••●••

'Nothing can last forever. There isn't any memory, no matter how intense, that doesn't fade out at last'
— Juan Rulfo

••●••

"Wh-What..."

Kazuma Kurosaki's calculative stare strung anxiety throughout every bone in Tadashi's body. He found it hard to even muster a breath— a thought— all due to his pounding heart, and also because of his glued gaze on his glowing eyed senior. The shock was enough to block everything out.

"She's an android," Kazuma said again, glancing at a booting up Ayame. "A robot wearing human skin," he clarified. "A junk of only metal and computers. Whatever you want to clarify an android as, that's what she is."

Tadashi's blood ran cold as the remembrance of the sensation of Ayame's body came back to him. Cold... is that why it was cold...

Without warning, a ding! resounded from Ayame and the aesthetic glow in her eyes died down, leaving her body in its original state. "Reloading complete."

The white-haired female blinked wearily at first—in an act to adjust—before snapping open completely. Her cold violet eyes scanned Tadashi at first, as if processing his appearance and features into memory.

"...You're not in my database." She furrowed her eyebrows, tilting her head. "May I ask for your name?"

Tadashi's eyes enlarged. His mouth was hanging open in great surprise as he wasn't being able to process her words at all. No, he couldn't believe them.

His name?

She didn't know it...?

Knowing how flabbergasted Tadashi's current state was, Kazuma stepped before the female, blocking off her vision of him. He stared down at her, frowning.

"Even though it's a protocol to keep you from overheating and powering off forever, losing all your data as well is troublesome. You're going to be useless from now on."

Ayame narrowed her eyes at the character, before her eyes lit up with slight recognition. "Are you my—"

"Come with me," Kazuma cut her off, spinning around. He closed his eyes in thought. "Let's see how much you can memorize by tomorrow. As it is now, you won't even be able to be go to school."

Memorize...

Ayame rose to her feet accordingly. Her icy cold expression never wavered, and her purple hues reflected her stone-cold self, immune to all problems and tragedies thrown her way. And yet they radiated the innocence and curiosity to learn everything she possibly could.

Kazuma exited the room at that, followed by an inexpressive Ayame.

Tadashi held out his hand in a fast attempt to stop her. "Kobayashi—"

Without sparing him a single glance, Ayame pushed the door behind her closed, silencing the teen instantly.

Truly pained, Tadashi's felt a lump in his throat as he swallowed hard. He hadn't seen her like that before... It wasn't the first time she was this cold to him and everyone else, but right now was different.

He clenched his fists so tightly, his palms went as white as snow. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

There was no way this was happening...

Occurrence... after occurrence... after occurrence... after...

Standing within the spacious room all alone, Tadashi pulled his fingers through his hair, clutching and pulling it in apprehension.

When was this going to end?

☻ ☺ ☻

"The CRF, huh..."

Fifteen-year-old Tadashi Matsumoto murmured, staring contemplatively at the sheet he held. He looked around at his fellow classmates who had received envelopes as well, and some of them were smiling while others were frowning at the results.

Glancing down at the paper, Tadashi pursed his lips, hanging his head.

"Crime, huh... I wish it were something better..."

.

.

.

"And I ended up joining anyways..." Tadashi looked up at the CRF label printed onto a block of wood just outside the doorway. Even if he did find slight interest in mysteries and crime, he had just wanted to join another club besides this one. But from almost one hundred different clubs, there wasn't a single one he could actually imagine himself being apart of.

Well, the idea of this club enthralled him nonetheless, so it would be interesting just to be apart of it, right?

Though, he did wonder who exactly was in the club. Swallowing hard, Tadashi found it hard to enter into the room. Maybe he could still turn back and choose another club...?

It wasn't like he couldn't do that, right? Maybe another club would be suited for him instead?

"Excuse me." An intimidating voice jolted the brunet and he jerked around to face a frowning female. Even though she stood tall and proud, her arms folded across her chest, her piercing violet eyes were almost... lifeless. As if she didn't see him for him, but as a nuisance. "You're blocking the entrance," she stated coldly.

Once realization settled in, Tadashi lurched backwards. "Oh, uh, sorry..."

The impassive female merely sauntered into the room without sparing him anymore heed. Tadashi watched her in surprise.

He had heard of her before. She was the talk of all the first years and the rest of the school for her ice-cold self. She even had the nickname from them: 'the cold-hearted senior.' She was insensitive and rarely ever spoke up but whenever she did, she wore a glare. She was constantly in a sour mood too...

.

.

.

Though, as the year went on by, she had begun to soften up. And by his second year of high school, she was the way she was up until now. She was cold, but she still cared.

Was it amnesia then?

No... Kazuma already gave him an answer so why was he avoiding it?

Ayame Kobayashi was an android. A robot.

Even though he was telling the truth, why did it still seem so unbelievable?

☻ ☺ ☻

"Phew! I feel relieved!" Ryuu exhaled loudly, stretching his arms. It was Tuesday afternoon and a few days after the revelation of everything.

