↑ Hitomi Watanabe above ↑

••●••

'The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward'
—Steve Maraboli

••●••

It'd been a week since Iori and Kiyoshi went missing. No clues were found. They just seemed to vanish into thin air like a ghost turning invisible. Were they dead... or were they still alive?

Everyone in the club didn't talk or make eye-contact for the week. Either they didn't know what had happened, which Tadashi had doubted greatly, or they were simply ignoring the fact that their close friends had been kidnapped. Even the academy didn't prepare a speech for them. Everyone just continued with their lives as if they weren't there to begin with.

Tadashi was one of them. He didn't even want to think about what happened and was merely trying to move forward with his life.

When, where, why, what, who, how. Numerous questions flashed through his mind. Why did it seem like the person who kidnapped Moriko was targeting them? Or their club? Maybe it was true. Maybe somebody really did get tired of playing pretend and did it for real.

But who? Who would do something like that? Would somebody really love crime stories that much that they'd actually commit a crime where they could die or get sentenced to jail? Or even...killing the people they kidnapped in the process?

Who knew. It seemed impossible. But just because it 'seemed' like it didn't mean it was true.

Tadashi Matsumoto pulled himself out of bed Saturday morning feeling like crap, as usual. But since he could hardly sleep a wink last night like all the other nights this past week, he disregarded the sickness he felt and got out of bed. He didn't bother to get himself presentable and simply trudged down his house's hardwood staircase, looking dead.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Madoka greeted her older brother by the kitchen entrance, appearing slightly mortified.

Tadashi spared her an impassive glance. Well, two of his clubmates did go missing. Did his sister really expect him to be running around the house full of rainbows and unicorns? Then again, she most likely wasn't aware of what had happened. That was why he shouldn't demean her concern like that.

Shaking her brother's dejection out of her head, the orange haired girl broke out into a boisterous laugh. "Big Bro! I prepared you curry for breakfast!" She grinned sadistically, gesturing towards the plate of food on the table.

"Curry?" Tadashi repeated with a deadpanned look. For breakfast...

"Yup!" she chirped. "Come on, eat it. It'll cheer you up. And I won't forgive you if you leave a crumb!"

With a sigh, Tadashi took a seat at the table and picked up a spoon. Madoka watched her brother with a jaw-dropped expression.

"W-wait, you're seriously going to..."

Madoka blanched as Tadashi lifted a curry filled spoon to his mouth. But before he could drop it onto his tongue, she lunged for the utensil and slapped it out of his hands, spilling the contents across the kitchen floor.

Not fazed by the action at all, Tadashi stared blankly at his hand where the spoon used to be.

"What are you doing, Tada? Are you trying to kill yourself?" Madoka yelled, her pale blue eyes alit with shock. "What happened to your usual energy? Usually you try to get yourself out of eating my food or even throw it in the garbage behind my back so why are you eating it now?"

Tadashi would've pointed out that his sister just admitted that her food could kill him but he wasn't in the mood to. Instead, he shrugged. "I just wanted to eat it. It'll cheer me up, right?"

Madoka's eyes widened. Her brother was sick—in the ill kind of way. No, he was suicidal! Her mouth quivered. What the heck was happening to him at school that would cause him to do this? Was someone bullying him?

Worriedly, Madoka grabbed onto Tadashi's shoulders and stared him in the eyes. "You could tell me all of your problems! Don't hide anything, Tada! I'm here to help!"

"Help? Problems?" Tadashi repeated, raising an eyebrow. What exactly was his sister talking about now?

Fluttering her eyelashes a few times, Madoka cocked her head to the side, fully expecting her brother to burst into tears in that moment. Did she say something wrong? She put a hand to her chin. Usually characters in her dramas cried once they heard their friends or family say something heartwarming to them, right? Was it not heartwarming enough?

While Madoka was too preoccupied with her thoughts, Tadashi rose from his chair and walked into the living room. As usual, his mother was seated on the couch watching television.

"Oh, Tadashi," Maiko Matsumoto said, her eyes focused on the news channel. Was his mother always this focused on the T.V?

"Yes?" he asked despite not being focused on her words.

"I'm going to work soon and we need milk so could you go buy some real quick? I won't be back until very late and your father went out of town for work."

Tadashi nodded his head distractedly. Macaroons? Why would his mom want that? Oh whatever. It's not like it mattered, right?

