Supernatural/Anime Crossover: Where Did My Romantic Comedy Go?

My whole body visibly relaxed.

"Just as I thought..."

She quickly straightened her back, leaned slightly forward, and spoke earnestly:

"You're looking for Ritsuko because you want to ask about Yomiyama Middle School, right?"

"Ritsuko?"

“Misa Sakakibara’s mother was also my classmate, but she was in class 3 and I was in class 2.”

Superintendent Ando offered an explanation.

Kujo Toru nodded and went straight to the question that concerned him most:

What happened in Class 3, Grade 3?

In the Stand game, Kobayashi Hikaru was directly transported to the classroom of Class 3-3 at Yomiyama High School.

In the book "Summer, Fireworks, and Me Under the Tree", Class 3-3 is consistently featured in both the first volume and the second volume he is currently reading.

Clearly, this particular class is the core of this incident.

"That was twenty years ago."

Inspector Ando took a deep breath, a look of reminiscence on his face.

The setting sun shone through the glass onto her, and the faint sound of sirens could be heard.

The aroma of coffee filled the air around the booths.

The shop assistant sat there, half asleep.

"That year, I was in my last semester of my junior year of high school. In the National High School Kendo Competition held in August, I achieved a top-16 ranking."

Kujo Toru knew this; he saw it when he was searching for information about Yomiyama Middle School earlier today.

"At the time, I was the representative for the women's individual competition, and the representative for the men's individual competition was named Misaki Yomiyama. Speaking of which, his name is also pronounced Misaki, which is the same as the author of the book 'Summer Fireworks,' which is quite a coincidence."

Superintendent Ando picked up his half-cold coffee and took a sip:

"When I first saw the ad for that book, I really thought that guy had come back to life."

resurrection?

So he's already dead?

"Yes, the day before he was to enter his senior year of high school, the plane he was on crashed, and all the passengers perished."

Kujo Toru tapped his fingers on the table; resurrection was impossible.

However, the fact that the name sounds the same as the novel's author's name is probably not a coincidence.

Especially in this situation.

He pressed on with his questions:

"So what happened next?"

"When the students of Class 3, Grade 3, who had already moved up to the senior year, heard the news, they were very sad. So, in order to commemorate him, they kept his desk and chair, pretending that he was still alive. They even kept his homework and test papers, and added his name to school activities."

Tsk.

Even Kujo Toru couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly after hearing about the outrageous behavior described in those words.

This behavior is simply asking for trouble.

If a vengeful spirit receives this kind of treatment, it can even directly become a malevolent deity.

Something must have happened.

It wasn't a question, but a direct, professional judgment.

"Yes, something happened."

Superintendent Ando nodded, revealing without any concealment the secret he had kept hidden in his heart for twenty years:

"On the day we took our graduation photos, Misaki Yomiyama appeared in the pictures."

"Since then, a curse has been placed on Class 3, Grade 3. A dead, superfluous person will appear in the classroom. No one knows who that person is, not even the person himself."

"The only way to determine that this phenomenon has occurred is by observing the inexplicable shortage of desks and chairs."

It perfectly matches the rules of the Stand game.

Kujo Toru remained silent, and Inspector Ando continued:

"Later, they realized that if this phenomenon was left unchecked, the students in Class 3-3 would eventually suffer misfortune one after another. So they came up with a solution: to select one person as the superfluous one and have the whole class ignore him."

"After that, nothing happened again until fifteen years ago, when a female student named Hirata Keiko was chosen as the superfluous person."

You can basically guess what happened next.

At that time, Hikoo Kurusu, who had just started teaching art at Yomiyama Junior High School, was unaware of the secrets of Class 3-3.

When he took the whole class out for sketching, Keiko Hirata encountered a black raccoon.

Then came a huge fire, and Hirata Keiko disappeared.

Yomiyama Middle School was subsequently relocated to a new location.

"I have another question. Where is Yomiyama Middle School located now? I can't find any relevant information."

"It's normal that you can't find it, because the schools have merged. However, the new school after the merger was abandoned a few years ago."

Volume 1: Chapter 121 Suzumoto Kono: This Joy, Without Thinking of Thoroughness

No wonder all the information I could find was stuck 15 years ago; it turns out it was because the schools were merged.

Kujo Toru looked thoughtfully at Inspector Ando:

"Where is the new school, and why was it abandoned?"

"I don't know about that." Superintendent Ando shook his head.

"By then, I had already graduated from the police academy and joined the Chiba City Criminal Investigation Division, so I didn't have much energy to keep track of Yomiyama Junior High's whereabouts."

