↑ Tadashi Matsumoto above ↑

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'When one person makes an accusation, check to be sure he himself is not the guilty one. Sometimes it is those whose case is weak who make the most clamour'
— Piers Anthony

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"We've been set up."

Tadashi raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Set... up?"

The cold-hearted senior spun on her heels, wearing a frown. "Deceived. Fooled. Cheated. Honestly, is your brain incapable of understanding this much? Even a mere toddler would comprehend. You're rather dull as well. No wonder you were targeted."

"What are you talking about, Kobayashi?" Tadashi demanded, not wanting to be belittled more than he already was.

"Oogawa lied to us," she simply replied.

His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

"L-Lied..." Tadashi repeated as Kiyoshi Oogawa's words replayed in his mind. W-Wait... us? he thought quickly. What is Kobayashi saying? That Kiyoshi lied about the whole computer incident?

"You could repeat whatever I say as much as you want but you should know that you look stupid doing so," Ayame commented with a deadpanned expression.

Tadashi flinched. He gritted his teeth but said nothing in response.

And why does she have that condescending attitude? It's no wonder her and Shinzo don't get along. It's like they both like to look down on others! Tadashi took a deep breath and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Good. You finally look serious," Ayame mumbled and narrowed her eyes as well. "But if you wish to talk, we must go elsewhere."

"Huh?"

Ayame grabbed his arm on cue and yanked him down the corridor and outside of the building. She continued walking, dragging Tadashi along with her, and she showed absolutely no signs of stopping any time soon.

"Uh... Kobayashi," Tadashi began with a gulp. "Where exactly are we—"

"We have to go somewhere we're not being watched," Ayame muttered as a public park came into view. She came to a halt, letting go of Tadashi's arm. "Here."

The park was practically abandoned, seeing as though it was getting late. Only a few children and parents were scattered here and there but they were still at a far distance from the two teens.

Perplexed, Tadashi fixated his gaze onto his senior. "Uh..."

Ayame scowled darkly, annoyed at his reaction. "It's normal to be confused but before I say anything, just remember I'm not telling you this for you. I'm telling you this to benefit me."

"Benefit...?"

Exhaling loudly, Ayame's eyes met his. "As I said before, Oogawa lied to the both of us."

Tadashi shook his head. So he did hear her right. "About the computer document?" he asked. "And why only the both of us? I thought Kiyoshi only told me about it while the other six members would tell the others?"

"Well, I suppose that was a good way to buy our trust..." Ayame nodded, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "However, it's a petty excuse, isn't it? If you use your head, you'd be able to figure out he was lying the entire time. Think about it. When we were going to the crime scene, the six of them didn't want to get involved. So then why would Oogawa check the documents to help us?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that because since what we did was too risky, none of them wanted to cooperate?" he hesitantly responded. "I know for sure they wanted to conclude this case—we all did—and that's probably why Kiyoshi searched things up on the computer to look for updates on this case to bring us closer to the truth."

"Your way of thinking isn't wrong," Ayame agreed with a nod. "But we still have other things to go over."

"Other things?"

"Yes, like how they assumed two of us were the culprit."

"Wait a second, Kobayashi," Tadashi cut her off.

She blinked. "Yes?"

He gulped. "You're telling me this but you still haven't told me how. Did Kiyoshi notify you about the document?"

"Yes. Yesterday, after we all went our separate ways, he called me out and told me of this."

He did?! Tadashi thought in surprise. Kiyoshi told Kobayashi too? And he called her out? But Kiyoshi had a phobia of girls! Why would he—

"Maybe it's because he was desperate." Ayame broke Tadashi out of his thoughts, staring up at the sky thoughtfully. "You should really fix that habit of talking aloud, Matsumoto."

"Agh..." Tadashi felt heat rush to his cheeks.

Ayame shook her head. "Let's continue. How about we go over how Oogawa told us how he and the five other members that didn't come with us, suspected two people?"

Tadashi nodded reluctantly. "Didn't Kiyoshi say he didn't know who the culprits were, though?"

Ayame's eyes widened considerably at his words. "Really? Then he slipped up..."

"Huh?"

"Matsumoto, he told you that he didn't know who the suspects were... and you believed him?"

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I—" His pale eyes shrunk back and he stopped himself immediately. Wait... why did he believe him?

He swallowed hard, his complexion pale.

"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...

"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."

"Who these two were..." Tadashi repeated from the memory, tapering his eyes at Ayame. The case's truth seemed to click in his mind. So that's what Kobayashi was implying...

