[Naha
14th August, 2016
9 AM, Morning
Benio and Saira]

The sun bore down on the school grounds, its heat rippling over the neatly lined students standing within the gates. The morning air was thick with humidity, causing some of the students to shift uncomfortably in their uniforms. White short-sleeved button-up shirts clung to the backs of the boys, neatly tucked into dark blue or black trousers, though some looked tempted to undo the top buttons for relief. The girls, dressed in crisp white blouses and navy-blue pleated skirts, fanned themselves with their hands, their black knee-high socks absorbing the summer warmth. School IDs dangled from their lanyards, swaying as they whispered to one another, exchanging curious glances at the two unfamiliar figures seated behind the long registration table.

Benio and Saira sat side by side under the shade of large umbrellas, their chairs positioned behind a neatly arranged table where stacks of school records lay. Both wore white lab coats over their professional attire-Benio in a pale blue dress shirt, sleeves rolled up just slightly, dark gray slacks, and polished black shoes. A stethoscope hung loosely around his neck, its tubing glinting under the sunlight. His black face mask covered his mouth, but his eyes, sharp and focused, carried the warmth of a polite professional.

Beside him, Saira adjusted the cuffs of her fitted lab coat over a light beige blouse tucked into her black trousers. Her dark hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, not a strand out of place. Silver earrings glinted subtly whenever she turned her head. A white face mask covered her lower face, but the kindness in her eyes made her appear approachable. Unlike Benio's formal shoes, she opted for white sneakers, prioritizing comfort for the long day ahead.

Standing across from them was the school nurse, dressed in a standard navy-blue uniform with short sleeves. A silver bracelet adorned her wrist, and her ID badge was clipped neatly to her pocket. Her hair was pinned back in a neat bun, and she held a clipboard in one hand, her sharp eyes scanning the two seated before her. She looked from Benio to Saira, her gaze lingering on Benio before speaking.

"The Shinjuku school told us that men would be coming. But it seems a male and a female were sent instead," she said, her tone polite but firm.

Benio immediately stood up, his movements smooth and practiced. He bowed deeply, his eyes crinkling slightly with a polite smile beneath his mask. "Yes, miss," he responded formally. Saira followed suit, standing up to bow as well.

The nurse acknowledged them with a bow of her own.

Benio straightened, keeping his expression neutral yet warm. "We are conducting health check-ups in as many schools as possible, and since our staff is scattered across different locations, it just so happens that I was assigned here along with one of our female members." He gestured toward Saira with an open palm. Saira dipped her head slightly in greeting.

The nurse regarded them for a moment before nodding. "You must be quite a hospital to get so many schools to agree to this," she commented while setting up the table.

Benio sat back down, his fingers idly running over the stethoscope in his hands. Before he could answer, Saira spoke up. "Yes, miss. Children's health needs to be taken care of, after all," she said, her voice light yet professional, her eyes conveying an easy warmth.

The nurse nodded in understanding before raising her arms in the air. A ripple of movement spread through the line of students-this was the signal. The health check-up was officially starting.

Benio exhaled quietly, gripping the stethoscope a little tighter. His fingers felt slightly clammy despite the cool, professional air he was maintaining. He had done this before, faking medical check-ups under Nana's guidance, learning just enough to pass for a real doctor. He could do it again. He took a steadying breath, forcing himself to relax.

Everything would be fine.

Kenma and Miyasi were in Yokohama, securing last-minute contacts for another round of check-ups. Ojiro and Himeko would leave for Chiba in the afternoon. The operation was in motion.

As students stepped forward one by one, sitting in the chairs beside him and Saira, Benio maintained the best professionalism he could muster. He listened to their breathing, checked their pulses, went through the motions he had memorized. Yet, as he worked, his mind wandered to something else-how much had changed since he first got involved in this.

Initially, helping Kavei had been nothing more than entertainment. A game. A way to pass the time while watching his friend chase an impossible goal.

But now, as he sat here, pretending to be a doctor, digging through records, and arranging tests in secret, he realized something had shifted.

This wasn't just about entertainment anymore.

Somewhere along the way, he had begun to care.

And he wanted to see Kavei win this.