Sighing once again, Tadashi took the money his mother held out for him and trudged toward the closet. He slung his sweater over his shoulders and slipped on his shoes before pulling open the front door.

The bright light from the sun outside greeted him, causing him to squint. Ugh, it was sunny today too? Why did the weather always have to be the opposite of his mood?

Well, simply in general, Tadashi disliked the sun and preferred the moon. He'd rather night than day. Tadashi couldn't recall when he'd started to think like that. It'd been this way since he was a kid.

On the way, people passed Tadashi, all of them a cacophony of cheer and joy, which only summoned a sour frown to his face. He missed being apart of that world. The world he was in now was practically circled around crime and death.

Whilst being preoccupied with his thoughts, he managed to bump right into somebody, allowing him to fall to the ground. Scores of papers from the impact came crashing down afterward.

Luckily, Tadashi wasn't too fazed from the fall, mainly because what he'd bumped into was extremely soft. Was it a pillow?

Startled, Tadashi's eyelids snapped open. What the hell was he thinking? There were no pillows in the middle of the street!

Sprawled across the floor was a female around the same age as Tadashi, and she was wincing in pain. Her purple hair, tied up into low pigtails, hung on her shoulders, while her glasses were barely clinging onto her nose. Slowly, her chartreuse coloured eyes met Tadashi's pale green ones.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, scrambling back up to collect the tremendous amount of papers around them.

Tadashi flinched and hurriedly began assisting her. "No, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

After collecting a reasonable amount of papers, he pulled himself back up to his feet. Then, he extended a helping hand.

"Oh, thank you." She gladly took his hand and once she was upright once more, she bowed. "I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry."

"No, I was the one lost in my thoughts. It's not your fault," Tadashi argued, bowing as well. "Let me make it up to you."

Rising from her own bow, she frowned at Tadashi slightly before changing her expression completely. She laughed loudly. "You should've just accepted my apology. You sure have good manners, young boy."

"Young boy?" Tadashi repeated in surprise.

The girl grinned and held up a finger. "I'll take you up on that!"

"Huh?"

Without saying anything, she plopped the stack of papers she held onto Tadashi's stack, startling him further. What was she...

"You'll help me carry that to my location right, Tadashi Matsumoto?"

Tadashi's mouth flapped.

How does she know my name? Once Tadashi's eyes landed on the her attire, everything clicked. She wore the Kaisei Academy's uniform along with one of the Student Council badges around her arm.

Tadashi gaped at the sudden realization. How did he not recognize her? She was Hitomi Watanabe, the Student Council's secretary.

Hitomi laughed at Tadashi's shock. "You really are cute! Falling for your upperclassman, is that it?"

He blushed hard, taken aback by her words. Cute?

Hitomi slapped her thigh in amusement. "I really like you, Tadashi!"

Tadashi forced an awkward smile. "I-I see..."

After she was done with her laughing, she spun on her heels. "Well, let's go!"

"Go?" Tadashi repeated, dumbfounded. "Where?"

"Just follow me! You wanted to make it up to me, right?" Hitomi merely negotiated with an upbeat smile.

"Yeah, but..." Tadashi didn't really understand why she was suddenly making him do such a thing. He was surprised that she even knew his name despite them not sharing a proper conversation before. Sure Hitomi Watanabe was popular and renowned around campus for her crazy antics, but that made it even more confusing as to why she wanted him to help her.

"No buts!" Hitomi scolded, holding up a finger.

"But—"

"No buts!"

"But—"

She clapped his shoulder. "Think of it as community service~!"

With a big sigh, Tadashi shook his head and followed his upperclassman down the street. What was he gonna do about those macaroons...?

Frowning, his gaze lowered onto the purple-haired female.

But more important than that... where exactly was she taking him?

☻☺☻

A humongous house. That was where they ended up.

It was practically as big as a mansion, and the distance from where they were standing at the gates to the door of the building was able to make Tadashi gawk. The area was covered with large fields and grass, with some vegetables sprouting here and there, and there was even a lake in the far off corner by the forest of luscious green trees. Sure this house was off in a desolate part of the city, but it was still astonishing. This was the last place Tadashi would have imagined to be brought to. Did the Prime Minister live here or something?

"Surprised, right?" chuckled Hitomi, nudging Tadashi in the arm.

"Uh..." He was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say?

"I swear that rich boy... Making us commoners look so plain, eh?" Hitomi sighed while holding up her arms as she made her way towards the doorbell.