Why was he so slow? It was obvious Kiyoshi was lying. In the first place, why would he believe someone's theory without proper proof?

It wasn't possible. You couldn't believe someone's subtle approach on this case. And without the evidence of who the two culprits were, there would be no reason for Kiyoshi and the other four members to even trust Yasuo.

It would be a baseless accusation—one that wouldn't mean anything without proof.

Then, if Yasuo didn't inform Kiyoshi who he thought to be the culprits, then Kiyoshi's testimony didn't make any sense.

Him saying he saw the deleted file didn't add up either.

Ayame cracked a smile. "It seems as though you're finally starting to understand."

"Yeah. A little," Tadashi replied. "So you're saying Kiyoshi is the one who deleted the computer file...right?"

Ayame bobbed her head and surprisingly, smirked. "See, if you use your brain, the truth becomes obvious. Yes, Oogawa deleted the file. With that aired out, it makes all of the things he told the both of us, lies."

"What did Kiyoshi tell you, Kobayashi?" Tadashi inquired. "It's obvious to how he lied to me, but what exactly did he tell you?"

"That they suspected Saya Asahina and Ryuu Sasahara of working together," Ayame explained. "Seeing as he told you he wasn't aware of who Yasuo Ishikawa suspected tells me Oogawa didn't expect he needed to say the names of the two culprits. He didn't have anyone in mind when he informed you about the document. That's why he panicked and made up something on the spot. Though, when he consulted me, he realized that it wouldn't work out..."

Tadashi nodded. "Without proper proof, nobody could believe him." After digesting the information, he hesitated before opening his mouth, "Kiyoshi said that he wanted to "help" us and that's why he went on the computer to look for information." He halted, slowly adding up the facts so far with narrowed eyes. "The six of them came to the conclusion that two out of the eight of us who went to the crime scene were the culprit. Also, that it was up to the six of them to decide on who to trust..."

Ayame bobbed her head up and down. She gestured for him to continue and he gritted his teeth.

"But Yasuo not telling them about the two like Kiyoshi had said would mean that any of the eight they were telling could be the culprit..."

"I believed his testimony of Ishikawa as well. But that's exactly what they wanted to achieve," Ayame said, finishing Tadashi's thoughts. "They wanted to tell the two culprits of the document; not hide it."

"By telling the two culprits of the false information, they believed it would lead them to somehow slip up about the truth," Tadashi muttered under his breath. "Have them confess that, 'they didn't delete the file!' By doing that, by trying to clear their name, they'd give away that they were the true culprit or culprits."

"Exactly," Ayame agreed, and sighed. "If you ask me, it's a stupid plan."

"Why?" Tadashi actually thought the plan to be well made.

Ayame scowled. "Don't you get it? If telling the eight of us of the problem, in hopes of getting the culprit to confess, would mean that the approach was their final chance. If it worked, this case would be concluded. If it didn't get the culprit to slip up, and the person they told actually was the culprit, all six of them would be aimed for next."

Ayane shook her head.

"It was a risky gamble they took," she continued. "And that's why they devised a back-up plan in case it backfired."

"Back-up plan?"

"They decided to go with the two of the eight they suspected."

"What?" Tadashi asked in great surprise. "So you're saying that they only told two people about the document?" His eyelids shot upwards in realization. "Two... then..."

"Yes. They only told the two they suspected," Ayame declared, her lips down-turned into a frown. "Us two."

Tadashi swallowed hard. "So they suspected us..."

Ayame shrugged. "Me aside, it's a wonder why they suspected you. You're dull, average, talentless. It's a question how you even got accepted into Kaisai Academy with such a plain personality."

"Hey!"

"Your character is way too ordinary," Ayame continued after a pause, dully raking her eyes over the boy in front of her. "But that's precisely why you were suspected."

Tadashi held back all his further questions and peered at the ground with a frown. The most ordinary were the most suspicious, after all. "Then..." Tadashi flickered his gaze up. "Why do you trust me enough to tell me this?"

Ayame's violet coloured eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. "Why?" She broke out into a humourless laugh. "I already told you. I'm telling you for my own benefit. Not yours."

"What do you mean by 'benefit?'"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Ayame responded, replacing her previous expression with a glare. "At the moment, I can't afford to catch attention. Being suspected for this crime is something I have to avoid at all costs. To do that, I need you to be aware of the weight of your words."

Before Tadashi could ask yet another question, she began yet again.

"Do you know why they decided to tell only us two and not the other six?"

