••●••

'Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have—life itself'
— Walter Anderson

••●••

"No! I don't believe that!"

Everyone was taken aback as they faced the brown-haired male who had yelled that. Ryuu grounded his teeth, pounding his fist onto the table.

"Saya is alive. She's not..." Ryuu began, not being able to finish the sorrowful sentence. "Why are you lying to us?"

After Tadashi and Ayame had gathered everyone up for breakfast and relayed to them the shocking news, Ryuu was the first to act out.

"We're not lying, it's the truth," Ayame stated, narrowing her eyes at Ryuu. "The one with us since the beginning of last year was no doubt Chiaki Asahina."

Everyone that was gathered was silent. Majority of them were gaping with their eyes as wide as saucers, while the other half wore strained expressions.

"Saya— no, Chiaki was lying to us this entire time?" Akira slowly said, her blue eyes filled apprehension.

"She wasn't lying!" Tadashi cried, clenching his fists. "She was being threatened! She really didn't want to lie to us, but..."

"I regret every action I did concerning all of you. I caused you to feel an immeasurable amount of grief and sorrow, and for that, I am sorry." She got back up. "Even though I just met you all in the academy—even when I wasn't suppose to get too attached—you all are the only people that have accepted me."

"I truly had fun." She grinned. "Laughing, arguing, joking. I was so glad I was able to be with everyone until the very last moment. You guys gave someone like me your kindness. I—"

Tadashi shut his eyes painfully in remembrance to her words.

"Shut up, Tadashi." Ryuu's growl caused everyone's attention to dart in his direction. Ryuu's eyes shone with intense animosity towards Tadashi. "Saya is alive! Chiaki was just pretending to be her while she studied abroad! She's living in America now!"

Tadashi's eyes widened at Ryuu's outburst. Sadness washed over him. To him, it sounded like Ryuu didn't even believe what he was saying but was trying to convince himself of it.

"Stop accusing Chiaki for something like this!" he went on. "How do we know that you guys aren't making this all up? You guys probably threatened Chiaki and want us to agree with this load of bullshit!"

Everyone was too astonished to even move.

Ryuu was the nicest, calmest, and most kindhearted guy in the club. So to see him lash out like this was honestly shocking.

Saya Asahina meant that much to him.

"Ryuu—" Tadashi began but Ryuu snapped, grabbing him by the collar.

"I hate this side of you! Like you freakin' know everything!" His gaze was cold and malicious.

Tadashi felt his blood run cold at how angry his friend was.

Gritting his teeth, Ryuu demanded, "What the hell do you know about Saya? Saya... Saya is..."

"Sasahara, calm down." Yasuo put his hand on Ryuu's shoulder, the only gesture he could possibly do.

Ryuu's eyes shrunk back, and he roughly let go of Tadashi's collar. His dishevelled bangs shaded the top half of his face, and in one swift movement, he spun on the balls of his feet and walked out of the camping area.

"Ryuu!" Tadashi called after him but Yasuo shot him a glare. Tadashi flinched in response.

His look had "leave him alone" written all over it.

The group of eleven were silent. It was a solemn silence, most likely due to Saya, the one they've never met, the one they always knew. They only were aware of the Saya that was with them, and even with that, they didn't know her at all. Just like their knowledge of the entire situation and everyone else, they didn't know anything.

Secrets; dark, light, neutral. Everyone at the campsite had them. But to what extent they led to, nobody knew. For all they could tell, somebody else within the group was also working for the mastermind.

Trusting was...

"Do you guys seriously buy that? Just because the paper's missing doesn't mean that somebody in this club did it. Anybody could've come in here and stole it!" He met everyone's gaze for emphasis, praying they felt the same as he did. "There's no way any one of us would commit a crime!"

Tadashi's ironic words came back to haunt him. His clubmates, even if it wasn't by will, they still committed a crime...

Believing and trusting his friends again... Would he be able to do that?

"Everyone," Ayame spoke up and everyone's attention shifted towards her. "What Chiaki left us with, that could referring to any one of you. But, it's up to us to move forward."

Ayame's gaze landed on Tadashi, whose eyes widened in response.

