↑ Akemi Shirahama above ↑

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'The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions'
— Claude Levi-Strauss

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"I guess I sort of agreed to the transfer when I was in my tedious mode a few months ago," Mr. Nobuo laughed uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head, "and forgot to tell you all..."

"How could you forget something like that, Nobuo?!" Yasuo demanded, enraged and the club supervisor held up his hands defensively.

"You have modes?" Ryuu asked, bombarding also.

Yasuo shot the teen a glare. "He made that up, idiot!"

Ryuu retorted back to his comment as the two got into a tensive fight. While they did, Tadashi kept sneaking glances at his underclassman. She was... the fifteenth member?

No matter how he thought about it, it was still unbelievable.

Well lately, everything's been happening so fast. And they all seem so far away too. It felt like just yesterday Kiyoshi and Iori and Izumi were with them in the club, solving conspiracies and bickering with everyone else. Moriko was living her life being the role model student for all. Saya (Chiaki) was being as energetic as she always was— even though she was extremely clumsy. Akira was bursting with her cheerful words despite everything thrown her way. Haru eating his many snacks and sweets with a nonchalant personality. Mayumi trembling uncontrollably to every little thing. Atsushi going on and on about manners and respect... Even the Student Council didn't get involved with them until just recently.

Everything came tumbling down in their lives the moment they all joined together and wrote out that plan...

It all started with their annual Crime Games.

And now... nothing but misfortune and despair only spurned them to this point. Everyone was growing distant, everyone was leaving one by one... Boatloads of conspiracies bombarded them daily; their once peaceful life was over.

All because of the puppetmaster; the mastermind behind all these events.

Tadashi's gut churned. Even back when he lost hope and was locked up in his room, it was because he wanted to find him or her to put a stop to this case, he returned. He had thought they were so close too...

But this girl... His eyes fell onto the girl again and she met his gaze. Akemi smirked in response.

"What's wrong, Upperclassman Matsumoto? You look a little sick," she said sweetly.

Tadashi flinched, shaking his head. "I-I'm fine."

"Akemi." The black-haired female shifted her gaze onto the inexpressive senior, and a frown was prominent on Ayame's face. "Was it you who sent out the letters?"

Everyone suddenly became alert, as if they had just remembered the crucial news.

Akemi's smirk broadened at the mention and she intertwined her fingers gleefully. "My, wasn't it beautiful?" she gushed. "One of my best works if I do say so myself! But you guys surely didn't disappoint."

Her gaze clouded in awe.

"Especially you, Aya. Having the mind of a genius really is fortunate at times like these. You make the CRF what it is."

"Why would you do that?" Ryuu shouted, diverting everyone's attention.

Akemi giggled shortly. "To have some fun," she responded dismissively. "Peace is such a bore, don't you agree? Playing with you guys sure has been fun. Even Mayuki relented to this ordeal I had played out."

"Mayuki..." Tadashi repeated, his eyes wide. His heart pounded loudly in his ears. She knew... Maybe she really was them...

The puppetmaster... The mastermind.

The one responsible for everything...

"The letters in the envelopes, they spelt out your name, correct?" Ayame narrowed her eyes. "And the letter with the sentence, there wasn't any meaning behind it. It just emphasized the letters."

Tadashi gaped. What?

A, M, I, K, E, A, R, A, M, S, H, I, H, A.

A, K, E, M, I, S, H, I, R, A, H, A, M, A

Even the sentence... The capitalized letters...

'for tHere Is trouble, tHere iS crIme. for As criMe is ARt and detectives Are Merciless. And that is the grEatest Kace of all~'

H, I, H, S, I, A, M, A, R, A, M, A, E, K

A, K, E, M, I, S, H, I, R, A, H, A, M, A

It was true, if you sorted it out, you could've gotten it. But... that was just impossible to figure from one look! Even Kazuma spent days trying to decipher it!

"But there's an I missing!" Kazuma said defensively after trying to sort it out. "Thirteen letters, thirteen envelopes: A, M, K, E, A, R, A, M, S, H, I, H, A."

Ayame briefly spared him a glance. "Oh, I forgot to inform you?" Digging into her pocket, he held up the fourteenth envelope Kazuma didn't have. "This one says I."

Kazuma's eyelids shot up and his gaze shifted to one of disgust. Why was he not surprised? She was probably still holding that visit to his household against him.

"Marvelous, Aya-! Of course that was it~!" the first year squeaked, spinning towards Ayame and hugging her. "I love you! Indeed I do~! I bet after the student council member over there gave you the required information, you were the one who suggested come to the Dark Magic Circle's Club!"

The look she sent Kazuma's way shocked him.

"What?" he calmly said in defence. "It was just a misunderstanding. I would've figured it out too if I had gotten it. Either way, the letters were too abstract so she obviously didn't get it just from there. She had to have gotten it based off the seal. Then, she researched those in the club and—"

"You know best how amazing Aya is, Upperclassman Kurosaki." Akemi smirked knowingly. "So why are you still trying to use logic?"