[Shinjuku
17th August
Kavei's House
The Entire Team Has Gathered
9 PM, Evening]

The dim glow of the living room lamp cast long shadows over the gathered group. The air was thick with tension, an unspoken weight pressing down on everyone. Nana sat across from the rest of the team, her posture firm yet uneasy, her fingers briefly tightening over the brown envelope she had just placed on the coffee table. A deep breath steadied her as her gaze flickered to Kavei, who sat in front of her, one leg draped over the other, his expression unreadable.

The envelope between them held more than just test results-it held answers. Answers that had taken her seventy-two grueling hours to uncover, piecing together the evidence they had gathered from the Chiba police station vault, combined with the samples Kavei had managed to collect. Blood, skin-whatever had been best preserved from the victims' bodies. He had retrieved them under the guise of organizing the records, convincing the other time workers that categorizing the cases in segments would make their work more efficient. It had been a risk, but he had pulled it off.

Now, all that effort had led to this moment.

Behind the couch where Kavei sat, the rest of the team stood in a tight cluster, their silent anticipation crackling like a current in the air. Ren and Ryu, the brothers, exchanged glances, their hands gripping the back of the couch. Himeko clutched Sebiki's hand, her fingers intertwined tightly with his, while Saira rested a firm hand on Miyasi's shoulder. Kenma, Ojiro, and Narito looked at one another, their expressions wary yet resolute. Benio stole a glance at Kai, who met his eyes briefly before shaking his head, his gaze shifting back to the envelope resting ominously on the table.

Nana exhaled, bracing herself before she spoke. "Kavei. In this envelope is the result of the DNA test I conducted." Her voice was steady, but there was a subtle hesitation in her tone. "Since the evidence and the blood samples were all decades old, I had to use advanced lab technology and seek outside assistance. But you don't need to worry about any information leaking."

She took another breath, her fingers unconsciously tightening around each other on her lap. Kavei remained silent, his arms folded across his chest, his sharp eyes locked onto the envelope as if willing it to disappear. The seconds stretched unbearably before Nana spoke again.

"But," she hesitated, scanning his face for any sign of hesitation. "Are you sure you want to look into this?"

The question hung in the air like a loaded gun.

Kavei gave a single, firm nod. His decision was absolute.

Nana swallowed hard before leaning forward, pushing the envelope toward him. "Then you should," she said, her voice quieter now, softer. "But please. Don't lose yourself over it. If you think you can look into it without freaking out or panicking, then go ahead." Her fingers twisted together in her lap, betraying the calmness she tried to maintain.

Kavei gave her one last look before reaching forward. The moment his fingers closed around the envelope, the room seemed to shrink. The only sound was the rustling of paper as he undid the seal and pulled out the neatly stacked pages. His eyes scanned the words, flipping through the documents with a precision that should have felt methodical. But something was shifting in his expression-something small at first, but growing, spreading like cracks in a frozen lake.

The room felt like it was holding its breath.

Seconds crawled by.

Then, suddenly, the papers slipped from Kavei's hands.

They fluttered down in slow motion, scattering across the floor like fallen leaves. A sharp silence followed, heavy and suffocating.

Nana winced, her body tensing. She had expected this reaction, but seeing it unfold still made her stomach twist uncomfortably.

Kai was the first to move. He pushed himself away from the back of the couch and hurried to Kavei's side, dropping down next to him. His hands grabbed onto Kavei's shoulders, shaking him slightly. "K-Kavei... what happened? What is it?"

His voice was laced with worry, but Kavei didn't respond. His hands rested limply on his thighs, his breathing shallow, his gaze fixed on the floor.

Everyone else remained frozen, their eyes bouncing between Kavei's pale face and the papers that lay strewn across the floor.

Kai tightened his grip on Kavei's shoulders, his knuckles turning white as he tried to ground him. Kavei was completely still, his breath shallow, his wide eyes frozen in shock. There was a faint tremble in his fingers, and for a moment, it looked like he was about to break apart right there. His lips parted slightly as if he wanted to speak, to ask something, to demand an answer-but no words came out. His gaze remained locked on the scattered papers, the overwhelming reality sinking in.

"What happened? What does the report say?" Kenma's voice cut through the tension like a blade. His footsteps were heavy as he moved from behind Kavei's couch to Nana's side, standing rigidly as he stared at her.

Nana exhaled sharply, rubbing her temple in frustration before meeting his eyes. "The blood samples you found in Aroshi-san's house all belong to the victims. The 2012 to 2016 victims and the 2002 to 2008 victims. Along with some other older men and women whose identities I couldn't confirm because there was no existing evidence to match them to." Her voice was steady, but there was an underlying exhaustion in her tone, the weight of the information pressing down on her.

