Kazawa lowered his eyes and looked at the table for a while, then raised his gaze and swept it across the quiet classroom.
The stares from all directions were so tangible they felt like they could sting his skin.
But as Kazawa's eyes met theirs one by one, those gazes, like startled insects, fluttered away rapidly. He could almost hear the buzzing of countless tiny wings.
Some familiar scenes...
Eyes filled with fear and disgust. Whispers behind backs. Fingers typing rapidly on phones hidden beneath desks...
Kazawa quickly shifted his attention, suppressing the memories that were beginning to surface. He walked to his desk and, under the frozen gazes around him, pulled out the knife stuck into it.
The red-and-black pattern on the preview letter was exactly the same as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts logo he'd created.
He pulled the paper from the blade and flipped it over. Sure enough, the Phantom Thieves' logo—a flaming eye mask and top hat—was printed clearly on the back.
Tsk. This pirated printing is good enough to make it hard to tell if it's real or fake.
Turning the letter back over, Kazawa carefully read its contents:
"Duplicitous criminal — Kazawa Zhao,
your true face beneath your glamorous exterior, your ridiculous lies to deceive the world,
we all know that
you will pay the price for your crimes.
Juvenile offenders with criminal records should be expelled from peaceful campuses."
Hmm... interesting...
Kazawa raised his eyebrows and turned the knife in his hand again.
Whether by coincidence or not... this was a very small butterfly knife, with a blade only about half a finger long. Its silver tip was sharply polished, reflecting Kazawa's calm expression.
In a flash, countless associations raced through his mind. Kazawa flipped the knife handle and neatly tucked it away.
"Kazawa…" Mouri Ran, who was standing beside him, covered her lips, visibly worried and unsure.
She had read the contents of the letter and seen the fear and suspicion in their classmates' eyes.
"…It's okay." Kazawa smiled faintly and began wrapping the knife and letter in a handkerchief, preparing to put them in his commuter bag.
Regardless of who was behind it, step one was preserving evidence. With his part-time experience as a detective, Kazawa moved almost on reflex.
"…Wait a minute!" Before he could put them away, Suzuki Sonoko—who had been quiet this whole time—suddenly shouted and reached out, snatching the items from his hand.
Kazawa was momentarily stunned, caught off guard. "Suzuki-san?"
"This is definitely a prank!" Suzuki Sonoko's eyes were wide with anger as she gripped both items. "Who did this?! Were these here when we arrived this morning?"
No one answered. Those who had been quietly tapping on their phones now did so even faster.
"I'm talking to you!" Sonoko rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the boy sitting behind Kazawa with a fierce look. "Didn't you hear me?"
"I—I don't know anything!" The boy waved his hands frantically. "It was already there when I got here!"
"Suzuki-san…" Kazawa didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. "It's fine. Let's wait until after the class meeting—"
"How can we just let it go?!" Sonoko glared at him, then turned and grabbed the boy sitting next to the one before. "You didn't see anything either?"
Mouri Ran quickly stepped in and restrained her friend. "Sonoko! Calm down!"
"I think someone's bullying Kazawa just because he transferred here alone and doesn't know anyone, so they're slandering him." Still struggling, Sonoko pointed toward a few students whose gazes had been particularly shifty. "If I find out who did this, you're not getting away with it!"
Kazawa looked at her helplessly. With a wry smile, he reached for the items again. "Suzuki-san... seriously, there's no point pressuring them like this."
Seeing Sonoko's righteous indignation made Kazawa feel both amused and moved.
Suzuki Sonoko was the type who fiercely defended her friends. Compared to Ran's quiet strength, Sonoko's nature was much more outspoken—and she often stood up for Ran as well.
What surprised Kazawa was that she already counted him among her trusted friends…
Wasn't she the one who'd just said her first reaction would be suspicion if someone received a Phantom Thieves notice?
Sonoko snorted and sat down at the desk in front of Kazawa, arms crossed and clearly frustrated.
She couldn't believe someone would slander Kazawa like this…
She clenched her fists as the low murmurs around the classroom continued. If the notice had been there all along, then its contents had already been spread far and wide among the students…
It was disgusting—whispering rumors and slandering people behind their backs.
Sonoko thought back to how Kazawa always comforted Ran, how his gaze never wandered inappropriately, how he always caught her before she could fall when she threw herself at him…
Kazawa had a calm and reliable presence. Even if she acted like a starry-eyed fool for good-looking guys, he had never once taken advantage of her affection.
She knew she had a weakness for good looks—but that didn't make her blind. After spending time with someone, it wasn't hard to tell if they were truly decent.
Sure, Kazawa acted strangely at times, and sometimes he could go a whole day without saying a word. And yes, he had a world-weary air unlike most of their classmates, sometimes looking at her like an old soul indulging a child…
But Kazawa was a good guy.
A genuinely good person who didn't deserve this.
"Damn it," Suzuki Sonoko muttered under her breath, listening to the murmurs around her. "I will find out who did it…"
"Haibara-san, Haibara!"
A cute, clear voice called out behind Haibara Ai, who was walking forward with her head down.
She turned to see Yoshida Ayumi, bright-eyed and smiling under her headband.
"Let's walk home together?" Ayumi adjusted the strap of her schoolbag, her smile glowing.
Haibara Ai said nothing, avoiding eye contact as she turned away and kept walking.
"What a snob…" Kojima Genta muttered to Conan, disgruntled. "Totally ignoring us. Let's just leave her."
"Are you new here?" Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko caught up to walk on Haibara's other side. "Where do you live?"
"Yeah, Haibara, we can walk you home. Don't be shy," Ayumi added cheerfully, convinced the new girl was just a little reserved.
Persistent children...
But that's to be expected. Otherwise, they wouldn't be children.
Haibara Ai glanced sideways at Conan, who had his hands in his pockets, and said meaningfully, "Beika Town, 2-chome, house number 22. That's where I live now."
Conan, left behind, blinked in surprise and rubbed his chin.
2-chome... 22…
That's… pretty close to his house?
Huh? But is there anyone named Haibara in the neighborhood?
There was a nameplate that went up recently at Joker's place... but it said Amemiya, didn't it?
…Could it be? Don't tell me there are elementary schoolers among the Phantom Thieves too?
"…I really can't tell…"
"…Whoa, an ex-con?"
"No way… He doesn't look like a delinquent. If anything, he seems kind of…"
"Shh, he's looking at us."
Kazawa stood in the classroom doorway and slowly retracted his gaze from the knots of students whispering in the corridor.
That strange sense of déjà vu again…
At this point, can someone restore the game scene for me?
The world of science… is truly amazing.