Far from where he stood, Shimada could sense Izumi, but the signal was weak. He continued to watch Izumi standing in front of the bulletin board, unaware of Shimada's presence.
"His right-hand signal is weak again. Strange! Is he asleep? Or can he hide his signal?" Shimada pondered, trying to solve the puzzle of Izumi's right-hand signal.
"Let's try something that will provoke an instinctive reaction from him—sending a strong signal without warning, an aggressive signal!" Shimada thought aloud.
He sent out the strongest aggressive signal possible, causing dozens of birds perched on nearby branches to flee. Yet, nothing happened; Izumi showed no reaction, which frustrated Shimada and made him doubt the abilities he had heard about from Tamiya.
"He's incredibly dull," Shimada muttered.
---
"Shimada is quite charming, isn't he?" one of the girls said to Yuko in one of the empty classrooms.
"What! I don't…" Yuko replied, flustered and unsure how to handle the situation.
"Come on, don't hide it! I know you drew him," the girl said, trying to grab Yuko's sketchbook.
"What!!!! Are you spying on me? Get away!" Yuko exclaimed, clutching the sketchbook to her chest.
"He's really handsome. I've never seen a boy so good-looking. I wonder if his beauty is natural? What if his face is fake? I don't think so," the girl said as she moved between the desks.
"Gift me a drawing of him sometime; I'll frame it and hang it in my room," the girl said, getting closer to Yuko.
"I'm counting on you!" she finished, leaving the classroom with a cheerful demeanor.
Yuko didn't pay much attention to most of what she said, but one word stuck in her mind, giving her a headache: "Fake! What did she mean by that?!"
Three elite police officers arrived at Takashi's house to visit him, primarily to check on his well-being and then to discuss the monsters (parasites) that continued to prey on the innocent.
Takashi's experience of drinking from the bitter cup of loss could potentially lead to solutions for curbing the parasites, although it wouldn't be easy. A person who has lost someone dear to him, especially in such a horrific manner, is likely to contribute everything he has towards revenge and finding peace. This was the plan of the police department: the necessity of involving Takashi in the investigation and exploring avenues for success.
In his private room, Takashi welcomed his guests and closed the door. He sat across from the three investigators, with a table between them laden with police equipment.
"Why can't we announce this to the public?" Takashi asked, referring to involving the general public in the situation. In other words, trying to turn public opinion against the parasites could lead to some results.
"Do you realize the chaos we would cause if we did that? We can't instill fear and panic on a large scale due to a lack of reliable information. We'll create an atmosphere of distrust among the people that could even reach within households. This will lead to division, panic, and ultimately mass hysteria—everyone killing everyone, whether they are monsters or not. On the other hand, the crime rate will increase under the excuse of 'I suspected him.' A decision like this would lead the country to ruin…" said Investigator #1, who was interrupted before he could finish his statement.
Investigator #2 intervened, raising his arm as a signal to stop any actions or words, having noticed something intriguing. He approached the door quietly, as if gliding through the air of the room, and opened it quickly.
Izumi stood at the door, showing no signs of nervousness that would indicate he had been eavesdropping; he remained calm, his expression neutral. Takashi couldn't clearly see the door due to Investigator #2's large frame, prompting him to stand and observe what was happening.
"That's my son, Izumi," Takashi said.
"Hello, nice to meet you," Izumi said with a smile.
Investigator #1 was not pleased with Izumi's behavior, perceiving him as having eavesdropped from behind the door. He responded coldly, merely nodding his head, and Investigator #2 closed the door to continue their discussion.
"There must be something special about them compared to normal humans. It's essential to distinguish them from the rest of the population if we want to solve this mystery," Takashi said.
"We haven't captured any of their kind alive to conduct studies. Those who have died usually perished in battles with other parasites of their kind. It's clear that a human, with bare hands, cannot defeat a parasite; everyone agrees on that. But the question here is, why do they sometimes fight among themselves? What conflicts arise that lead them to battle? Is it possible that some among them are good and defend what is right?" Investigator #1 asked.
Takashi interrupted, recalling the scene of his wife's death. "Loving good? How is that possible? How can a monster that tears apart innocent flesh be loving? Perhaps the answer to your question is that they fight for amusement or to challenge each other."
"Suppose we capture a parasite while it's still alive; would it be easy to control it with the means we have?" Investigator #1 continued.
"The studies conducted on the few cases that have been killed yielded no results. The body of the person chosen by the parasite as a host shows nothing out of the ordinary, but there's always a charred area nearby—something that has melted and burnt completely, likely the invading parasite within the victim," Investigator #2 explained.
"We won't gain anything by publicly calling them out as long as we haven't figured out how to distinguish them from ordinary humans. In fact, we will lose a lot. I repeat, we are sorry about your wife, but to speak frankly, the current situation is critical with at least four known monsters roaming in Japan," Investigator #1 said.
"What do you think of this?" Investigator #3 finally spoke up, showing Takashi a drawing he had been working on based on Takashi's description of the parasite.
As soon as Takashi looked at the drawing, his expression changed to one of anger. It depicted a human form except for the head, with elongated limbs ending in sharp blades and a single eye in the center.
Takashi was affected and couldn't bear to look at the drawing for long. "Yes, it looked like this."
He handed the drawing back to Investigator #3, who passed it to his fellow investigators for their review.
"I understand, so it can transform into grotesque shapes," Investigator #1 concluded.
In a dimly lit room resembling a meeting hall, a long table was surrounded by chairs. Tamiya sat on one side, facing an unidentified person, slender and dressed in a formal suit, with his features obscured by a large glowing white screen behind him.
"It seems there are a few rumors circulating in the area," Tamiya said.
"I can see that," replied the unidentified man.
"That was to be expected. Some are hunting recklessly like insects. If we don't control the situation, we will be hunted down and eliminated. We are such weak and flawed forms of life," Tamiya continued.
"You're probably the only one overthinking this," the man said.