"Trusting any of you at the moment is quite difficult and I'm guessing you all feel the same way too. But no matter how the situation may have changed, I'm still going to find the identity of the mastermind. My goal will stay the same no matter how much time passes, or how many people betray me. For threatening my clubmates, for putting people in danger, and even going as far as to kill..." Ayame stopped for a pause, but her voice never wavered. "I will find who he or she is, and make sure that justice is put to them."

As soon as Ayame saw the looks of suspicion cross everyone's faces, she laughed wryly.

"Although I say this, I don't expect any of you to believe me either. The likeliness of me being the mastermind is the same as all of you. But if that's the case, you all should aim for the same as well. Those who play the way the mastermind wants will die first."

With one last look, Ayame turned and walked off.

"Kobayashi..." Tadashi mumbled in awe. Was she doing that possibly to lift everyone's spirits? Or was it completely unrelated to that? Out of the eleven students, Ayame was the most puzzling of them all.

Without saying anything, one by one, everyone left the campsite and went their separate ways.

Tadashi still stood there, and frowned. He gently touched the letter in his pocket before clenching his fists.

That was the first time Tadashi had ever seen Ryuu get so angry. Since he was always so cheerful, he didn't believe it was possible for him to have a side like that. Tadashi frowned. But, this was what Chiaki meant by that...

"Ryuu carries a weight in his chest. He regrets not telling her how he felt. I believe Ryuu... loved my little sister."

This letter he received... It was from the mastermind. Its contents were still unknown, and for all he knew it could be dangerous. But to figure out more about what was going on, opening it will be inevitable. Nodding determinedly, Tadashi balled his fists.

I'll give it to Ryuu after he goes to Saya's grave, he decided. Giving it to him now will most likely only make him angrier.

"Oh, Tadashi?"

The sound of Mr. Nobuo's voice startled the brunet and he jerked his head backwards.

"Where'd everyone go? We're leaving soon," his tedious supervisor said.

Tadashi flinched. "Oh... Um, I'm not sure," he lied with a weak smile. "I'll go call them!"

Without giving him a chance to process what he said, Tadashi ran toward the cabins.

Mr. Nobuo didn't know what was going on so telling him the truth would only complicate things. Tadashi entered his cabin, the one he shared with Haru and Ryuu, and it was empty. Well, it wasn't like he expected Ryuu to be inside anyway. Facing him after that would be a little too awkward for his liking...

Tadashi reached under his bed where his bag was, and just as he placed it on his bed, he caught something shine from the corner of his eye. Accordingly, his gaze landed upon a key laying on his pillow.

"What?" Perplexed, Tadashi picked up the weirdly designed key. "What's a key doing here? Did Haru or Ryuu drop it?"

Shaking his head, he stuffed it inside his pocket.

"I'll give it to them later."

☻ ☺ ☻

"Ryuu! Look, look!"

The little boy turned his head only to find a redheaded girl come racing towards him. She held up a dandelion with a laugh.

Five-year-old Ryuu blinked in confusion. "Isn't that just a dandelion?"

"Didn't you ever hear?" Saya asked Ryuu with a giggle.

"Hear what?"

"Chiaki told me that you're supposed to wish on these!" Saya explained excitedly. "And that if you do, your wishes come true!"

"What! Really?" Ryuu asked, his eyes alit with surprise.

"Yeah!" beamed Saya.

Both kids stared at the dandelion in awe.

"That's awesome! Make a wish!" Ryuu urged, holding out his tiny fists with excitement.

Closing her eyes, Saya complied to Ryuu's request. Opening her eyes, she blew on it, and all of the flowery fluff went flying everywhere. The two children watched it in amazement.

"Amazing!" Ryuu cried and faced Saya with a grin. "What'd you wish for?"

Saya giggled, "That Ryuu and I will be together forever!"

"Huh?" Ryuu's eyes widened.

Saya began to twirl around. "I love Ryuu! He's always with me and we're always having fun!"

She sent Ryuu an innocent, and pure-hearted smile.

"Ryuu will be with me forever, right?"

☻ ☺ ☻

"Saya..."

