↑ Kiyoshi Oogawa above ↑

••●••

'None of us knows what might happen even the
next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith'
— Paulo Coelho, Brida

••●••

THE DAY BEFORE

A sigh passed their lips.

Against the wall lay a girl. Her wavy, almond bangs curtained her closed eyelids. Arms, skinny as twigs, hung limply by her sides. Moreover, she showed absolutely no signs of consciousness.

"Man, I'm bored. Bored. Bored. Bored." Fiddling with the thin rods sticking out of either side of her head, they proceeded to lift what the girl clutched in her hand: her student ID card.

On cue, she lethargically opened her eyes.

Her confusion was immediate.

"Moriko Kitoshi! Boy, did you surprise me! You put up quite the fight!"

Doused in sweat, the instinctive urge to flee socked her in the gut. However, try as she might've, she couldn't move. She had no strength. "What did you do to me? Who are you?" Although she tried to scream, no sound came out. 'What's going on? Why can't I talk?'

A hysterical fit of laughter spilled out of them. Then, their lips peeled back into a cynical grin, wide enough to mimic the Joker's smile.

"Hey, hey, I was just having a little fun. No need to be so afraid. Believe me, I'd love to keep you around—experiment on you further—but you're useless to me now. Sad, right? But that's life, right?"

They reached for the electrode wires sticking out of her head.

"Don't give me those fearful eyes," they cooed. "Being killed isn't as frightening as you think. It's relieving, Moriko Kitoshi. You've got to believe me."

Upon yanking the odd machinery from her head, she fell deathly still.

"See? What a relief, right?" Cackling, they strolled towards the exist. "Now, then, who should I mess with next?"

☻ ☺ ☻

PRESENT TIME

"What is it you want to show me, Kiyoshi?" Tadashi questioned as the said male led him down the hallway he had recently departed. Kiyoshi came to a halt by the clubroom's door, leaving Tadashi at a loss. "What are we doing back here?"

"That paper isn't the only thing that's missing," Kiyoshi stated, his tone more solemn than anxious.

Tadashi furrowed his eyebrows.

Kiyoshi twisted the doorknob and, without hesitation, marched inside and up to the computer. Tadashi followed suit. After much clicking and typing, in which Tadashi lost his pace due to how nimbly his fingers glided across the keyboard, a list of documents popped up on the screen.

MORIKOKITOSHI.docx.

"Isn't this the document we referenced in the crime scenario? To gather information on Moriko Kitoshi," Tadashi asked, his pale green eyes scrutinizing the particular file the cursor floated above. "What does this have to do with what you mentioned earlier?"

Sucking in a chestful of oxygen, Kiyoshi clicked onto the document. Tadashi's jaw collapsed.

It no longer contained the information pertaining to Moriko as it did two days ago. Instead, the page was completely blank.

Any details about the model, honour-roll student Moriko Kitoshi—all the evidence connecting them to the case—gone without a trace.

Tadashi stumbled away from the computer, suddenly lightheaded. "The information... It's—it's gone."

Kiyoshi nodded, pushing his glasses back up. "While the eight of you left to check out the crime scene, I wanted to help in some form as well. My solution was to dig for more information regarding this case." He nudged his head at the computer screen. "However, when I tried to pull up this document, it was already deleted."

"So, the culprit didn't just steal the paper, but also deleted the information on Kitoshi as well?"

Solemnly, Kiyoshi bobbed his head.

"If that's the case, why didn't you bring it up after we all returned?"

If he'd known of this while they were all discussing the crime scene, why didn't he bring it to their attention? Obviously, with this information, it'd contradict the idea that the culprit wasn't associated with the club. Stealing the paper was one thing, but if the information regarding her—on the computer only the club members knew existed—it meant it wasn't a mere coincidence.

At Tadashi's inquiry, Kiyoshi flinched. He avoided his gaze, looking to the ground. "A-after I found out, I informed everybody who was still in the room. Though, when we discussed it... we came to the conclusion that somebody in the club kidnapped her..."

Tadashi's eyes bulged once in realization. "You started to doubt the eight of us. That's why you never brought it up."

Kiyoshi reluctantly nodded.

They thought that one of us eight were the culprit, Tadashi concluded thereafter. Betrayal bubbled up inside of him. He couldn't stomach that the rest of them would ever pin the blame on them. However, considering the irrationality of the whole situation, it wasn't that unusual that they did.

