↑ Mayumi Hiruko above ↑

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'Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go'
— Hermann Hesse'

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Katsura stared at Tadashi, her emotions unclear. Then, with a sigh, the brunette shook her head in defeat.

Tadashi frowned at her reaction, a feeling of nostalgia running through him. The many thoughts that overfilled his mind, the willingness to learn more about the situation, the urge to crack these mysteries; his senses were back. He was back.

"Back...in that room. I was with Shinzo," he began, retrieving the keywords from that horrid day. "She told me about her family and past, and her involvement with the Kitoshi family. Then, she...mentioned your family, Inohara. The "Inohara's." And she said your family also failed to protect the Kitoshi's..."

"And after Moriko Kitoshi's kidnapping, I failed my job of protecting her. No, the Shinzo's failed their job of protecting her along with the Inohara's. After her death was confirmed, they started to get restless. That's how I know..." Izumi's eyes reflected a strong animosity towards the certain group. "They're coming to kill us sooner or later. To get us back."

Tadashi swallowed hard at the memory. "Your family was assigned to protect Moriko Kitoshi as well, right? Then... what is happening right now?"

Katsura's unwavering gaze landed on Tadashi as shocked looks was shared in between the seven other members gathered.

Ryuu fumed because of Katsura. "You just said—"

"Miss Shinzo said more than she needed to... I was so close to getting away with it too," Katsura sighed loudly, cutting off Ryuu. Her mocha hues reflected her submissiveness. "All right. Since you know that much, it seems I'll have to tell you the truth. I can never win against you or Miss Kobayashi after all."

Narrowing her eyes, Katsura repositioned her crossed arms before starting her explanation.

"It is the Inohara's duty to protect the Kitoshi family. It's been my family's obligation ever since the Crime Club incident. Therefore, everyone in my lineage in the same age group as a member of the Kitoshi family was ordered to protect anything that could harm their name, or them."

"Wait, Crime Club?" Ayame interjected, the familiar name startling her along with a few other members in the room.

Katsura frowned at the mention. After a hesitant pause, she exhaled loudly, "My great-grandfather... was the one who started the horrendous games in the Crime Club."

Her words caught everyone off guard, and their eyes were as wide as saucers. All except for Tadashi and a few others. They weren't aware of these terms they were using, so following along was difficult.

"Y-y-your great-grandfather?" Ryuu gasped.

Yasuo furrowed his eyebrows disgustedly.

"To protect this secret of my family, of Reiji Inohara, my family made a promise to the Kitoshi's to protect us from their wrath. What started off as a horrendous game ending up killing a member of their family so we had to make up for that mistake of his," Katsura continued. "That's why the Inohara's had a duty of protecting the Kitoshi's. And when my family broke that promise to them and Miss Moriko got kidnapped under my watch, they were coming for my family.

"If it wasn't already obvious, my family runs a martial arts dojo. The art has always been around my name and my entire life has centered around it. Which is why even though my family was exposed to the dangers of the Kitoshi's, I could be assured that they'd be able to protect themselves. However..." She clenched her fists, furiously biting her lip. "I was the one who exposed my family to danger. It'd have been my fault if they were to get hurt... So I took the responsibility upon myself."

Katsura opened her eyes, reflecting her seriousness and diligence. Her next words came out easier than she would've thought.

"And that is why I spent these past few weeks staying near them as much as I could to protect them. And when... the Kitoshi family was announced to be assassinated, I knew we could rest easy now, so I began attending school today." She feigned a look of relief and smile. "There it is. The reason I haven't been showing up."

Everyone was quiet, until Yasuo spoke up, "So you knew about Shinzo...and her duty too?"

Katsura shook her head no. "Whatever happens in that family is a mystery to everyone else. We've only been informed of what we're needed to do and to protect this secret of my family's. That's all. Miss Shinzo's circumstances were something I wasn't aware of..." She furled her fingers into fists. "But it seems like while I was focused on myself, they went after her and..."

Tadashi found it difficult to breathe at the mention. Ryuu instantly shot him a glance, having a feeling he'd react that way, and Tadashi sent him a weak smile in response. Shaking his head, he returned his gaze onto the female, but the trembling of his limbs caused by the memories didn't cease.

"Matsumoto," Ayame directed the brunet's attention toward her. "I'm sure I already told you this: it is not your fault."

Tadashi's stomach churned and he squeezed his arm to stop himself from shaking any further. He forced a smile, letting out a laugh. She was right. But it was just haunting him; his inability to save her.

Just how many times has he heard the Kitoshi's name within their club? If he had known all these things before, nobody needed to...

"Inohara aside, what about you four?" Ayame focused the question onto the other three teens. Katsura's story was believable, but it could still not be considered the truth. Regardless of that being the case or not, she still had the other club members to ask.

Mayumi flinched at the question, along with Atsushi.

Ayame raised an eyebrow at the black-haired male's reaction. "Yamada, what is going on? You seem oddly fidgety today. Usually you're bursting with energy too." Her purple coloured hues narrowed into slits. "Are you hiding something?"

The paranoid teen looked up and whipped his head around to each member of the club. They all wore calculating stares, as if to pry deep into his soul for an answer.

