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between inhabited areas was purely theoretical, nothing real. The ground kept going. The fire across the street could have started in your next-door neighbor’s house. Of course it was going to spread. There was nothing you could do if people weren’t worried about the fire in area 408 just because it wasn’t their quarter. They weren’t worth saving , thought Shizue.
    â€œAs people who work with adolescents…”
    It had always been a dire circumstance.
    â€œAs far as we’re concerned…”
    The area chief of police, who sat next to the center’s supervisor, spoke with a long face. Despite his severe face, the chief hardly moved his lips when speaking, making his speech come across as ambiguous at best and difficult to hear.
    â€œSo…we’re in the throes of smoking out our suspect, but as you can see in the documents we have provided for you, the murder took place outside the residential quarter, and we believe that it took place late at night once again, on top of which we think getting any verbal statements from witnesses of this random killing will be difficult.”
    What about it, then?
    What did he think was going to happen by presenting this to a group of youth counselors?
    â€œAt the moment…”
    Shizue had a horrible feeling about this.
    â€œAs of now, as area patrols, we are compiling a list of deviants who live in this residential quarter.”
    â€œWait a second.”
    She’d gone and opened her mouth. She knew it was going to end badly but couldn’t stop herself.
    â€œHow are you determining that this is a deviant? I’d like a clear definition of what makes this person deviant. Otherwise it’s just discrimination.”
    Perhaps because she’d just thrown the conversation off course, the area chief went silent, furrowed his brow, and said “discrimination” under his breath.
    â€œOf course it’s not discrimination. A deviant is a deviant. It’s someone who can’t be normal.”
    â€œI am just asking as a matter of setting a standard. Are the police using a medical standard or else a sociological standard when using this term?”
    It was useless.
    â€œWhat for?”
    The area chief looked perplexed and shifted his gaze to his right at another participant. That participant then shot a look at Shizue.
    â€œC’mon, Fuwa.”
    He sounded retarded.
    â€œStop saying things that make no sense. It runs our discussion off course. It’s a waste of our time.”
    This whole conference was a waste of time.
    â€œWhat’s not making any sense, Counselor Takazawa? I should like to repeat, as a counselor, that these baseless accusations are discriminatory. I should like you not to use these terms if you’re not prepared to define them.”
    â€œDiscriminatory…”
    The police chief looked like he didn’t know what it meant and this time shot a glance at the counselor on his left.
    Was he a superior? The skinny man gave the police chief a cold look, then faced Shizue.
    â€œI am Ishida, from Division R of the prefectural police, head of the violent crimes investigation unit,” he said. “This is, as you say, a term we don’t want to have misunderstood. Let me try to explain. The deviant Officer Yokota is talking about will have committed crimes that are wholly removed from typical crimes prosecutable or non-prosecutable by the police, or else has attempted these crimes or is a person suspected of having participated in such crimes.”
    â€œWhat does ‘wholly removed from typical crimes’ mean?”
    â€œThis is a very crude way of saying it, but sexually based crimes including stalking, for example. If I go any further than that it will seem discriminatory, as you say.”
    â€œIn other words—”
    â€œYou are correct. Distinguishing ‘normal’ from ‘abnormal’ is a very delicate issue. For example, there is nothing