That was the end of their conversation.

Although the clues ended there, the actual progress was quite smooth.

The true identity of the curse in the book has also been identified.

The reason why Akiyama Shoji and Sakakibara Misa triggered the curse is now clear.

Keiko Hirata was originally chosen as the "superfluous person" by Class 3-3 that year, and was the culprit who led to the closure of Yomiyama Middle School.

However, she later became the servant priestess of the Black Fox, which is why the curse has never taken effect over the years.

Not long ago, when he was fighting off the black raccoon at Shuangqiu Mountain, he also took care of her.

The curse that failed to come true ultimately fell upon Akiyama Shoji, with whom she had a complicated relationship.

Misa Sakakibara's death was for the same reason; Ritsuko's curse had come true for her.

Taken from his backpack, Toru Kujo opened the book, "Summer, Fireworks, and Me Under the Tree."

Let's leave Volume 1 [Gemini] aside for now.

The second volume, "Oblivion," tells the story of what happened to Class 3-3 in the third year.

The third volume, "The Shrine Maiden," should be set after the merger of Yomiyama Middle School.

Listening to Xia Chuanzhen's summary of the plot of Er Ling Er Er Yi San Lin (8x), it is clear that even after the merger of schools, Class 3-3 is still using the methods of superfluous people to fight against the curse.

The protagonist of this book is the one who was chosen.

However, in the end, everyone except the protagonist died in a landslide while participating in the festival.

Despite the method still being used, these students were unable to escape the curse.

Is the method ineffective after the merger, or is there another reason?

The next mystery seems to be solved only by finding the address of Yomiyama Middle School after the merger.

Unfortunately, although he was quite knowledgeable about things like monsters and vengeful spirits, each shrine had its own unique festivals, and he didn't have much knowledge in that area.

It was impossible to find relevant information through the description of the burning mountain ceremony in the book.

Perhaps experts specializing in Shintoism or folklorists would know a little...

Thinking of this, a person suddenly popped into Kujo Toru's mind.

He thought of the goddess's friend named Munakata Kiyono.

The other party was a folklorist.

He also provided him with crucial information during the Black Fox incident.

Kujo Toru had originally planned to go on a field trip to Kyushu with him during the summer vacation.

Now, is it possible to consult him?

"Nine articles, any more questions?"

Superintendent Ando, ​​seeing him engrossed in his book, couldn't help but tap the table to bring him back to his senses.

It's already very late.

The sun had almost completely set, leaving only a faint afterglow on the horizon.

The sky turned dark blue.

The streetlights quietly came on.

The police officers who died in the accident at Sakakibara's house also left one after another, leaving a couple standing outside the door.

His eyes were red and his face was full of sorrow.

The woman, in particular, had completely lost the sparkle in her eyes and seemed utterly lifeless.

Clearly, as a student in Class 3 of the first year when the problem occurred, she knew very well why her daughter had died unexpectedly.

Superintendent Ando couldn't help but sigh.

She and Ritsuko are very good friends, and they are one of the few classmates who still keep in touch.

But this was something that was completely beyond her capabilities.

As a criminal investigator, she can track down and apprehend criminals and bring them to justice.

But what can she do when the murderer is a cursed, invisible winged creature?

The students in Class 3-3 of the third year pretended that Misaki Yomiyama had not died because they had good intentions. Why did they have to suffer this misfortune?

"There are no problems for now."

“Okay,” Superintendent Ando stood up from his chair and nodded. “I have to go back to the station later, so I won’t take you home.”

Then, Toru Kujo saw her pay at the counter and leave the coffee shop, heading straight for the Sakakibara couple, where she whispered something to them.

I guess I was trying to comfort the other person.

He withdrew his gaze, finished his coffee in one gulp, closed the novel in his hand, and left with his bag.

I wonder how Natsukawa Masuzu's investigation into the author's behavior is going.

Kujo Toru also had a strong curiosity about the author.

He was eager to know the other person's true purpose in writing the novel.

night.

Chiba City was enveloped in a sea of ​​neon lights.

Natsukawa Ryoumi took a nice bath to wash away the fatigue of the afternoon, and then came out of the bathroom.

She rubbed her wet, silvery-white hair with a towel in her hand, walked to the balcony, plugged in the hairdryer, and began to dry it.

Her parents are not in the country, and they basically left her to her own devices.

Even when they occasionally call, the conversation is very simple, and then a large sum of money is transferred to her bank card.

It was practically a silent message to her: if you don't have money, just say so; don't bother me if you don't need it.

Thinking that since it's not her money, she might as well use it, so Natsukawa Masaki treated herself very well.