"Don't get me wrong!" Kiyoshi's abrupt shout caught Tadashi off guard. "Even if that was the conclusion we drew, that suspicion was only held down to two people."

"Two people?" Tadashi repeated. So it wasn't the eight of us they were suspecting, but two?

"Yes. I-I'll admit, when you guys returned and brought up what you saw at the crime scene... it became hard for us to say anything. We were already suspicious but that truth made it worse. But, since our suspicion was baseless, we agreed that it should be okay to at least tell the people we trusted."

And Kiyoshi trusted me? Tadashi thought unsurely. It was definitely weird. Kiyoshi and him were pretty okay acquaintances but they barely chatted outside of club activities. They could basically be considered strangers. Yet, he told him.

Kiyoshi had a severe case of gynophobia. Thus, whenever girls were in the picture, he turned into the exact opposite of the serious Kiyoshi seated in front of him—a fidgety, stuttering, and blundering mess. Taking that into consideration, it obviously had to be one of the boys that he told.

Out of the four boys that went to the crime scene, Kiyoshi trusted him most?

No matter how deeply Tadashi spun the thought, it was strange.

"Then, if what you're saying is true, Kiyoshi, that means that the six who stayed behind while the eight of us investigated the crime scene are taking the initiative to tell those of us that they trusted," Tadashi stated, putting a finger underneath his chin. "And you... trusted me?"

Kiyoshi clenched his fists on his lap. "To be honest, Tadashi, you don't seem all that life-threatening. Since you're extremely plain, I can't compare you to the culprit."

"Plain?" Tadashi twitched, a forced smile on his face. Is he saying I'm dull?

"Oh, no, plain as in average," Kiyoshi objected after sensing Tadashi's irritation. "You're like one of the side characters in an anime who spontaneously pop in and assist the main character. Other than that, they're essentially useless. The only positive thing they have going for them is their optimistic attitude throughout the story."

He's definitely making fun of me... Tadashi frowned. He wasn't that boring. He was involved in this incident so technically, his life wasn't as dull as it used to be. "Kiyoshi," Tadashi sighed, "say I'm the side character. What does that make you?"

He fixed his glasses, superiority etched onto that dominant smirk of his. "The main character, of cours—"

"No, that's not happening."

"Huh! But aren't I the most fit in this situation? I am telling you of an interesting twist in the storyline and that's a very main character thing to do!"

This otaku. "If you ask me, you're more fit to play the role of the villain. The quiet, unsociable types typically turn against you in the end and admit that they've been the mastermind all along."

"A-are you suspecting me, Tadashi?! I'm telling you I'm not evil! I am justice!"

"Yeah, yeah."

A boisterous laugh echoed throughout the room. Kiyoshi and Tadashi jerked their heads towards the doorway. Standing there was none other than Iori Yutaka, snickering at the duo before him.

Iori dramatically wiped a tear before entering the clubroom. He crossed over to his assigned chair and raised his bag. "Forgot this!" he explained, beaming. "But if Tadacchi and Kiyosy are having fun, invite me!"

Fun? Tadashi blinked. They were arguing, weren't they? How was that remotely fun? Tadashi quickly nudged away the thought. There was the chance Iori overheard their conversation. Should Tadashi question it? No, if what Kiyoshi confessed was true, Iori should be aware about the document.

"Kiyosy? H-how many times must I tell you not to call me that!" Kiyoshi bolted from the chair, fuming.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist. Tadacchi doesn't mind, does he?"

Tadashi extended a finger. "Actually—"

"Of course he doesn't! Were companions, after all!"

Kiyoshi groaned. Tadashi weakly smiled.

"Kiyosy, on the other hand, would rather hang out with boys than with ladies. I can hardly wrap my head around it! You're an enemy to ladies!"

Tadashi couldn't stifle his laugh any longer. Kiyoshi's shell shock reverted to anger. Fists balled, he appeared ready to knock the blond out cold. It was nothing new. These two never got along.

They were exact opposites. Kiyoshi had a phobia of girls and hated being in their presence. Iori hated being around boys and would much rather spend all his time with girls—not that he had success with it. Kiyoshi was socially inept. Iori couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Kiyoshi," Tadashi began in an attempt to redirect Kiyoshi's attention to him. "I still have a question I need to ask you."

