Chapter 146 - Victim Statement

Contrary to all her talk on being different. Setsura knew she is the same as everybody else. She would dismiss anything that is different, and go for the thing she is familiar with. But, the reason she is dismissing it is not due to those values. It is simply due to her fear and insecurity.

"About what you said, will you teach me how to use my powers if the occasion arose?" A situation where she cannot use a gun, where she has no choice but to rely on the supernatural. "Guns, I wonder how effective they will be against those beings. Perhaps I should ask you to teach me now."

But with her current mindset on powers, it will only backfire on her, won't it?

Katakura nodded, "I understand. Honestly, you don't have to rush to learn these skills. You still have a lot of time left. It is better to get more experience on the field first before you go too far."

Setsura sighed, "If only I could. Akito is keeping his mouth shut on the recent cases. Though I sneaked a look earlier…"

"Oh, is that why you are in a bad mood?"

"I am not in a bad---" her sentence fell short when Katakura holds up some papers. For a moment, Setsura could not register what she saw. "Ah? The case files, where did you…"

"Obviously, your supervisors end up with the files of the case. In a situation where you cannot investigate freely. We can give these to you."

"I see, thank you," Setsura took a seat on the grass by the large tree. The snow had yet to clear up, and she knew her clothes would get wet. But, she wanted to have a look at this here, where there are no prying eyes. She cant bring this home since Akito checks her belongings. What kind of guy checks on his girlfriend's belongings? That's an invasion of privacy. Then again, she is one to talk when it comes to that department.

For awhile, Setsura does not speak, and she is glad Katakura didn't disturb her either. She focused on reading the files in front of her.

(Report: Case XXX, the Year 1895

Ten victims and a group of passing by witnesses have made their statements. )

A list of victim statements on the next page. The first page mainly consisted of the background details of the case. It took place in a school; the victims were a mixture of school children and teachers. But among the large group that survived, there were no teachers who lived. Only children. Other people would not find that strange since it is the a.d.u.l.t's responsibility to keep the children safe. However, one of the children kept claiming that she was one of the teachers.

Setsura located the witness statement easily.

(Name: Katamura Rin

Age: 15

They conducted terrible experiments on us. I am telling you, the survivors are not who they claim to be. Those are not the children; the culprits are mixed in with them. I am not Rin, but the teacher Mika. They did something to our bodies…)

At this point, Setsura stopped reading. The statement seemed normal to her. Though the handwriting is very shaky, and the interrogators claimed she was crazy.

She continued to read more.

(At the start, there were 60 of us: 45 kids and 15 teachers, a mixture of kids from different classes. We were in the middle of an evacuation; a fire took place in the school. I was in charge of leading a group one group out. I had other teachers with me too. It's not the first time a fire took place in the school, at least in my years of teaching. So I was familiar with the procedure. We were almost at the exit, but suddenly everybody started to pass out.

When we woke up, we were in the sewers in nothing but our undergarments. Our clothes hung on the wall with peculiar markings on them. When one of the girls tried to get their clothes, their skin started burning. I believe they used some kind of toxin; either way, it was not possible to wear them.

Some of the clothes had no markings, and we could wear them. The other teachers offered their clothing to students who had their clothes marked. For a while it was fine, we were walking around and looking normally. However, after a few hours passed, some people started acting strange. These are the kids we gave the nonmarked clothes too. Their bodies would slowly degrade, the clothes would suddenly start burning.

It was a horrific sight; even when we helped them get the clothes off, it was too late already. However, those clothes returned to normal when the owner was wearing them. A hat accidentally landed on the original owner's head when we were helping them.

After similar incidences occurred, we quickly learned. They scattered our belongings in the sewers; we had to find everything we came with. Since we were in the middle of a fire drill, and the majority of students were in class. Not many brought things with them. However, there were students on their way out with possessions. So there were indeed a lot of things.

The game was simple. As long as we could find our belongings, we would be able to leave. However, it wasn't that easy. We had no food or water - the kids did have some lunches. But that only lasted so long. Without food and water, our energy quickly drained. Finding the other items in that place became increasingly difficult.

The experiments started on the fourth day. For the first three days, we were fine. But on the fourth people started to disappear. We couldn't stay together as a large group all the time, so we had to split into small groups. I ensured that nobody went off by themselves. However, the students started to disappear. None of the group members noticed their disappearance either. Then they'd appear again on the same day....)

At this point in the statement, Setsura noted that the page had turned damp. She must have started crying here. The woman's words sounded logical at the beginning. It's most likely the second half where people started to think she was crazy. Should she read on?

After a few minutes, Setsura didn't flick onto the next page. The witness statement was very long. It seemed like the others couldn't provide a proper testimony. So this is most likely the main statement for the case. She kept reading the two pages over and over. Before, she glanced over at the blonde-haired man.

Since she started reading, he has said nothing. Instead, he was busy looking at the skies. Is he daydreaming in the middle of the job? Setsura shook her head, that doesn't matter. She is the one who called him here.

"What did you think of this?" Setsura asked Katakura.

"A boring case."

"Boring?"

That wasn't the answer she expected from him.

Katakura nodded, "The case itself is very dull. Akito probably didn't want to get you involved since the actual case is not important."

"But, Akito looked very serious..."

"If you read everything, you'll understand why. The key thing isn't this case. But how it links to all the cases that have happened this year."

"Is this linked to the shard case?"

The blonde paused but shook his head, "It isn't."

Just two words, but Setsura immediately understood. This case isn't linked to the shard case, that's why Katakura said it was dull. However, it isn't a case she can ignore. Katakura told her she has to gain experience with the cases at this time. He said that many random cases would pop up. Even if it isn't related to the shards, she needs to involve herself in this.

Setsura closed the book.

"Done?"

"No," Setsura shook her head. "I think I'll discuss the rest of it with Akito."

"You think he will tell you?"

"Well, it will be difficult. But I have questions that will most likely overstep your guidance."

"I see," Katakura trailed off. "Setsura, is your relationship with Akito going well?"

Katakura's question surprised her, but Setsura nodded. "It is why?" Setsura didn't want to discuss the matter of that woman with Katakura. Since he is the guardian watching over her, though, doesn't he already know about it?