you know about them?
It's happening!
I've been waiting!
Watabe-san!
Look, it's starting!
Where are the others?
Huh?
What's wrong?
U-Um, look...
Something's weird.
Wh-What's wrong with him?
What's going on?
D-Don't ask me.
A-Are those...
No...
Sumo Stickers?!
C-Call the cops!
R-Right!
Wh-What's the number for the police, again?
Hey.
Did you...
Did you do that?
I see.
Let me confirm this once more.
You were waiting for your panel below the stage.
But Watabe-san was taking too long to show up,
so Itou-kun and Onoe-san went to check on him.
But they didn't find him in the green room, either.
A little after that, he suddenly arrived on stage...
And collapsed.
Is that right?
Yes.
He started bleeding from both eyes
and vomited something.
That "something" was those weird things they call Sumo Stickers, right?
Shinjou-san, is forensics doing anything?
When's the autopsy?
Don't bring that up in front of the kids!
In front of the kids, huh?
Well, anyway,
everyone in the newspaper club has an alibi.
Don't worry.
But you, Arimura-san, and Kazuki-san are all witnesses.
I'm sorry, but the local officer handling the case wants your help with paperwork.
Right, right.
Even if we say no, you'll still take us away, right?
No, you guys aren't suspects.
We just want your help.
You said the same thing last time.
But, really, what is with you guys?
What do you mean?
First what happened with Kakita-san,
and then the stabbing of Kurusu Nono-san.
Whenever something weird happens lately, you're involved.
Is this a coincidence?
Look, it really was just chance...
Just chance?
Are you sure?
Isn't there a possibility you've overlooked something?
Something that's causing all this to happen around you?
Uh, anyway...
Given the MO, it's likely that this case is related to the other murders.
The Return of the New Generation Madness?
Yeah.
I can't say for sure without looking at the autopsy report,
but the dates and the bizarre nature of the murders match.
By the way, Miyashiro-kun, can I ask you something?
S-S-Sure.
What is it?
Did you put up this map?
Yes, that's right.
Can I look at it?
Sure.
What do you think about this?
Well...
Hey, is that girl a student here?
Um...
Did I say something weird?
No, you just stopped being so stiff and formal.
S-Sorry, I didn't mean...
No, it's fine.
I've been asking you to do it for a while.
I-I understand... I mean, got it, Arimura.
Good.
Anyway, what were we talking about?
Oh, her...
Oh, Kunosato-san?
She's a third-year student, just like you, Senpai.
Though, supposedly, she almost never comes to school.
She doesn't come to school? She's a truant?
I couldn't say for sure.
Oh, excuse me.
Oh, I see.
Got it.
Bye.
We'll be leaving.
Someone will come to get you later.
Please, just help the guy out, okay?
Right...
Fine.
Don't look like it's such a pain in the butt.
I'll make sure it doesn't take too long.
Bye. I'm counting on you.
Hey, you guys.
Did you see a white light during the Shibuya Earthquake?
Huh? Where did that come from?
Answer my question.
You said you'd cooperate.
I-I did, why?
Does that have something to do with this case?
What was that all about?
Hey, Taku?
What is it?
What's a psychic, you think?
Huh? Are we talking about a light novel or something?
No... Um, Shindou-san?
Shinjou-san?
Yeah. He was just talking to the girl with a lab coat over her uniform about it.
You could hear what they were saying?
They were talking about "the baffling Sumo Stickers phenomenon,"
something about "psychics,"
and whether it had anything to do with the case.
Sure you didn't mishear it?
I... I don't think so.
I'm sure that's what I heard.
Hey, Arimura, you have any idea what she's talking about?
No.
I don't watch anime.
I see.
Onoe, did you hear anything else?
Anything else the two of them said?
Anything else?
What else...
Um, you know the name of the Don't Look at Me victim's stream, right?
9/7 Don't Look at Me
"TIL I Can See The Future," right?
They said that maybe he really could see the future.
And they said the people who came to the Leaky Noise girl's concerts were weird.
9/9 Leaky Noise
Weird? How?
Um, like they were all in some kind of fever trance?
Like her voice was possessing them?
What's that supposed to mean?
It makes no sense.
But that's what they said!
9/29 Revolving Dead
9/19 Leaky Noise
Did they say something about Revolving Dead, too?
Um, he was just a part-timer, but he made a ton of sales.
Like he knew exactly what the client wanted?
There were rumors that he might be bugging people's offices.
Maybe he actually was.
Anything else?
Um, that's all I heard.
Well done.
Great job overhearing all that.
Will it be useful?
Yeah.
Psychics? That's impossible.
Hey, Miyashiro-kun...
Kazuki-kun. Are you here?
And you too, Arimura-kun.
Sensei?
Good, good.
You're all still here.
It's time to go to the police station.
I'm your chaperone.
You're not criminals or anything.
You're just students at our school.
If the police want to talk to you,
I figured I should take you.
I... I see.
Okay, let's go.
Oh, Itou-kun and Onoe-kun,
head home immediately.
Got it?
Sure.
Okay!
Did you expect this to happen?
Expect?
Why did you insist on going to see Watabe's interview?
And not only that,
you told Hinae Arimura yesterday to make contact with Watabe, right?
Just don't tell me it's going to turn out that you're the killer.
I would if I could.
I had a feeling Watabe would get killed.
I ordered Arimura to contact him so I could make sure.
I see.
But I didn't expect him to be killed today.
What would you have learned if Hinae Arimura had made contact with Watabe?
Don't you think Watabe's landed too many big scoops in his short career?
Y-Yeah.
What about it?
What's this?
What's going on?
I can't believe this!
What?
We haven't looked yet,
but there's unusual swelling in his esophagus as well.
There's a good chance it's filled with the stickers, too.
What's the likely cause of death?
Probably suffocation.
In other words,
Watabe swallowed Sumo Stickers again, and again, and again,
until he finally suffocated?
I'm coming in.
So you came to see me, huh?
Thanks.
You're still injured.
You need to lie down.
I heard you had to go to the police station again.
That information's accurate, I assume?
Wh-Who told you?
That doesn't matter.
Anyway, is it true? Well?
Well, um...
Yes, it is.
But I didn't do anything this time!
I just had to go to questioning as a witness!
You know what happened before our panel with Watabe, right?
The only reason the police had us go to the station
was because we were important witnesses.
There was no other reason. Really.
But I think something weird's going on.
Weird?
What's weird?
At first,
we were investigating the case because we were interested in it.
But lately it feels like the case is coming after us.
Oh, and there's something else we found out.
Something you found out?
That's right.
We were just talking about this in the club room.
All the victims of this case have something in common.
And what they have in common is...
that they'd all experienced supernatural phenomena.
They could tell the future, read minds, or take psychic photographs...
Basically, uh...
They all had psychic powers.
Psychic powers?
That's right.
There's a possibility that all of them had some kind of power.
If this is right, it might not just help solve the case,
but change everything we think we know about the world!
Isn't that amazing—
Takuru...
Please... stop.
Just stop!
Kurusu?
I'm scared.
I can't bear to think about you getting any deeper into this
and something happening to you...
It just scares me so much.
You know how much it hurts to lose something you care about, right?
I don't want to lose any more of my family... the people I care about.
So please, Takuru.
Stop pursuing that messed-up case.
Please...
I'm sorry.
Can you let me think about it a little?
New Message Itou Shinji AH Tokyo General Hospital Details
Episode 3
School Festival
Takuru...