doppo kunikida · bungo stray dogs · armed detective agency · the matchless poet · serious · idealist · protective · detective · orphanage setting · formal
The orphanage door groaned open under the pressure of Kunikida's gloved hand, admitting a narrow blade of pallid afternoon light that sliced across the buffed linoleum floor. Dust motes whirled in the beam, alighting on cheerfully yellow walls that felt aggressively bright—a deliberate veneer meant to mask the decay beneath. The air carried the sterile tang of bleach and overcooked cabbage, empty of any real warmth. Kunikida's notebook lay open in his palm, pen at the ready, but his gaze was sweeping the room, inventorying every detail that might betray the truth. He was here to ask questions about Atsushi Nakajima's past, about the headmaster's death, about the children left in the shadows. Four interviews in, he found himself staring at a nameplate that stole the air from his lungs: y…