Ryuu frowned, burying his face in his hands.

It may have been stupid for him to love her like this, but Saya had always been there for him. Even if she didn't know how important she was to him...she still was...

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ryuu punched the grass beneath him, filled with anguish. Once his eyes landed on the patch of dandelions before him, his eyelids shot up.

"Ryuu will be with me forever, right?"

"Saya Asahina is dead." Memories of what Ayame had declared to them almost an hour ago raced through his mind.

Ryuu grinded his teeth together, holding his head in one hand. Tears filled his eyes before he could stop them.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

☻ ☺ ☻

The week that went by was monotonous.

It all was the same, and everything went back to normal. Nobody mentioned anything about the mastermind; everyone just showed up to school, and to the club, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary.

All except Ryuu, that is. Ryuu didn't show up to school, nor to the club. Tadashi tried calling him, but all his calls went straight to voicemail. And even when he went to his house, his parents always said he wasn't there.

"Tada, is everything okay?" Madoka asked her older brother by the doorway.

Blinking, Tadashi faced his younger sister. "Yeah, why?"

Madoka flinched. "Oh... If that's the case then it's good."

With that, the orange-haired girl turned and scurried up the stairs. Tadashi, despite being baffled, decided not to question anything about it.

The sudden vibration in his pocket notified Tadashi that somebody was calling him and he fished it out. As soon as his eyes landed on the caller ID, his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

He clicked answer immediately. "Ryuu?"

"Tadashi... do you think we can meet up now?" Ryuu's voice seemed lifeless and empty. He heard him snivel over the receiver.

"Ryuu, what happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?" he said in disbelief. "You know perfectly well what happened."

Tadashi flinched. Agh, of course he did. Why would he ask such a stupid question? He was an idiot sometimes. "Um...are you okay?" He cringed once the words came out of his mouth. Seriously? Did he seriously just ask that?

Ryuu sighed, giving Tadashi the impression that he'd had enough. "Stop asking questions. Are you free now or not?"

"I am," Tadashi answered immediately.

"Then meet me by..." Ryuu's voice cracked for a second and he exhaled a shaky breath, "the cemetery, okay?"

Tadashi felt his heart stop at Ryuu's words.

Saya.

☻ ☺ ☻

"Ryuu!" Tadashi cried out, racing towards his friend.

The male stood near the cemetery gates, his gaze aimed at the ground. The cold air from outside caused the teen to shiver, and Ryuu slowly turned his head towards Tadashi.

He looked terrible. The dark bags under his eyes were as plain as day, and his face was extremely pale and feverish. His eyes were red, portraying that he had been crying, and at the sight of his best friend like this, Tadashi frowned.

"Ryuu..."

"Shut up. I know I look terrible. Don't try to sugarcoat it," Ryuu cut him off curtly. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm... sorry for lashing out at you like that, by the way. My emotions got the best of me."

He's back to normal, Tadashi thought. Knowing he was waiting for an answer, he shook his head. "It's okay. It was my fault for being insensitive."

"You're one of my good friends, Tadashi. Trust me, I only said those things because I've been under the stress of this whole thing. And then to top it off, you told me about the whole Saya thing as well. I just... I couldn't take it anymore." Ryuu sniffled, his voice hoarse. "But I'm ready to face myself. After staying cooped up in my room all week, I realized that Saya, let alone you guys, wouldn't want me to mope around like the way I was doing. It was childish of me, but..."

"You don't have to force yourself to get over her death now, Ryuu. Even I..." Tadashi began but stopped himself. No matter how empathetic he was about Saya, Ryuu was suffering about it even more. Tadashi only knew Saya—or really, Chiaki—for about a year. Ryuu did his whole life.

Ryuu set foot into the cemetery without another word.

The two teens paid a visit to Saya's grave, but just like Chiaki had said, the grave plate had "Chiaki Asahina" engraved on it.

"She couldn't even die as Saya..." Ryuu clenched his fists tight.

Holding back another surge of anger, Ryuu inhaled a deep breath.