Kiyoshi blinked and gave Tadashi a nod, aware he was referring to the matter beforehand. Seeing as though he didn't mind that Iori was there gave Tadashi confirmation that he'd already been alerted about the situation.

"About these two suspects you mentioned earlier... who are they?" If they suspected two of the eight of them, Tadashi wanted to know who and why they would be suspects.

Kiyoshi's facial features contorted, evidently strained. "The thing about that is... I can't tell you."

"Can't tell me? Why?"

"Uh... I don't know who they are."

...

...

...

"What!" Tadashi cried. "You don't know?"

Kiyoshi slowly bobbed his head, gazing down at the tiled floors. "They never told us. Simply that two out of the eight seemed the most likely to commit the crime... and ideas as to why they would think so; which was the document. Then, they advised us to inform all eight of you of the news, but they didn't mention who these two were."

Tadashi furrowed his eyebrows after the continuous sequence of 'they.' "All right, Kiyoshi. I have one last question."

With a nod of approval, Tadashi opened his mouth.

"Who's "they"? Who told you all to do this?"

Kiyoshi looked down at Tadashi from his towering height, discomfort clear as day. "Yasuo."

☻ ☺ ☻

ELSEWHERE

"Did you get the information?"

"Uh, about that..."

A black-haired boy slammed his hands on the desktop. His glare was dark and ominous, utterly frightening the girl with purple pigtails.

"Y-you s-see..." Lamely shielding herself with her arms, she sobbed. "I-I'm sorry, okay? I was busy caring for my pet goat! Please don't kill me!"

Grunting, the boy's violet coloured eyes flickered from the girl.

She fluttered her lengthy eyelashes and hesitantly removed her hands. "You aren't going to shout, 'you'll pay for this!' and then make me pay for it?"

"What do you take me for? A petty villain?" He plopped into his seat at his desk. "Dealing with you will make me catch your idiocy."

Grinning like an idiot, she skipped up to the male's side. "Why, thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment." Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes. "You better get started on gathering that information, Hitomi."

"Understood!" Hitomi mock-saluted. "Ever since you solved the case of the missing class turtle, I never doubted your deduction skills! This case will be a piece of cake."

Closing his eyes, he picked up a few scattered documents on his desktop. "This isn't the time to be joking around."

"Fine, fine. But you should learn to laugh a little, Kazuma. You'll get wrinkles with that glare you always wear."

Silence greeted her.

She pouted.

"And now you're ignoring me! Jerk!" Taking a nosedive onto the nearby sofa, she flipped on the TV. "Hmph! I'll ignore you too!"

"—iko Kitoshi from the Kitoshi Financial Group was kidnapped from her school, Kaisei Private Academy, at approximately six o'clock PM Tuesday evening. Her whereabouts are still unknown. Police are still searching for clues regarding this case but they've got no leads. It's as if she mysteriously vanished... What do you think, Officer Takada?"

Kazuma's gaze drifted from the documents he held and onto the screen. Primarily, the familiar face that materialized next to the news reporter.

"Hey! Oh my gosh, hey! Isn't that the girl that came to us for advice the other day?" Hitomi's chartreuse tinted eyes hidden behind her black glasses sparkled with newfound interest. "She was kidnapped? Ha ha! How ironic!"

"Or premeditated," Kazuma said, briefly returning to analyzing the papers spread in front of him.

"Did you say something, Kazuma?" Hitomi called over.

He rose from his chair.

"Huh? Where are you going? Our duties aren't finished yet!"

"Don't forget to do what I asked, Hitomi."

Hitomi returned her focus to the screen when he exited the room. Her lips dipped downwards. "What a weirdo. Why does he still want that information even after she was kidnapped?"

_________________

Dun, Dunnn, Duunnnn... So it's revealed that Moriko came to these two mysterious people for "advice." What about? And what "information" does Kazuma need so bad? What does it possibly have to do with her? And who deleted the information off of the computer AND stole the kidnapping plan for the CRF?

So many questions, so very little answers.

I hope I haven't introduced new characters too early yet? In a few chapters or so I'll include some character profile sheets so it'll make things clearer.

Don't forget to vote & comment if you liked the chapter! <3

See you in the next chapter~

—Misty

PS: Since I'm reposting the book, you'll get to see my old author's notes lolol. Fun.