Tadashi cautiously followed behind her. "Um... Are you sure we could be here? I really don't want to be chased out by the bodyguards..."

Hitomi laughed, "There isn't any bodyguards. Where exactly do you think we are?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," Tadashi murmured with a frown. "If the Prime Minister doesn't live here, who does? A celebrity?"

Instead of answering Tadashi, Hitomi pressed the doorbell on the pillar near the gate. A few seconds later, a face appeared on the screen that was posted there, one that was enough to shock Tadashi to the core.

"Yo, Kazuma!" Hitomi grinned. "I see this place is as big as usual~"

Annoyed, the Student Council President of Kaisei Academy glared. "Go home."

"Why?" whined the female. "I came to give you the papers! Let me in!"

Kazuma rose an eyebrow disbelievingly. "You finished all of those documents?"

Hitomi's smile never faded. "That, I did not say."

"Go home," growled the black-haired male, an animated vein popping onto his head.

Hitomi chuckled at his reaction and without warning, she grabbed Tadashi by the arm and threw him in front of the camera. Tadashi jerked backward in astonishment. "What the—"

"Don't say that~" Hitomi cut him off, grinning from ear to ear. Her lighthearted expression morphed into a smirk. "I brought you someone you'd be interested in."

Kazuma, despite obviously aggravated at this purple-haired girl's idiocy, was at a loss of words. He gritted his teeth, making it obvious he was contemplating the choices before him.

"You wanted to see him, right?" Hitomi prodded. "After he came all this way, you're just gonna let him go~?"

Tadashi blinked rapidly. What was she doing? Why would she take him to Kazuma Kurosaki's house?!

Kazuma Kurosaki was the Student Council President, and the role model and prefect of the school. Just about everyone was aware of who he was. He even had a fan club for Pete's sake! Lots of people recognized him for both his diligence and intelligence—it was even known that he was rich too—but Tadashi had never gotten involved with him before. So what exactly did Hitomi mean when she said Kazuma wanted to see him?

Shaking his head in defeat, Kazuma looked to his left. "Get out of here." His gaze went back to a gasping Hitomi on the other side of the camera and he scowled. "I don't need you getting involved anymore. Stop meddling."

"Meddling?" Hitomi snorted, offended. "I call it a show of support."

"And your "support" always ends up being a lot of work."

"That was only, like, once! Besides, why are you always so cold? Just open the door—"

Before Hitomi could finish her sentence, the large gates surrounding the house creaked open. Tadashi's eyes shrunk back, and so did Hitomi's.

She grinned towards the screen and at the male. "Why thank you~! I knew you had the tiniest bit of kindness in that black hole of yours you call a heart!"

"Just shut up and get in," grumbled Kazuma and the screen turned off without a second's delay.

Hitomi spared Tadashi a glance with a big grin. "Don't you think he's such a tsundere? But he's a nice guy deep down." She spun around and strolled through the giant gates. "...I think."

I think... Tadashi laughed nervously in response before trailing after her. Soon, his lips downturned into a frown. What was he even doing here? If it was help Hitomi needed, then she would've simply taken the papers from him right then and there instead of letting him follow her inside. But now that he was... was it a good idea? He was visiting the Kazuma Kurosaki.

Tadashi made a face at the thought, and expelled a loud breath. This day really was shaping out to be horrible...

As the two teens made it up to Kazuma's abode, Tadashi dreaded every second of it. Hitomi, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself quite well. As if to prove that thought, as they bounded up the front doorstep, she beamed from ear to ear as the door swung open.

Kazuma stood there, a frown prominent on his face as it usually was, and his purple eyes were narrowed into an unfriendly scowl. He had dark bags underneath his eyelids which only increased his foul mood, and without warning, his gaze shot to Tadashi.

Tadashi flinched under his stare. For whatever reason, it seemed like he was the one responsible for his mood.

Laughing, Hitomi slapped Kazuma on the back. "Now, now! We've brought you the papers! No need to be so angry!"

Kazuma's attention snapped toward Hitomi instantly. "It's your goddamn fault I'm like this!"

Hitomi grinned. "Oh, did I wake you up from your little nap? I apologize~"

Tadashi paled at Kazuma's 'I'm-gonna-kill-you' glare. Why was Hitomi still talking? Couldn't she read the mood?