"Yeah, that Akemi distorted our attention from our case," Yasuo clicked his tongue, crossing his legs on the tabletop. "And damn Nobuo didn't bother to tell us about her either."

"What's done is done," Katsura said, sparing him a glance. "Besides, you two are still hiding something, aren't you?"

Yasuo flinched and looked away once they all turned to him.

Katsura cracked a smile. "So you still won't tell us? While on the other hand, Mr. Nobuo honestly forgot."

Biting his lip, Yasuo sighed, "It's not like I can't. It's just better not to say."

Despite each one of them having questions to his words, nobody said anything. Silence lapsed through the room until the door to the clubroom opened, revealing a familiar brunet. At the sight of him though, the three of them gasped.

"T-T-Tadashi!" Ryuu cried, gaping at how pale he was. The dark bags under his eyes were noticeable too. "Why do you look so..."

"Dead," Yasuo didn't sugarcoat it at all, but it made Tadashi feel no better anyway. Not that it really could've.

"I couldn't sleep at all this past week..." Tadashi muttered, flopping into his chair. "Whenever I close my eyes I get this horrible nightmare that Kobayashi is an android... And she forgets about everyone and the club, and..."

Katsura and Yasuo deadpanned while Ryuu leaned over and waved his hand in front of Tadashi's face. "Wow, are you sure you're all right? You're speaking gibberish."

Tadashi dropped his head sullenly. "I'm probably not..."

The door to the clubroom opened, slightly jolting the teens. Turning their heads to the doorway, their eyes landed on the timid purple haired Mayumi, awkwardly peering through the gap in the door.

"E-Excuse the i-i-intrusion..."

Mayumi scurried to her seat and hung her head, while Atsushi stepped into the room behind her, holding up his thumb. He grinned proudly.

"My academic average is at a safe 95%! Now I can focus on the case before us!" Atsushi declared happily. Blinking, he glanced around at the group of four. "Did I miss anything by any chance?"

Before anyone could take the initiative to answer his question, Haru Tomachi entered into the space next to Atsushi. Ryuu shot to his feet at the sight of him.

"Haru! Are you okay? You didn't even answer my calls or anything!"

Haru strained a laugh, weaving his fingers through his hair. "Sorry~! I got my phone confiscated!"

"Then you should've at least showed up sooner! I was worried you know!"

As Ryuu bombarded Haru with questions, Katsura took the time to ask an anxious Mayumi a few of her own while Yasuo did the same to Atsushi. Their normal bickerings and speeches returned, almost making the room livelier than it had been in weeks.

"Hmm. I don't see Upperclassman Kobayashi present," Atsushi declared, scanning the room with his eyes. "I never pinned her as the tardy type."

As if Atsushi had snagged something within them, they all studied the room as well.

"Me neither..." Ryuu answered, crossing his arms behind his head.

Yasuo narrowed his eyes as well. "It is off."

"Sh-She's j-j-just late! Let's start!" Mayumi stuttered uneasily. "I-I haven't been here in a while b-b-because M-Mayuki made me finish our sc-science fair project... s-so I j-just want to get this o-over with."

"By the way, Hiruko," Yasuo started, wearing a frown. "Is Mayuki your twin?"

Mayumi flinched in response.

"I didn't know you had one either!" interjected Ryuu, smiling.

"I've been interested as well," Katsura agreed.

Atsushi and Haru shared curious looks as well while Tadashi was overhearing this all with his head implanted on the table.

Mayumi fidgeted restlessly, avoiding their gazes. "Wh-What d-d-does it matter?"

"It matters!" Ryuu replied. "I mean, after that day in the clubroom did she tell you anything specific?"

Mayumi's eyes widened but it immediately reverted back to normal. "M-M-Mayuki d-d-didn't..."

Ryuu deflated slightly, but Mayumi still continued.

"I-I-I'm older than Mayuki... by 9 months. M-My birthday is March 22nd while hers is December 12th. U-Um, a-and our mom named us similarly. Mayumi and Mayuki for no particular reason. She just liked how they sounded together but I think it's because m-my mom's name is Mayura. And th-that's all there is to it. We're definitely not twins."

"Oh, wow," Ryuu murmured in awe. "That must be sweet! I have two younger sisters and an older brother, but having somebody almost like a twin but not a twin would be awesome."

"N-No, it's not!" Mayumi's sudden shout startled the teens. Tadashi raised his head, blinking in surprise. Mayumi clenched her fists, strained. "M-Mayuki is irritating and she annoys me like crazy a-and... she is a huge science nerd who loves burning everything I have for her r-rotten experiments! And she's always doing it in our room and tries to poison me from time to time too... Agh..."

Mayumi began biting down on her thumbnail, her expression giving away her apparent anger.

"She's annoying... So annoying... So annoying... So annoying... Annoy—"

"We get it, Mayucchi. Calm down," Haru laughed. His amusement slowly faded as he exhaled a breath. "I wish I had a family..."

