The police find Kanji strung up on a telephone pole when the mist clears in the morning. The strangeness of the crime is only magnified by the way in which the victim doesn't match the murderer's previous M.O. in the slightest. Inspector Dojima Ryutaro decides to overlook the way in which the murder has clearly effected his normally impassive nephew. In the halls there are whispers that Kanji was seen on the Midnight channel; a few people titter nervously that before the video'd gone out they were sure he'd been shouting something.
Later, Yukiko confirms, her eyes rimmed with tears,
"He was trying to say that wasn't him, right? Right up to the end."
Chie reaches over and entwines her fingers tightly with her friend's, grips tightly. Even Yosuke can't muster a remark beyond that.
Kanji considers punching Naoto's lights out once the rescue is finished and he's recovered, but in the end the other boy's waifish build and girlish face halt him; even knowing that Naoto is concerned about it to the point of manifesting a shadow about it can't stop Kanji from looking at him differently than other boys.
Instead, he opts to ignore the burning in his face as Naoto launches into another apology for being unable to remember details of the case, barks, "Enough!!" and immediately feels guilty when all conversation around the secret base table silences at once. "You already said you were sorry. We get it." His head aches a little and he can't make eye contact as he adds, "You're a man, aren't you."
Kanji's a city over from Inaba when they hear about Rise Kujikawa's untimely death. "So many murders in Inaba lately," his mother notes, "It makes you sad to see your hometown go to pieces like that, right, Tatsumi?"
Kanji stares sullenly away from the television, pointedly not looking toward the handiworks adorning his family's shop's windows.
Gau and his mother miss the last train home from his grandparents' and have to stay the night. When they arrive back at home they discover that their apartment has been ransacked. Gau's upset at first, but his mother gathers him in her arms, shushes his tears. "They're just things, Gau," she reminds him matter-of-factly. "The important thing is that we're still together, right."
He's the type of child who doesn't easily let things go, but he takes a few hicupping breaths and tightens his grip on her. He knows she's right.
Years later he remembers again what she said as the television blares a story about a series of murders committed in the nicer parts of town by a perpetrator who always leaves behind a single chrysanthemum. In a few days he's taking the high school entrance exams; he's aiming for a top school. When he gets home he knows his mother's made tonkatsu.
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Later, Yukiko confirms, her eyes rimmed with tears,
"He was trying to say that wasn't him, right? Right up to the end."
Chie reaches over and entwines her fingers tightly with her friend's, grips tightly. Even Yosuke can't muster a remark beyond that.
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Instead, he opts to ignore the burning in his face as Naoto launches into another apology for being unable to remember details of the case, barks, "Enough!!" and immediately feels guilty when all conversation around the secret base table silences at once. "You already said you were sorry. We get it." His head aches a little and he can't make eye contact as he adds, "You're a man, aren't you."
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Kanji stares sullenly away from the television, pointedly not looking toward the handiworks adorning his family's shop's windows.
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He's the type of child who doesn't easily let things go, but he takes a few hicupping breaths and tightens his grip on her. He knows she's right.
Years later he remembers again what she said as the television blares a story about a series of murders committed in the nicer parts of town by a perpetrator who always leaves behind a single chrysanthemum. In a few days he's taking the high school entrance exams; he's aiming for a top school. When he gets home he knows his mother's made tonkatsu.
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