Kazuma's uncomfortable reaction startled the rest. Katsura swallowed hard, while Ryuu and Yasuo wore glares — even Juzo seemed alert. Mr. Nobuo watched everything unfold from a distance with a frown as well, and Tadashi tried to process Akemi's words, but nothing but images flashed through his mind.

Sure Ayame was abstract, but, what did this girl mean? No... what did she know?

With a sigh, Ayame crossed her arms after pushing away the girl. "So, you planned everything? From the start to finish?"

"Of course." Akemi blew her nails proudly. "The police were even useless to find the culprit. I drugged my own class and pretended to be admitted along with them, duh! And Mayuki helped me with the letters too. She even came up with the sentence."

"Why would you do it?" Ryuu yelled, brimming with anger. "You sent... you sent Saya..."

"Saya?" For once since they were gathered, Akemi's all-knowing expression fell. "Upperclassman Saya Asahina, correct? Why isn't she here, if I may ask."

Akemi's eyes met Ryuu's innocently, catching him off guard.

After a few seconds of shock, Ryuu clenched his fists and teeth, glowering murderously at the teen. "Why? You... You did that to her and you don't even remember?"

Tadashi noticed just how enraged the brunet was so before he could dare lunge at her, he grabbed onto his arm while Yasuo held him by the other. "Ryuu," Tadashi said, but Ryuu didn't seem close to calming down.

Akemi, from standing where she was, raised an eyebrow curiously. "Why react that way? I was just asking an honest question. But now that you mention it, most of the club members aren't present, aren't they. I was told there were fourteen members by Mr. Nobuo when I enrolled, but all I see now is six excluding Upperclassman Kurosaki."

Akemi's once all-knowing eyes became unseeing as she put a hand to her chin.

"Are they taking the day off? How sad. I was willing to surprise you all with an entire conspiracy before officially joining the club. It took a few months to prepare... Though, I guess either way, it worked out well."

The teen's words came as an astonishment to them all. What was she saying? She acted as if she didn't know what they were talking about. But, just a second ago...

"Just as I thought..."

Tadashi's head snapped to Ayame at the words she murmured, but Ayame's attention was on Akemi.

"You only initiated the letter occurrence... to make a grand entrance into the club, Shirahama. Correct?"

Akemi smiled at her senior in awe. "Of course! The CRF is an interesting club! Mysteries and crime truly deserve to be awed! So to get you guys to love me even more than you will now, I asked Mayuki for help on this. Though... I didn't expect to cancel school in the act..." She chuckled. "But, whatever. It was a bonus even I have to praise myself for."

The once tense and alert tension that enveloped everyone seemed to fade into nothing but bewilderment.

Kazuma opened his mouth, "Then, how do you know about Ayame—"

"Aya is my adorable older sister~!" she cooed, hugging the teen again. Contrast to Ayame's size, she only reached her shoulder.

The pale-haired female scoffed, glancing away. "Not literally. She forced that nickname on me ever since the beginning of the year."

Akemi laughed away Ayame's comment, "Aya is who got me into joining the CRF in the first place! Even if she may be a bit abstract and serious all the time, I saw the soul of an detective within her! I'll follow her for the rest of my life!"

Everyone was astonished.

A... misunderstanding?

Akemi really didn't know anything about what was occurring in the CRF. She was just responsible for this letter incident. And Mayuki, the mastermind she convinced them she was working with, was her...

Although relief spread throughout the exhaustive teens, nothing but a certain question ran through Tadashi's still spurning mind.

Then... who was the mastermind?

It was like when they first started looking for answers to this entire incident: no impending occurrence gave them any clues to follow. They were truly at a dead end now— at the starting line of a race, waiting for the whistle to be blown.

"Everyone." Ayame gazed at everyone around her, her eyes reflecting her numb emotion to this all. "This is it, as it appears. The day is over so you may return home now."

☻ ☺ ☻

After everyone reluctantly left home for the day, Tadashi stayed behind them all. He flopped down and took a seat, burying his face into his hands. His body was tired, but his mind was still invoking countless jumbles of thoughts. He put down his head to rest, sighing loudly.

Everything had been so tiring lately. And it seemed like this entire event today was pointless.

Ugh. He had to get home. Home...

His face contorted with pain as memories of what his parents had talked to him about filled his mind.

It still felt like a dream. He had a twin brother? Named Takeshi?

It was unbelievable, but at the same time, why would it be a lie?

"You're still here, Matsumoto?" The sound of Ayame's voice lurched Tadashi upwards and his eyes widened. She stood by the entrance, her face expressionless as always.

"Uh... I..."

She narrowed her eyes at him in a calculative manner, only increasing his discomfort. He stood up to his feet and turned to leave. "I was just leaving now. Um, excuse—"

"Matsumoto, are you hiding something?"

Tadashi's eyelids shot up as she faced the white-haired teen, but her expression was hard to decipher.

"N-No?"

"I have something to inform you."

Tadashi's jaw dropped.

