↑ Akira Minamoto above ↑

••●••

'She's not only merely dead—she's really most sincerely dead'
— Anne Frasier

••●••

Ayame Kobayashi came to a halt and pursed her lips. Tadashi stopped as well, perplexed.

"It really is hard to keep up this façade. I try to act like how I used to, but it's even hard to grasp what kind of character I had before," Ayame muttered and Tadashi's eyes widened. "I wonder why... the concept of emotions truly is a farce."

Turning up her head, Ayame stared at Tadashi.

"Why you would ever try so hard to bring me back is a mystery. This case could've moved farther along if you didn't waste your time on me. Now..."

Tadashi's eyebrows knitted together in disbelief. "But, Kobayashi—"

"Three more weeks," Ayame said, startling the brunet.

He blinked rapidly. "Three weeks? Until what?"

Ayame's lips were forced into a straight line. "I only have three more weeks to involve myself in this case."

Tadashi's eyelids shot up in surprise as her violet coloured eyes met his.

"Why...?"

"We've been on this case since September," Ayame exhaled. "We've gotten so far along, but March starts tomorrow. I'm in my third year. Meaning, I'm to graduate soon."

Tadashi couldn't believe her words. They were reasonable points, but she had to be kidding him.

Three more weeks...

They had three more weeks to work with Ayame on this case...

Ayame clearing her throat instantly grabbed the brunet's attention.

"Matsumoto, even though I did say we only have a limited amount of time left, that goes for this case too. It won't always stay this relaxed and simple."

Tadashi stared at the white-haired female, taking this in.

She swallowed hard, eyes smouldering.

"We've been on this case since September," she said. "Even the mastermind must be getting bored."

☻☺☻

The old dusty sight of the century old shrine gave all of them the chills. Each of them swallowed hard at the eery vibes the place gave off.

"Th-Th-This is i-i-impossible!" squeaked Mayumi, already getting ready to run away. "L-l-let's go home!"

Katsura clasped her hands over her shoulders, holding her in place. Her head was held high despite the situation. Mayumi quivered in place, but she knew she couldn't run away. Partly because she knew it was impossible with her holding her still like this.

"I-I agree with Hiruko..." Ryuu slowly spoke up, "Maybe—"

"Don't be such a baby," Yasuo spat, eyebrows furrowed. He led the way by being the first to step down the cobwebby stairs. "We're here for a reason. Hurry up."

As Yasuo's figure disappeared down the steps, everyone exhaled a loud breath before they all hurried after him. The darkness of the route made them swallow hard as squeaks rang out from underneath them caused by their shoes. Their heart rates had spiked the second they made it to the bottom.

It was pitch black and it took a while for their eyes to adjust. But even with that, it was still too dark to see.

"Here, let me use my phone." Chiaki's voice erupted to fill the deafening silence and in a matter of seconds, a light was emitted from her phone. She flashed the light around to take in the darkness, and they were all startled to see the emptiness of the place. Dust was piled all over the floor and corners, and one by one, they each took the time to search around the room, following Chiaki's idea of using their phones' flashlight feature. "Find anything?" Chiaki called after about a minute of searching.

"Nope," Ryuu muttered as he and Tadashi spun around from the corner they were in.

"Nothing," admitted Katsura and Mayumi bobbed her head.

"Nothing here..." Juzo murmured.

"I could not see anything either," Atsushi stated.

"There's nothing in this damn place!" Yasuo kicked the ground in frustration, causing a pile of dust to swell up into the air. As a response, a loud sneeze was produced, followed by another. And another.

They all were startled as they tried to figure out who it was, only to find it was Mayumi who was sneezing uncontrollably.

"I... ACHOO!? am probably— ACHOO!? allergic to— ACHOO!? th-the d— ACHOO— ust..." She continued to sniffle and sneeze and Katsura swatted away the dust to help her calm down.

"Inohara, take Hiruko out of her," Ayame ordered and the brunette was caught off guard.

"But..."

"Wait on standby," Ayame continued, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. "I just had an idea."

"Idea...?" Katsura inquired but Ayame didn't answer. Frowning, she bobbed her head, knowing trying to argue with her was futile. Grabbing Mayumi by the shoulders, Katsura led the way out of the eerie building and up the steps. Soon enough, they were gone.

"Kobayashi," Yasuo began, eyes narrowed at the female, "what do you mean you have an idea?"

The white-haired female's countenance didn't waver at all as she took strides forward. Then, she came to a halt.

"It's oddly quiet down here, right?" Ayame spoke after a long pause, baffling them.

"Well, yeah..." Chiaki said, not knowing what the obvious had to do with this.

Running her fingers through her hair, Ayame bit her lip. "We were too loud."

Blinking, the group had no idea what she was talking about. Then again, they never did.

"What do you mean, Kobayashi?" Tadashi asked, gulping hard. He didn't like the premonition he felt at the back of his mind.

Before the senior could dare respond, a scream was heard, echoing loudly against the walls they were surrounded by. It came from above. Instantly, all their hearts jumped. Ayame was already racing up the concrete steps before they all could react.

Without much thought, they all dogged her.

When they came to the very stop of the steps, every one of them were gaping at the sight before them. There was a red-nosed Mayumi with Katsura to her left, who held a struggling blue-haired teen in a chokehold. Piles of clothing and supplies surrounded the two on the dirt as the female growled and fumbled within the karate master's death grip.

"M-Minamoto..."

Atsushi was the first to speak amongst the group of gawking teens. Their throats were dry as the girl spun her head towards them, teeth clenched in utmost fury. Her face was extremely pale, her hair dishevelled and all over the place, but it was certain. The girl before them was Akira, the clubmate of theirs that was supposed to be dead.

