Chapter 9, please, Wang Ma.
"Hey, Jinpei, what happened to your back...?"
After what had just happened, many people subconsciously looked at Matsuda Jinpei's back, where the fabric had been torn open, trying to check if he was injured... Of course, some people simply hadn't reacted yet and subconsciously looked over.
Upon closer inspection, a problem was indeed apparent.
It's a good thing that Matsuda Jinpei wasn't injured by the dagger.
However, similarly, on the exposed portion of his skin near his waist and abdomen...
After confirming that Matsuda was alright, many police officers, adhering to the principle of "don't look where you shouldn't," went back to their own work. Meanwhile, Hagiwara Kenji, who was closest to Matsuda Jinpei and most familiar with him, and who was on vacation, didn't have as many reservations and quite naturally inquired about the traces of his childhood friend.
"Jinpei, did you get scratched by a cat? Well, it's not like this hasn't happened before. But looking closer..."
"It doesn't look like a cat's mark, but it definitely looks like a scratch from some animal." Seeing this, Date Wataru stepped forward to examine it further. "This doesn't look good at all. What could this be?"
Matsuda Jinpei, the person involved, was completely confused by what they were saying: "What? What are you talking about, squad leader? I haven't been bitten by any animals recently."
He remained skeptical, reaching behind his back to roughly touch the exposed skin. "I don't feel anything... Hey, you guys aren't ganging up on me, are you?"
"Jinpei, why don't you take a look for yourself?" Kenji Hagiwara took out his phone and took a picture of Matsuda Jinpei's back, then handed him his phone. "See, the class president and I were right, weren't we? It really looks like him."
Matsuda Jinpei took the phone with his right hand and looked down at the image displayed on the screen.
Indeed, the photos show exactly what Kenji Hagiwara and Wataru Date just said.
On the exposed skin behind Matsuda Jinpei was a scarlet and ferocious scratch that looked like it had been left by some wild beast.
However, when Matsuda Jinpei reached out to touch it, he did not feel any injury. Before Hagiwara and the others pointed this out, Matsuda did not feel any pain in that area.
Moreover... although the image looks like a terrifying and ferocious scratch at first glance, upon closer inspection... it is more like a mark shaped like a wild animal's scratch.
Could this be a prank by someone?
Matsuda Jinpei couldn't imagine who would be so bored as to play such a joke on him that he wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for today's accident. Moreover, Matsuda felt that it was impossible for him to be completely unaware when someone left a mark on his back.
Surely there isn't some strange illness causing this effect... Really? But it seems even more far-fetched.
The police officers who responded to the scene had finished handling the situation and were now preparing to escort the perpetrator back to the Metropolitan Police Department. As the people at the scene, Matsuda and his team needed to provide more detailed information. However, they were still on leave, and this kind of incident didn't require three people, especially considering Matsuda's situation…
Ida Ko took the initiative to handle the matter: "Then I'll go to the police station with them first. Remember to let me know after you've figured out what happened."
"Ah, we will." Since everyone was so familiar with each other, Kenji Hagiwara didn't refuse at this point, but readily agreed, "I'll treat you to drinks later, class president."
The police car drove away quickly.
"So, Jinpei, what are you planning to do now? Do you have any clues about 'that' behind you?"
Faced with his childhood friend's question, Matsuda Jinpei twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Instead of that, how about we go to the nearby clothing store and buy some clothes?"
He can't just wander around outside in this tattered shirt!
Kenji Hagiwara nodded in agreement: "That's right, it's a very wise first step."
The two decided to leave from here first.
After all, they were outdoors, and Matsuda Jinpei's back was quite conspicuous. In addition, a murder had occurred here not long ago, and there were still some curious onlookers around. In any case, the street cafe where they were now was not a suitable place to linger and talk.
*******
"So, is there something you two want with us?"
After turning into a secluded corner, Kenji Hagiwara turned around and asked with a smile.
He was very mild-mannered and seemed quite tolerant of being followed the whole way.
Of course, Hagiwara Kenji's current good attitude might be because the two students who accompanied him and Matsuda Jinpei were indeed just following them wherever they went.
It's like turning on auto-follow in a game.
Moreover, the two high school students' stalking was completely blatant, as if they were afraid that Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda wouldn't notice. Unsuspecting passersby might even mistakenly believe that the four of them were part of a group traveling together.
However, considering that in the recent murder case, Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda's identities as police officers had already been made clear to the two boys... So Hagiwara and Matsuda couldn't help but wonder if the two boys were in some kind of trouble and wanted to seek help from the police.
"Um, I'm Tsukino Kazuya."
After the two policemen stopped, Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi also stopped.
After Kenji Hagiwara spoke up to ask, the black-haired boy stepped forward and introduced himself.
Immediately afterwards, Tsukino and Chiya got straight to the point: "We do have something we want to discuss with this... Officer Matsuda."
At the crime scene, Chiya overheard someone referring to the black-haired policeman as "Matsuda," which must be his surname.
Unexpectedly being specifically called out, Matsuda Jinpei's gaze met Chiya's eyes: "Oh? You wanted to see me? What's up?"
Tsukino and Chiya answered truthfully, "It's about the mark on Officer Matsuda's back."
"Do you know what this is?" Matsuda Jinpei was taken aback when he didn't expect them to mention the mark that had appeared on his back at some unknown time.
If he wasn't entirely sure that the two boys were complete strangers, Matsuda Jinpei might have even suspected that they were playing a prank on him.
However, the fact that his clothes were ripped by the criminal today was clearly a coincidence. In other words, since two teenagers who had just met would follow him all the way because of that thing on his back, it might mean... that "that thing" on his back could indicate some trouble.
This is not a good sign.
"I guess I know. But before I explain what that mark is, Officer Matsuda, I'd like you to look at something first."
As they said this, Tsukino and Chiya turned their heads to look at the person standing next to them.
"Please, Ouma."
"Eh~ Kozuki is really good at ordering people around. She dared to try to make me do things with just a light and insincere 'please'. What kind of price should I make Kozuki pay later?"
Wang Ma Xiaoji complained, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
But at the same time, he also reached out and pulled down the black and white checkered scarf he always wore.
A note from the author:
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