Again. He paled considerably. They were already starting this again?

Ayame frowned at the brunet's reaction. "I've noticed this since the time you returned," Ayame said slowly. "You seem more shaky and more terrified to speak. You used to accept and cooperate with whatever I had to say to you, but after that incident with Shinzo, something happened, didn't it?"

Something... Tadashi's mind echoed. Instinctively, thoughts of Takeshi filled his mind, but he hurriedly shook them away. He quickly feigned a smile. "Nothing happened."

Ayame crossed her arms, clearly not buying it. "Matsumoto, do you know why I tell you these things?"

Tadashi blinked rapidly.

She continued, "You're trustworthy, and possess superior deductive abilities above the rest. You don't put yourself above others, nor do you put yourself below them. You're average. That's why I'm able to talk to you on equal footing. No, I'm compelled to tell you these things. Your mind works differently from mine, at least—and sometimes, better."

Heat filled his cheeks and Tadashi opened his mouth, "That's not—"

Ayame's violet eyes locked with Tadashi's, almost shattering through him. That cold gaze of hers always had that effect.

"Do you still have trust in everyone around you?" she didn't hesitate to question, "or have you given up after everything that has happened?"

Tadashi was overwhelmed by her continuous questions.

"Do you still care for the clubmates that betrayed us, and the clubmates that died? Inohara had a point. The culprits may already be dead—do you truly believe that to be the case?"

Do I? He glanced away, gritting his teeth. It was true. Did he still believe every one of them to be innocent? Or had he already begun to suspect them?

Saying that he absolutely trusted them would be an overstatement... Subconsciously, he began to doubt every one of them a while ago. But that was because they all held secrets relating to this case. How could he trust they had nothing to do with the mastermind after everything that had happened?

Ayame's lips downturned after seeing his pained reaction. "Usually you would've responded with your usual 'of course I do!' statements."

Tadashi froze while Ayame sent him an aching smile.

"Even in these events, everyone is constantly changing, huh? I'm the only one... who doesn't... who isn't..."

Ayame's voice got muffled as she began staggering back and forth. Tadashi flinched as she hit the table, breathing heavily.

"Kobayashi!"

Ayame's ragged breathing only continued as she put a hand over her face. "What... I'm malfunctioning? Why... My battery count is high. Nothing's wrong with my systems either..."

Numbers spurled around the pale-haired female's vision until she completely collapsed onto the floor with a thud. Tadashi, panicked, raced up to his senior's side. His complexion paled.

"Kobayashi! Hey!?"

He reached out and touched her arm for the first time in his life and the sensation of cold metal caused his body to shiver. Startled, he jerked backwards. Eyes as wide as saucers, Tadashi couldn't process what had just happened, or what he had just touched. He approached her body once more and gazed down at her face—her soft, unblemished skin, and closed eyelids—only to have an immense emotion of disbelief overcome him.

He held out his finger and touched her skin once more, but the sensation of ice never faded. Kobayashi... d-d-dead... was she... Tadashi's mind couldn't even process a proper thought. His breathing spiked as he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. His eyes fell upon the almost brandname-ish numbers and letters instilled into her body.

P-#1768.A.K.

What did that...

"Tadashi, you're still here?" The sound of Kazuma Kurosaki's voice jolted the teen and he snapped his head towards him hurriedly.

"Upperclassman Kazuma! Kobayashi—"

The second the black-haired teen laid eyes on the seeming unconscious female, he raced towards her at once.

"Help me get her elevated, now!" Kazuma shouted, shocking Tadashi. With his heart thumping, Tadashi did as he told in frenzy, gently placing down the freezing body of his senior onto the table. To his surprise, Kazuma's face was strained as he stared down the Ayame.

"Upperclassman Kazuma, is—"

Kazuma held up his hand dismissively, his eyes not leaving her still body. "Stand back. Let me handle this."

Tadashi's eyes enlarged once again. Kazuma clenched his teeth, smacking his head.

"Ugh... where was it again?"

In a spur of the moment action, he put his hand to the back of Ayame's neck before sighing in relief and pulling away.

"Upperclassman Kazuma! What are you doing?!" Tadashi cried, startled by his unnecessary action. "We need to get her to the hospital—"

"The hospital's not going to help," Kazuma cut him off, frowning distastefully.

Tadashi's jaw dropped incredulously. "Why?!"

Before the black-haired teen could answer his panicked shout, the noise of a generator loading up cut him off.

Shock, Tadashi whipped his head towards the female laying on the table and was startled to witness her body hoist itself up automatically. He sucked in his breath at the sight of his senior's eyes glowing an aesthetic purple, the light just as blinding as a flashlight being pushed on.

"Deciphering data. Upload zero percent. No data found. Reloading systems."

Tadashi lurched backwards, landing on his butt, his expression filled with utmost horror. "K-K-K-Kobayashi..."

"That's why I told you a hospital would be useless."

Kazuma exhaled a tired breath and met Tadashi's green eyes.

"Ayame is an android."