☻☺☻

Heading back into the inside of the shrine, Akira still held in Katsura's grasps, was repeatedly attempting to break free. She didn't bother using words, and instead resorted to simply growling like a rabid dog.

Once they reached the dusty area below the shrine yet again, they sat Akira down, Katsura beside her, and left Mayumi and Atsushi by the entrance so she couldn't escape from there. She had no chance of running away now.

"Minamoto, it's good to see you again."

Ayame stared down at the teen, her violet hues narrowed into slits and in response, Akira peered right back up, clenching her teeth. With the crazed look in her eyes, she appeared nothing like her usual self, putting the rest of the club members on edge.

Gulping hard, Tadashi fixated his pale eyes onto the girl in front of him, as did the rest.

"Now, you're going to explain to us why in the world you decided to play dead." Ayame crouched down in front of her, closing their proximity to add pressure to her but in response, the teen's cerulean hues reflected a small tinge of recognition.

"Ayame..." Her eyes widened pleadingly as they darted to everyone else. "It isn't me! It's the mastermind! He's driving me crazy!"

All their heart stops. Yasuo stepped forward, eyes filled with worry.

"What's going on? What is the mastermind doing to you?"

Akira hung her head in response, tears spilling down her face. "He's... driving me crazy... All I wanted to do was help him... Hehe...hehe... Hehehe."

Akira's sudden personality dip strung confusion between them as she lifted her head yet again. This time, her eyes were as large as saucers, a broad smile slapped on her face, her head slightly tilted. There were no traces of fear left on her face anymore.

"Just kidding," Akira cooed. "Usually, I would've tried playing the damsel in distress but, it's no fun this time." She erupted into a gleeful laugh. "Why do I have to lie? You guys are the ones that came here to kill me."

Cackling in a psychotic way, the blue-haired female had a finger to her lips.

Katsura blanched, drawing back as far as she could. She just knew that what was going to happen next wasn't going to be good.

"What are you talking about, Minamoto? Get a hold of yourself!" Ryuu cried, clenching his teeth. His lips quivered when she didn't so much as stop.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you guys?" Akira tittered, inhaling a breath as her head darted towards Katsura.

It all happened in an instant.

Letting out a high-pitched scream of horror, Katsura lurched away from the female and tumbled to the ground, yelping in pain. She rolled around, grasping her hands— her bleeding hands— to the point where tears streamed down her face.

Ryuu, Chiaki, and Yasuo leapt to her aid.

What occurred next was in slow motion. The blue-haired female had bolted up to her feet the second the three approached and with a crazed smile on her lips, she raced behind one of the cement pillars of the inner shrine.

"Don't think I didn't notice you hiding there."

In no time, Akira was holding somebody by the collar, and her legs— which were dangling inches from the ground— were swinging around in an attempt to be freed.

"No, let go of me!"

The familiar cry of the voice that belonged to Akemi Shirahama rang out, allowing the frozen teens to snap back to reality.

Akemi was hanging by the grip Akira held her collar by, a bloodied knife at a dangerous distance. The first year had gone so pale in a matter of seconds, swinging her head back and forth, shrieking for help.

"Shirahama!" Tadashi surprised himself by jumping forward, but before the teen could dare make it, Ayame Kobayashi blocked his path.

With Katsura's screams ringing in their ears, Ayame's eyebrows were furrowed, her murderous glower aimed in Akira's direction.

"Minamoto, put her down."

"Eheh. Since when does Ayame Kobayashi care what happens to other people~?" Akira rubbed her cheek against the younger teen's and Akemi was stiff from immense fear. "Besides, I've never seen her in my entire life! She was going through my belongings, can you believe it?" Akira gestured to the ground where her items were strewn. She tapped Akemi's cheek with the soiled pocketknife. "This elementary schooler needs to be punished."

Tadashi's heart was pounding in his ears, eyelids wide as the panic burned like fire within him. Why was Akemi here? And Akira— what in the world was going on with her?!

"Listen, Minamoto," Ayame began again, taking slow steps towards them. "Put down the knife. You're going to regret it."

Akira burst out laughing at her words, and her gaze didn't hesitate to meet her violet eyes, halting her in place.

"Regret? Me?" she simpered as if it were truly a funny joke. "I already regret a lot of things in my damn life!"

Her laugh turned into a furious shout and Ayame found it hard to swallow.

"You can't kill her. You're not a hypocrite, remember?"

Tadashi was able to discern the desperation within Ayame's voice in that moment. Only hearing it made him realize just how dire the situation was.

"Yeah, I know!" Akira's lips upturned into a broad smirk, one eyelid wide, the other barely even open. "I'm not a hypocrite! Which is why I'll be taking my life too, hehe!"

In a swift motion, the knife punctured the first year in the chest before any of them could do anything. Akemi's body hit the cement—wide-eyes, gawking mouth, and the pool of blood curling out from beneath her was proof of instant death. Everyone was too shocked to even blink.

Akira staggered around, giggling. She twirled around in a circle before doing the same to herself. Blood sprayed from her mouth as the teen's body collapsed backwards, and head first, she connected with the ground.

The screams and yells and the clattering of feet in frenzy that followed, came after that.

☻☺☻

...I'm happy I finally came around to finish this chapter after how many months, but this ending...

Haha...

Hope this chapter was worth the wait though! Wtf just happened indeed xD

All I could tell you guys, is look forward to the next chapter! I'm gonna believe this chapter will pave the way to finishing the story in one go (let's hope writer's block doesn't get in the way again)!

-Misty~