Koutatsu Okazaki, a deceased student, anchors the narrative’s central mystery through his tragic past. He chose suicide to eternally preserve his youth, framing his death as a symbolic embrace of perpetual childhood reminiscent of Peter Pan’s refusal to mature. Years later, a letter emerges following the disappearance of classmate Ryoko Miyazaki, confessing to her kidnapping and murder under Okazaki’s name. This posthumous claim thrusts his legacy into the investigation, sparking debate over whether his ideological influence drives the crimes or a living impersonator manipulates his memory.

Okazaki’s history as a member of the school’s Broadcast Club intertwines with themes of envy, fractured identity, and resistance to adulthood, echoing the fraught relationships between Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. Survivors dissect their own group dynamics through this literary lens, probing how Okazaki’s act and Ryoko’s fate mirror the story’s tension between innocence and responsibility. His absence permeates the plot, with investigators unraveling how his choices ripple through time, leaving unanswered questions about guilt, motive, and the haunting allure of refusing to grow old.