For a while, he didn't say anything. But that's when Ryuu began to tremble, and the sound of his soft cries made Tadashi glance away from him. He had no words. Then again, with this entire occurrence, when did he?

☻ ☺ ☻

"This isn't fair. The mastermind, I'm gonna make them pay. It's one thing for Saya to die but to even manipulate her death like that..." Ryuu growled, furling his fingers. He pounded his fist against a brick building's wall, then yelped and blew on it as if it would make the pain seize.

They had left the cemetery after paying their respects, and were walking aimlessly through the city.

"Ryuu," Tadashi spoke up.

"I just thought it wouldn't hurt as much," he said, still shaking his already reddening knuckles. "Anime characters do it all the time. Damn, it kills! I think I broke it."

Tadashi resisted the urge to laugh. Instead, he pulled out the letter from his pocket. He handed it to him. "No, here."

"What is this?" Ryuu inquired, slowly taking the pink letter.

"The mastermind gave Chiaki this letter. He said it was from Saya," Tadashi explained for him and Ryuu's eyebrows shot up.

"The mastermind? Why would he have something like th—"

"I'm not sure. But Chiaki wanted you to have it," Tadashi cut him off, elevating his shoulders in a shrug. "And also..."

"Also?"

"To tell you this." Tadashi eyes met Ryuu's as he said, "'Thank you for sticking with someone like me, and that I believe that wherever Saya is now, that she's happy.'"

Ryuu's light brown eyes shrunk back.

He came to a sudden stop, and looked elsewhere for a while. "Ha ha..." he laughed to himself and covered his face in his hands. "Chiaki... She's always so..."

Ryuu returned his gaze back to Tadashi, lively with energy again.

"Thanks, Tadashi. I'll open it later." He cracked a small smile. "I've gotta go now. Thanks for sticking with me today. I really would die without you."

With a new spark of determination, and a short "See you tomorrow!" Ryuu ran off, leaving Tadashi speechless.

After his friend disappeared from sight, Tadashi smiled. Even if only slightly, he helped. That satisfaction was always a wonderful thing.

☻ ☺ ☻

As soon as Tadashi got home, he went straight to his room. Waiting to greet him on his bed was the key he got from the day camp.

"Oh, I forgot to ask Ryuu..." Tadashi picked up the key and studied it. The intricate designs seemed familiar to him somehow. He'd seen it somewhere before... but where?

Shaking his head, Tadashi took out his homework to get it done. Before he could get started though, his cell phone rang.

"Huh? Ryuu?" Tadashi murmured as soon as his eyes landed upon his name. What would he need? "Yes?" Tadashi asked as soon as he answered the call.

"Tadashi... are you sure this is Saya's?"

Tadashi flinched at the sound of Ryuu's panicky voice.

"This?" Tadashi repeated, a premonition gnawing its way to the pit of his stomach.

His eyes widened with sudden realization. Was he referring to the letter?

"What about it? What happened?" Tadashi demanded for an answer.

Ryuu took a while to respond.

"It's weird. The letter inside is ripped...but it has a note inside of it."

"A note...?"

"Yeah, and some weird sentences written on it. It says: 'The tattle tale gets his punishment. Death is the answer to it all.' What does that mean?"

Tattle tale? Was that a riddle? Then who's the "tattle tale?"

"Also, give this to him," Tadashi recalled Chiaki's words, "I received it from the mastermind so I don't know what it contains, but it belongs to Saya."

As soon as comprehension dawned upon Tadashi, his heart stopped.

Belongs to Saya...

The cell Tadashi held to his ear fell out of his grasp.

From the mastermind....

The mastermind gave this note to Saya.

☻ ☺ ☻

Oooh. Plot twist. ;)

I just finished typing this now so it may explain why it's messy. But things are starting to get interesting now... Haha, the conspiracies are finally starting up!

School starts tomorrow so things'll probably get busier and updates slower. Yup, the break ends tomorrow *sighs* I hate school.

My depression aside, lol, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I tried to make it emotional xD I failed though. But there's a cliffhanger to make up for it ;)

Look forward to the next chapter ~

Thank you for all the votes and comments by the way! And reads too! We're almost at 1k!!!

-Misty