"Oh, yeah! We have to finish up these papers! Hurry up!" Hitomi cried, seizing Kazuma's sleeve and dragging him inside.

"What kind of person invites themselves into someone's house like this?" Kazuma asked in disbelief. He yanked at his arm. "And let go of me!"

"Now, now." Hitomi smiled, doing as told and releasing him. She sent Tadashi a nod. "You come in too!"

"M-me?" Tadashi's mouth dropped. She had to be kidding, right?

"Who else is there?" Hitomi replied with a boisterous laugh. "Don't worry! We won't do anything to you!" She smirked and added, "If you listen to us, that is."

This is bad news... Definitely bad news! his conscience screamed. Tadashi feigned an apologetic smile. "Um, I actually have to go shopping right now—"

"Just come in."

Tadashi's eyes shot to Kazuma, who wore a dispirited expression.

He sighed onward, "You won't win."

Hitomi's chartreuse irises shifted between Tadashi and Kazuma. A Cheshire cat's smile was plastered on her face as she tilted her head in confusion. "Hmm...?"

Tadashi hung his head in defeat. "All right." He swallowed hard as he followed his upperclassmen further into the house. It wouldn't be so bad...right?

Evocative paintings were scattered around this Japanese styled household, and Tadashi couldn't help but ogle them as he passed. Hitomi came to a halt at the room by the end of the hall, and gestured excitedly.

"Here we are!"

"You really have no manners." Kazuma scowled as he entered the room.

"I've been here countless of times so what do formalities matter?" Hitomi cheekily reasoned as she ushered Tadashi into the room as well.

It was normal sized with average living room necessities such as a sienna coloured table placed in the center, and bookshelves lining the walls.

Tadashi awkwardly entered the room with a slight bow. "Excuse the intrusion..."

Right as Tadashi placed down the stack of papers onto the table, Hitomi held up a hand. "I'll be back!"

"Huh? Where are you going?" Kazuma questioned in surprise.

Hitomi concealed her mouth and as if she were an old lady, tittered. "You two young men enjoy yourselves now. I'll go fetch us some tea and cookies."

Kazuma twitched. "Hi-to-mi..."

"I'll be back, don't worry~!" she cooed before closing the door behind her.

Her footsteps disappeared down the hallway and an uncomfortable silence filled the air. Tadashi tried his best to ignore his panic. Couldn't he leave now?

Kazuma scrutinized Tadashi as he collapsed onto the ground and in front of the table. "Don't just stand there," he said. "Take a seat."

Tadashi jumped slightly before doing as told. "Y-yes, sir!"

Silence once again loomed over the two. It was quiet enough to allow every tick and tock of a clock in the distance. Was it because it was a spacious house that it could be this quiet? Tadashi couldn't tell. But he did know that this stillness was one of the the most awkwardest ones in his lifetime.

"I still don't understand how you allowed yourself to be taken advantage of by Hitomi. She's the most annoying person there is," Kazuma stated to break the quiet, and Tadashi flinched.

That was pretty idiotic of him. If he had said no to her straight out, he wouldn't have had to be here now...

"And she used you to carry these papers. She'll probably make you work on them, too," Kazuma continued with the roll of his eyes, causing Tadashi to hang his head further. "You must be an idiot," he added.

Kazuma's irises drifted to Tadashi for his reaction and he sighed when he saw that he merely cringed.

Sitting appropriately, he narrowed his eyes. "Your club," he began. "You're apart of the Crime Research Facility, correct?"

Tadashi's pale green eyes bulged at his words and his chin shot up in surprise.

Kazuma furrowed his eyebrows at Tadashi's reaction.

"Three weeks ago, Moriko Kitoshi was kidnapped from Kaisei Academy and her body was recently found dead by the local riverbank. And just a week ago, Iori Yutaka and Kiyoshi Oogawa have been kidnapped as well, and their whereabouts is still unknown."

Tadashi's heart stopped. He trained his focus onto the Student Council President, paranoia coursing through him. What exactly...

Kazuma met his gaze and frowned. "I have a few questions for you, Tadashi Matsumoto."

☻☺☻

So sorry for the late chapter! :( But I finally got it done! Kazuma and Hitomi's identity's are revealed! But what exactly is Kazuma gonna ask Tadashi?

Honestly, I can't wait to write chapter 9 because that's where things will actually get interesting. Hopefully I'll get there by the end of this year! :D

Any who, look forward to the next chapter~!

-Misty