"Isn't that because it was a back-up plan in case the other plan didn't work?" Tadashi blinked, repeating what she had told him.

Ayame nodded, unimpressed. "I told you that...but that's not the only reason."

"So...?"

"Listen, Matsumoto. They were waiting for you to fall into their trap. For the back-up plan to work, the two people they told had to eventually slip up about the information they told us."

"Information? You mean the document?"

"Yes." With another nod, her look hardened. "Even though the six of them and the two of us know about the false information—the computer document—the other six who went to the crime scene, don't. Which means that if we managed to slip up about the computer file, we'd basically be admitting to the crime."

Still a little lost, Tadashi put a hand to his chin. "But you said earlier that they only told the two of us because they wanted us to somehow slip up saying that we didn't delete the computer file; rather, that we simply stole the plan for the CRF. Then, as the back-up plan... you're saying that mentioning something about the computer file will get us... suspected?" His head snapped up once he comprehended what she meant. "That can't be it... right?"

Ayame sighed, a wry smile making its way onto her face. "They wanted one of us to slip up about the information... so that they could frame them. Since the other six don't know about the file, it'd be the same to admitting about not deleting the file. We'd still get accused...

"And since the other six lied about the "file" to us, they'd pretend to act innocent by accusing us of the file along with the rest of the members..." Ayame finished and chuckled. "What a cunning plan indeed. They really did plan this all out."

Tadashi stood there in disbelief. They wanted to... frame the two of them? Why would they want to do that? It made no sense. They didn't actually commit the crime... No, he didn't want to believe that any of them committed the crime. Didn't they all think the same? Did they really believe one of them killed Moriko Kitoshi?

Ayame caught the expression Tadashi wore and stared at him emotionlessly. "This is the type of world we're living in right now, Matsumoto. Remember when Shinzo and I mentioned that people crack under pressure? This is to what extent they would. But, as we've been talking about this all, I've come to realize something."

"What? Realized what?"

Ayame frowned at his enthusiasm. "Maybe Oogawa planned this alone. Maybe it wasn't the six of them who came up with the plan... but him himself. Hypothetically speaking, if Oogawa was the one who called you and me out and told us of the plan, since we didn't actually confirm it with the other members, there's a slight chance that what he was saying about it being an unanimous decision was a lie. The same way he lied about Ishikawa as well."

"He planned this... alone?" Tadashi repeated, stupefied.

Kiyoshi Oogawa came up with the plan himself? It was hard to believe. But, with this whole string of events, it wasn't necessarily impossible.

"I can't say this for certain...but if that were the case, he definitely teamed up with one other person to make us agree on this. And I believe this person to be Iori Yutaka."

"Iori?!" Tadashi exclaimed.

Ayame glared at him and he quickly clasped his hands over his mouth in embarrassment.

Iori was working along with Kiyoshi? Looking back on it now, maybe that was the reason Tadashi trusted him right away. Because he had an alibi to support this all. Was it possibly the same with Ayame as well?

Tadashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. The thought that Iori was his alibi; the same Iori that was always arguing with Kiyoshi; the same nonchalant playboy that believed and treated all thirteen members of the club as a friend... It was outrageous.

Why would he do this? No, why would they do this?

The violet-eyed female spun on her heels, breaking Tadashi out of his thoughts. "I just wanted to let you know about this but remember, this is all just my hypothesis. I won't know for certain unless I receive some answers. Therefore, I plan on asking Oogawa and Yutaka tomorrow."

Ayame's attention landed on Tadashi once more. Her eyes lingered on him for a while and he blinked rapidly.

"Kobayashi?"

"Sorry," she apologized suddenly, turning around completely, "but don't trust what I said today wholeheartedly. This is mainly my guess of situation. I don't expect you to believe a word I'm saying and I don't really care either way. But, just remember not to do something stupid regarding this case."

With that said, she sauntered out of the park and down the main road until her silhouette vanished along with the setting sun.

Taking a deep breath, Tadashi glanced up at the orange sky with a frown.

Everything was hard to take in. Here he thought that since they had found Moriko Kitoshi's body, everything was finally starting to go back to normal...

"Guess of the situation?" Hardly. What Ayame had told him could almost be the truth... at least, it seemed to be.

An energetic tune filled Tadashi's ears and it took him a few seconds to register it was coming from his phone. Confused, he reached for his cell and pulled it out. 'Unread message,' it said. And it was from Saya Asahina.

