"School's Seven Mysteries Murder Case" (aka "Smoke and Mirrors Case") is the fourth case arc in the File Series of The Kindaichi Case Files.
Throughout Fudo High School, there are rumors of seven strange phenomena occurring around its old school building - and what's more, the rumors go that if one comes to know all seven, they will be killed by 'the Afterschool Magician'. Of course, this is too fascinating of a topic for the school's Mystery Club to pass on, and club president Ruiko Sakuragi recruits Hajime to the cause of uncovering all seven mysteries. Meanwhile, a figure calling themselves the Afterschool Magician threatens the school over an impending demolition of the old building - and the next day, Sakuragi is found hanged in the old building's forbidden Biology Room under mysterious circumstances, in an imitation of the first of the seven mysteries. Can Hajime unmask the Magician before their curse claims more victims?
Tropes include:
- Accidental Murder: The "two people have a fight near stairs and one of them falls to their death" scenario is how Chihiro Aoyama died at the hands of Matoba.
- Achilles in His Tent: Kindaichi briefly considers dropping the case because his carelessness results in Miyuki getting attacked and hospitalized. Appropriately enough, it's Miyuki herself, upon waking up, who talks him into getting back into action.
- Behind Every Great Man: Makabe's success as a detective novelist only came about because the girl who's Terrified of Germs wrote the materials and gave them to him so he could claim the credit.
- Camera Fiend: Ryuuta Saki makes his debut in this case arc by entering the classroom where the club meeting takes place while holding a camera.
- Casanova Wannabe: Makabe is presented as such, as he tries to flirt with the Mystery Club president early in the case arc, only to be shot down (bear in mind he doesn't look ugly, and his appearance is a non-factor for anyone who rejects him, the Mystery Club president included). During Kindaichi and Miyuki's conversation near the end of the case arc, it's mentioned that Makabe was waiting for her to leave the school later that night, presumably to flirt with her some more, only it never happened the way he hoped because she became the first murder victim in this case within the old building.That's one serious skirt-chaser!
- Damsel in Distress: Miyuki gets attacked during the case arc when she gets too close at the truth, and Kindaichi considers dropping the case as the result before Miyuki talks him out of it.
- Dying Clue: The Mystery Club president composes a message before notifying Kindaichi by phone early in the case arc. She intends for it to be solved, whether by herself, Kindaichi, or someone else in the club, while she's still alive, only to be murdered before she can, and so the message ends up serving as this trope, if unintentionally.
- Hanging Around: The two students who are murdered in the present time in this case arc are found hanged.
- He Knows Too Much: The students whom the culprit kills — or, in Miyuki's case, injures — are targeted only when they find out (or come close to finding out) what the culprit wants to remain hidden.
- History Repeats: Ten years ago, Matoba was involved in the Accidental Murder of Chihiro Aoyama after she investigated and discovered the Dark Secret about the Urban Legend of the old building. In the present time, he becomes far more active in monitoring the activities of the Crime Novel Club members, especially the president of said club, whom he discovers is actively investigating the mysteries about the old building with the same fervor as Aoyama had a decade prior.
- Hypocritical Humor: When the president of the Crime Novel Club tries to coax Kindaichi into joining the club, she makes the effort of seduction by claiming she likes her man "handsome and intelligent". Kindaichi claims her seduction isn't working on him, only for her to point out that not all of his body parts agree with his words, causing Miyuki to beat him up as the result.
- Ironic Echo: Played for Laughs. When Kindaichi meets Makabe near the end of the case arc, Makabe, having heard Miyuki helped Kindaichi solve the case with her testimony, asks Kindaichi to "try solving it without a woman's help next time", only for Kindaichi, who finds the germaphobic girl hiding nearby and has already figured out that she was the one writing the novels that are Makabe's claim to fame, to tell Makabe that "I'll do it when you can write a story without a girl's help next time", which shuts Makabe up at once.
- It's All My Fault: Kindaichi blames himself for not being careful enough to keep an eye on Miyuki at a crucial moment that results in her being attacked.
- Japanese School Club: This case arc marks the debut of the Mystery Club, after its president gets Kindaichi and Miyuki coaxed into it.
- The Killer Becomes the Killed: This is what happens to Matoba as the case concludes, courtesy of Chihiro Aoyama's father stabbing him after the whole truth is revealed.
- Mole in Charge: Downplayed. Matoba is the staff advisor for the Crime Novel Club. While he can't force the club members not to investigate the mysteries surrounding the old building, he can -- and does -- kill any student in the club who discovers what he wishes to keep hidden.note
- Moment Killer: Kindaichi visits and talks to Miyuki at the end of the case arc, and Kindaichi leans closer and closer to Miyuki as the conversation seems to become more and more intimate... only for Kenmochi, who is also visiting Miyuki, to turn up at that moment.Kenmochi: Did I come at a bad time?
- Never Recycle a Building: Played with. The backstory goes that the old building has remained undisturbed for decades because the scientists in a struggling pharmaceutical company hid the bodies of people who had signed up as test subjects for an experimental drug and died from said experimental drug test, and Matoba, one of the scientists, entered the school as a teacher to keep the building undisturbed in the hope that the bodies wouldn't be found and the Dark Secret hidden in the building would stay hidden.
- Old School Building: One such building is the main focus of this case arc, Dark Secret and all.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Chihiro Aoyama was survived by her father after her demise a decade ago.
- Papa Wolf: By the end of the case arc, Matoba is stabbed to death by the school's night watchman whom Kindaichi deduces is in fact the father of Chihiro Aoyama, who was killed by Matoba. Chihiro's father reveals he suspected whatever happened to his daughter was connected to Fudo High, so he hid his identity and worked at the school for a decade hoping to discover what happened to Chihiro.
- Poster Patchup: Played for Horror and drama, where a poster is used to hide a crack in the wall where the body of a murdered student is hidden. During The Summation, Kindaichi rips out the poster and reveals the dead girl's skull while daring the culprit to persist in his claims of innocence before his victim. The culprit breaks down and confesses everything.
- Self-Made Myth: After the experimental drug that was Tested on Humans during the 60's ended with all of the volunteers dead, the scientists behind the failed experimental drug hid the bodies in various structures (within walls and under the ground) of the building that would become the setting for this case arc. In order to stop people talking about the missing people, the same scientists behind the hidden bodies created an Urban Legend about a Mad Doctor killing soldiers and holding black-magic rituals. This helped sway the public opinion about the missing people, who were eventually forgotten for the most part.
- Terrified of Germs: One club member has such a strong germaphobia that she always wears rubber gloves in school, and her introduction has Kindaichi and Miyuki witness her wiping a pen she dropped to the floor with a handkerchief before continuing to use it.
- Tested on Humans: During the 60's, a group of scientists in a pharmaceutical company developed a new drug they planned to sell to the public to improve the dire financial status of said company, as most of the drugs sold by the company in question were found to have massive side effects. The new drug was intended to ward off the allegations, but the people who signed up for the experimental drug on the promise of money for volunteering for the experimentation died from the trial run. Thus, the Dark Secret of hiding the bodies of the dead volunteers and coverup of their disappearance was born.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Further tragedies could have been prevented if Makabe wasn't such a Jerkass. Inoue and Miyuki on separate occasions want to take down his poster after having an unpleasant encounter with him, forcing the killer to act before the secret behind the poster is blown, which result on Inoue falling victim and Miyuki nearly becoming a casualty as well.