Kenma swallowed hard, his fingers twitching at his sides.

Nana continued, her voice growing colder. "The blood samples Kavei found in the passage under Aroshi-san's balcony also match all of the victims. Every single one. The samples recorded from a year to two years of their deaths were still present, meaning someone had kept track of their blood over time. I couldn't get a concrete analysis of why the same person's blood had over three to four different samples, but based on everything we know-" She hesitated, choosing her next words carefully, "-I believe they were testing something."

Testing.

The word alone sent a shiver down Saira's spine.

Kenma clenched his jaw. "Testing what?"

Nana inhaled, her fingers gripping the couch as if trying to steady herself. "The thing is... every single one of those sachets contained a drop of Aroshi's blood."

A sharp inhale echoed from Saira. Her hand, which had been resting on Miyasi's shoulder, clenched into a fist. "So then what does that mean?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The tremor in it was evident.

"Aroshi-san's house had the victims' blood samples stored in it," Nana confirmed.

The room seemed to shrink, the realization sinking its claws into everyone's mind. This was what they had feared. They had hoped that, at some point, the truth would remain elusive-that whatever was happening was beyond their reach. Because the deeper they went, the more dangerous it became. And now, there was no turning back.

Benio exhaled through his nose, his expression unreadable, but his grip on his sleeves tightened. He had expected something twisted to show up in this case, but even he hadn't expected this. The blood in Aroshi's house belonged to the supposed dead victims. And now, Aroshi herself was firmly planted in the middle of the storm.

"The blood of Aroshi in each sachet would mean," Nana began carefully, her throat tightening, "that she was testing the reaction of her blood with the victims'."

Kai felt his stomach churn. "What? How are you so sure?" He adjusted his grip on Kavei's shoulders, keeping him steady.

Nana hesitated for a brief moment before looking away. "There are ways to determine a person's eye color through their blood. It's possible to extract DNA and analyze genetic markers associated with melanin production in the iris. Scientists can predict eye color with high accuracy, though there are still uncertainties due to genetic mutations. But that's not what Aroshi was doing."

She swallowed, her voice lowering as if saying it out loud would make it even more terrifying. "She was trying to see if blood infusion could alter the eye color of the person receiving the blood."

The words landed like a punch to the gut.

"Melanin disruption could cause eye color changes," she continued, her fingers clenching together. "If the foreign blood somehow interfered with melanin production, it could lighten or darken the iris. This might mimic conditions like ocular albinism or heterochromia, where a person has two different colored eyes."

A suffocating silence fell over the room.

She wasn't done.

"Blood vessel changes could result in red or purple eyes. If the experiment affected blood flow to the eyes, the sclera-the whites of the eyes-could become permanently bloodshot or even turn dark purple or red due to excess hemoglobin or vessel expansion. And that's just one of the things she could have been testing."

The words barely left her mouth before Ojiro snapped.

"There is just no way a twelve-year-old can do stuff like this!" he roared, his voice cracking. He suddenly sprinted away from behind the couch, his body moving before his mind could even process it. He crouched in front of Nana, his hands pressed against the floor as he glared up at her, his breathing erratic.

"Do you realize what you're saying?" he yelled, his frustration boiling over. "A twelve-year-old can't do that!" His fists clenched as his arms trembled.

She couldn't. That much was true.

But the experiments had been conducted. The blood had been tested. The evidence was undeniable. Aroshi's house had contained the samples. Aroshi's house had the ropes. Aroshi's house had a hidden room.

Everything led back to her.

Nana opened her mouth to respond, to try and reason with Ojiro, but before she could, a loud crash startled them all.

Everyone's heads snapped toward the sound.

Kavei had tried to stand up, but his legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed, his body crumbling under the weight of what he had just read. His hands clutched at his head, his breathing uneven. His entire body shook, his mind reeling from the overwhelming mental damage.

Kai lunged forward and caught him before he could hit the ground completely. "Kavei!" His voice was urgent, panicked. He crouched down, holding onto him, trying to keep him from slipping further.

Kavei gasped for breath, his hands weakly grabbing onto Kai's arm, his body unable to process what he had just learned.

The room was spiraling into chaos, but the one undeniable fact remained---

Aroshi was at the center of it all.