AYUMI-CHIBA
THE SMALLEST FINDINGS
TEAM KAVEI AND HIMEKO

Kavei leaned back in his chair, exhaling deeply before glancing around the beautifully lit room. "So then, next is Ayumi," he said, shifting the conversation forward.

At the mention of her name, Himeko nodded. "Oh yeah, Ayumi... Well, not much on her part. It was actually pretty easy," she started, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Her childhood friend-he was scared of the police, so he didn't speak up at first, but-"

Before she could finish, Kavei cut in with a smirk. "She was sweet to him for a minute, and then-boom-he spilled everything."

A few chuckles echoed in the room, but the atmosphere remained tense.

Himeko sighed before continuing, her voice growing more serious. "That day, after they finished shopping for their sports day, they walked past a road leading to this burned-down, broken house. It looked abandoned, just standing there like a skeleton of what it once was. And then, her friend told us something strange-Ayumi knew a secret passage through the garden that led inside the house."

Benio furrowed his brows. "A secret passage?"

"Yeah," Kavei confirmed, nodding. "The whole house was completely burned. Even I was confused about how she knew her way around a place like that." He let out a dry chuckle. "Anyway, when Ayumi showed him the passage, he took one look at it and decided not to go in. Said it was too creepy. Can't blame him."

"But he showed you guys where it was?" Saira asked.

"Yep," Himeko replied. "And so, we went in."

The room fell silent for a moment as Kavei carefully reached into his bag and pulled out a small object, setting it on the table with a dull thud.

A broken tape recorder.

Everyone's eyes locked onto it.

Benio reached out first, picking it up with a skeptical look. "A broken recorder?" he muttered, turning it over in his hands.

"Yeah. That's all we found," Kavei admitted, watching Benio examine it.

Benio narrowed his eyes. "Does it have some kind of important information?"

Kai leaned forward, a spark of curiosity lighting up his face. "I get what you're saying, Niichan, but the thing is-it's broken. It doesn't play. It doesn't work at all. And if we assume that it was broken on purpose, then that would make even more sense, right, Kavei?"

Kavei, however, shook his head. "Nope."

Kai blinked, clearly thrown off. "Huh?" His lips pressed into a pout as he waited for Kavei to explain himself.

Kavei leaned forward, his expression turning thoughtful. "Think about it. If someone broke it on purpose, wouldn't it make more sense for them to burn it along with the house? Why break it separately? And most importantly, why leave it behind? If it had something incriminating on it, the killer would've taken it with them."

The weight of his words settled over the group like a thick fog.

"So... what is it then?" Kai asked hesitantly. "A dying message? A trail for us to follow?"

Kavei exhaled, resting his chin on his hand. "I'm not sure. But let's go through all the cases first. Then, maybe, we'll start to see the bigger picture."

"Hm, okay," Kai mumbled, leaning back with a small sigh.

The tension in the room lingered until a sudden chuckle broke the silence. It was quiet at first, but then it grew slightly louder.

Benio turned his head sharply, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of Sebiki trying-and failing-to suppress her laughter. His brow furrowed. Why was she laughing now? This wasn't a joke. A broken tape recorder, a missing girl, secret passages-none of it was funny.

Sebiki quickly cleared her throat, catching their stares. "Sorry to seem maniacal," she admitted, pressing a hand against her lips. "But, uhm... we've found so many secret passages during all of this. I mean, think about it-Kavei found one back in Aroshi's house, Kenma found another, Daichi ended up in a secret forest, and now we've got a hidden passage in Ayumi's case too. Don't you think that's kind of funny?"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, despite himself, Himeko smiled faintly. "It is a lot of secrets," she admitted.

But Kavei didn't share the amusement. His expression remained grim, his fingers tapping lightly against the arm of the chair. "Suspicious, too," he muttered darkly.

Benio leaned back against the couch, his arms crossed over his chest. "Someone's helping us," he said, voice steady. "I can feel it."

Kavei, however, wasn't convinced. His eyes were sharp, unreadable. "Or," he said slowly, "they're helping themselves."

The weight of that possibility hung in the air like a storm cloud.

Kenma, who had been silent until now, finally nodded. "We'll figure it out soon." His voice carried a quiet confidence.

And with that, the room fell into uneasy contemplation, each of them wondering just who was truly pulling the strings.