"I... I..." Atsushi stuttered, hanging his head. Shaking with fear, the male bolted up from his seat, his blood red eyes filled with an intense emotion. "I APOLOGIZE!"

Everyone fell back at his unexpected yell.

"At-Atsushi?" Ryuu fumbled for the words, his mouth dropped.

"I know it's a have to, right? Agh, did I circle a or b?" He ran his fingers through his hair furiously, growling with apprehension. "I probably didn't even circle an answer! Then that reduces my grade point to a 98%! If I get a 98% it will only boost my average to a 93%! What am I going to do? Did I circle it or not?"

Blinking rapidly, all six members didn't know how to take his outburst and were just gawking at his display. Was he talking about...a test?

"I apologize sincerely! I cannot remember. I am unable to even focus on this entire situation because my attention is only on my test. Academics are important but also are communications between others. I'm sorry! I do not believe I am in a position capable of participating in this discussion unless I receive a proper answer! I need to know! Gah!"

Atsushi was nowhere near calming down anytime soon and only continued to murmur other rambles under his breath, all circling around the test he had recently finished.

"Atsushin!" Haru drawled, snacking his arm with a laugh. "Calm down~!"

His words jerked Atsushi back to reality and he blinked slowly before standing appropriately. His eyes shifted between all the jaw-dropped teens and he blushed hard in realization of his outburst. Standing up straight, he bowed immediately. "I apologize! Please excuse my actions!"

Positioning himself as firm as he always did, he returned his gaze onto his white-haired senior.

"With my grades low, I've been studying to pass my exams this week so that I can maintain my 94% average to stay within the Student Council. That's why I remained home all week. I apologize for not clarifying this before."

Ayame's once shocked expression reverted into her usual stoic one. It resembled what Kazuma Kurosaki had told them, so it didn't seem like a lie either.

Redirecting her attention to Juzo Fatora, her aura completely changed. To a more bitter emotion. Opening her mouth, she asked the question that had gnawing at her for weeks. "Fatora, when we left the Shinzo mansion, where did you go?"

Juzo hesitantly turned his forest green eyes towards the female, along with a shaking Mayumi. Right when the male parted his lips to reply to her, the door to the CRF clubroom burst open.

Stepping into the club and bewildering everyone else, was an unidentified girl wearing a lab coat and goggles, and she was carrying a bunch of chemicals and flasks in hand. Her purple coloured hair that was tied into one pigtail, rested on her left shoulder while the other half of it was all spiked up and out of the place. Her similar tinted eyes were wide and questioning, moving back and forth.

She looked exactly identical to that particular female in the room—so much so it was scary.

"Mayumi, our science fair experiment is due soon! What are you doing in this place?" wailed the Mayumi look-alike, holding up the chemicals for emphasis.

Her gaze scanned the teens surrounding her sister with a raised eyebrow. "Are you guys meeting to discuss something on the news?" She shook her head quickly. "Never mind. Hurry up, Mayumi, we have until tomorrow!"

All the colour in Mayumi's face drained. "M-M-Mayuki! I-I'm busy—"

"No, I'm busy! Do you not understand how much I want to put that sheep liver into some hydrochloric acid? I want to try it with you before Mrs. Irina comes to stop me like she did before!"

"Hydrochloric acid?! But—"

"Mayumi, hurry up! I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go!" cried Mayuki like a little kid.

Mayumi was exasperated because of it. "I-I'm discussing something very important, Mayuki!" she stammered. "I—"

Puffing up her cheeks like chipmunk, Mayuki scowled at the members there. "Geez, Mayumi isn't working for the mastermind! She was with me all week working on our science fair project. Mrs. Irina too if you need an alibi!"

Yasuo flinched at her choice of words and immediately questioned it. "Mastermind? She said "mastermind" just now didn't she?"

Both Ryuu and Haru bobbed their heads.

"She did," Ryuu said.

"She so did," agreed Haru.

Yasuo clenched his teeth, aiming a glower her way. "How do you know about that?"

Mayumi blinked at the hostility in his voice. She turned to address all the club members who also bore similar befuddlement, and tilted her head in confusion.

"How?" she repeated, blankly. "I thought it was obvious I worked for the puppet master."

☻☺☻

Lol, I'm honestly veryyy tired right now, which explains the eh, chapter. I've been at the science-fair from 8 am to 4:30-ish and I'm dead (maybe that's why I included it this chapter hah). I had to stand almost all day and I didn't even get a decent lunch Cx My project is really simple too, elementary school simple, and the projects next to mine were really complex and it made mine feel stupid tbh xD My school made everyone do the science fair so I was sort of glad I ended up getting a chance to go to regionals (because mine won 2nd place btw) since I'm not a science nerd, but I regret it a lot xD

I'm going back there tomorrow too... 4 hours long. I hope I win something...

So yeah, that life update aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. A new character is introduced! Mayuki...thoughts?

I know this whole "who is the mastermind?!" thing taking me forever though... Hope you're loving all the suspense though. Who is it indeed.

‹ Questions ›

•What connection does Mayuki have to the "mastermind?"
•What are your thoughts on the last sentence of this chapter?

-Misty

PS: Next chapter will be really short~