I wonder why she sent me a message, Tadashi wondered as he opened the text. It was unusual. Though, it made sense if she were worried about Ryuu. He constantly had his phone turned off for baseball practice and always forgot to turn it back on. Saya had texted Tadashi a few times in the past because of this, but it'd been months since the last time.

As Tadashi carefully read the message she had sent him, his complexion immediately paled. His jaw plummeted to the ground. His fingers trembled.

From: Asahina

To: Tadashi

Matsumoto! I don't know what to do?! I...I waswatchingthenewsandI saw it. Yutaka and Oogawa... they're...

They were kidnapped. It's on the news... Help me!

Underneath the message was a video. The screen seemed to shake as it focused in on the news channel. It seemed like Saya was taking the video herself. On the boxes at the top right corner of the screen lay the pictures of their close friends. And on the news, the broadcaster said it. Those four lines that had sent shivers down his spine.

"And Iori Yutaka and Kiyoshi Oogawa from Kaisei Academy were kidnapped yesterday as they were heading back from school. This is the second kidnapping from this academy right after the Moriko Kitoshi incident two weeks prior. We'll bring more to this story as we come back. Stay tuned."

Kidnapped...?

☻ ☺ ☻

"Kazuma, I still think it's better if we don't get involved."

"We're not getting involved," Kazuma replied as he walked through the deserted pathways. He held his cell phone to his ear as he engaged in conversation with Hitomi who had already gone home.

"I'm not but I bet you are. You're looking around for that place she mentioned right now, aren't you?" Hitomi drawled disbelievingly.

Kazuma flinched.

His gaze lifted to the crumpled piece of pink paper he carried.

"Oh, whatever. Do whatever you want," Hitomi drawled via yawn. "I'll just keep my distance from this 'cuz it's obviously just a waste of time."

Kazuma rolled his eyes. "Good. You'll probably get in the way otherwise."

Hitomi was silent on the other end for a while. "Kazuma... do you really think the reason she got kidnapped is because she couldn't solve that riddle in time?"

Kazuma came to a halt, his violet eyes blankly studying the paper. "Maybe."

"Maybe? Is that the best you could do?" Hitomi sighed. "Never mind. Somebody's calling for me. I'll see you tomorr—" The sound of a crash, a hard collision, made Kazuma roll his eyes once again. "Stupid floor," Hitomi groaned. "Ack, I'm coming! Geez, you didn't have to—"

The line went dead and the dark-haired male slipped his phone back into his pocket with a sigh. Lifting his gaze, he directed his attention ahead. Once his eyes landed upon something—or really, someone—in the distance, he thinned his eyes.

Was he seeing straight? Wasn't that...

"Hey, move out of the way!"

Kazuma jolted to the side in time for a car to zoom past him. He gaped, especially when the driver flipped him off as he proceeded down the road.

By the time he regained his composure and returned his gaze to the park across from him, the individual was long gone. Great.

Kazuma spun around and continued down the pavement without another thought. He came to a halt once he reached a rundown shrine.

"I guess this is the place."

☻ ☺ ☻

A lot has been revealed in this chapter, lol. But the true mysteries haven't even gotten started yet. There's still a lot of mind twists coming. But finally it's the beginning of the rising action xD

Oh, and just so that it's a little clear, what Ayame was saying is this:

Kiyoshi Oogawa acted along with Iori Yutaka and created this plan, and not with Yasuo and the other three members that stayed behind from the mission in Phase 02: Izumi Shinzo, Mayumi Hiruko, and Juzo Fatora, like he said.

Also that Kiyoshi didn't expect Tadashi to ask about who these two culprits were, or he didn't quite expect that he needed to tell him of them and because of that, he panicked and told him he didn't know who they were. Though, once he realized that he messed up, he told Ayame that Ryuu Sasahara and Saya Asahina were the two culprits.

Also that what Kiyoshi wanted to accomplish was this:

He wanted to tell the two culprits of the deleted file so that they could slip up and say that "I didn't delete the file, I only took the plan" or something like that that would make it obvious they're the culprit.

And if that didn't work out, he made a back-up plan where if they slipped up about the deleted file, the other club members would accuse them of the crime, regardless if they did it or not. That's because the other 6 club members that did go to the crime scene: Akira, Ryuu, Saya, Atsushi, Katsura, Haru, aren't aware of the deleted file yet, so it'd practically be the same as admitting that you didn't delete the file in the original plan.

Make a little sense now? I hope, lol. Look forward to the next chapter then~!

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-Misty