Haru's voice trailed off into a hollow sounding silence and everybody whipped their heads towards him in surprise. Haru's eyes widened and he spoke cheerfully.

"—Like yours! Ah, my mom never makes me anything I ask for and my dad is always yelling at me for eating sweets! If your parents allow Mayuki-cchi to do experiments and burn things, they definitely wouldn't mind if I had a bunch of sweets, right?"

Right before anyone could question what he had said, the door to the clubroom opened. Tadashi nearly jumped out of his seat at the sight of Ayame Kobayashi.

"K-K-Kobayashi—"

"Kobayashi, where the hell were you? Club time started a long time ago," Yasuo growled with a glare.

Atsushi nodded his head. "That's right! Punctuality is proper etiquette! You can't expect us to wait for you next time!"

Ayame's eyes glazed over everyone in the room.

"I do thank you all for allowing me to take the time out of this club to do what I had to. Because of it, I made it past my crisis," Atsushi added. "However, just because of that, you cannot be so laxed—"

"Atsushi Yamada, a second year student in class 2-A." Ayame put a hand under her chin, her eyes narrowed at the black-haired teen who she had caught by surprise. "Also has the third highest GPA in the school right after Kazuma Kurosaki and Hitomi Watanabe. Is apart of the Student Council as the Vice President and is only apart of this club due to a request made by the President to keep surveillance on the CRF members. There is no particular relationship that we have outside of club activities."

Atsushi's jaw dropped in shock, leaving him speechless. Tadashi words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't muster a breath.

"Kobayashi," Ryuu began, his eyebrows furrowed. "What are—"

"Ryuu Sasahara, a second year student in class 2-D. Apart of every sports team imaginable at school. Though, he does make sure to spend his Tuesday's in the CRF clubroom for the annual Crime Games. His childhood friend and crush, Saya Asahina, no longer attends this club due to personal reasons. Our relationship isn't bad, but isn't well either."

Ryuu's heart stopped entirely.

"Kobayashi!" Yasuo shouted, hauling himself up to his feet.

Ayame turned to him.

"Yasuo Ishikawa, a second year student in class 2-B. Is known around the school for his badmouth and mischievous behaviour due to his delinquent title. He is always trying to picks fights—"

"What'd you say?!" bellowed the blond.

"—And because of it, got forced to join the CRF in his second year," concluded Ayame regardless. "We tend to argue, with you provoking me first."

"Mayumi Hiruko, a second year student in class 2-A. Always terrified to speak and often stutters. She is a huge worrywart, and her reasons for joining is unknown. Though, it could be because her younger sister, Mayuki Hiruko coerced her to, but that is also debatable."

Mayumi gaped. "H-H-How did—"

Ayame frowned. "No special connection either."

"Katsura Inohara, a third year student in class 3-B. Despite her cold demeanour, she is truly really caring and kind. She is the only member of the school's female Karate Club, and her family runs a dojo. Our relationship isn't bad."

Katsura narrowed her eyes at her as Ayame went to Haru.

"Haru Tomachi, a second year student in class 2-D. He is always snacking on something and loves sweets, and due to this, many girls bombard him with confections daily. He is well-liked by practically everyone as he has a cheerful personality. Though, him and I do not seem to get along well regardless."

Haru cocked his head, slowly pulling out the lollipop in his mouth.

Ayame's gaze finally fell upon Tadashi, in a cold calculative way. "Tadashi Matsumoto," she started, her voice hollow and empty, as if she were reciting this by reading it off a textbook, "a second year student in the class 2-D. Nothing is particularly special about him and he is only a member of this club by choice alone. With his charisma, it makes it easier for others to talk to him. There isn't a special connection either, but I tend to find it easy to share things with him because of his personality."

Ayame sighed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Izumi Shinzo, Iori Yutaka, Saya Asahina, Kiyoshi Oogawa and Akira Minamoto, other members of this club, are missing for an unknown reason, while Juzo Fatora and Akemi Shirahama are merely absent today."

Facing all of the teens gathered, Ayame frowned sourly.

"My database shows that my connection to all of you isn't anything special, and my reason for joining this club centering around crime has no compelling answer either. The CRF's motives are not beneficial, and so is this club, so why would I waste my time here for two years...? I figured if I came here and checked you all out I'd understand but it is still incomprehensible."

Digging into her pocket, Ayame pulled out a sheet of paper. A club transfer form.

"I wish to leave this club," she declared, meeting their eyes. "Who should I give this to?"

☻ ☺ ☻

Dun-dun-du-nun~! I actually had more to add to this chapter but together it went up to 4,000 and something words so I just seperated it into two different chapters. So now it'll be three chapters until the final stretch seriously starts =)

I'll still be working on pumping out chapters so I can finish this by June 30 though! Let's hope I can do it! I have exactly a month left!

To finish about 20 more chapters... -.-

Lolz I probably can't do it after all xD

-Misty