↑ Satoshi Kitawa (Juzo Fatora) above ↑

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'A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality'
—John Lennon

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"Ayame, Ayame, come play over here~!"

The vision distorted but the image of a white-haired girl came racing towards him. All of a sudden, the scene faded and instead was replaced by a ditch. It was a construction site, and when he peered inside, all he saw was the image of a bloodied and broken body. As a result, he wailed.

"Tadashi, help me kill them," murmured the familiar male with blond hair out of nowhere, appearing before him. "Here's the knife. Cut her up like I instructed."

Just like he was instructed, he brought the knife down to the motionless body. It pierced her skin and—

"Tadashi! Tadashi!"

The brunet's eyelids snapped open and he lurched upwards, heaving and drenched in cold sweat. Somebody's arms gripped his shoulders and gave him a good shake before he finally snapped out of his daze and awoke.

"H-Huh..." Tadashi's eyes fell upon the person before him whose face was contorted with panic and he sucked in his breath. "U-Upperclassman K-Kazuma?"

The black-haired male exhaled a breath and unhanded his shoulders. "Geez, don't startle me like that."

Tadashi's heart was pounding in his ears from the dream as he steadied his breathing. His throat still ached and his stomach felt all weird whenever he moved. Closing his eyes, he flopped back down, staring up at the white ceiling. The ceiling fan swirled, being the only noise emitted within this hospital room.

"How did I get here?" Tadashi pondered. Kurosaki Kazuma leaned against the wall, frowning. At his silence, Tadashi's eyes opened. Instantly, memories flooded back to him and hit him in the face. His breathing hiked, eyes as wide as saucers. "M-M-My....p-parents... Wh—"

"They're dead."

Kazuma's straightforward answer jolted the teen and colour drained from his face.

"They were buried this morning," he went on. "You were passed out for a day. How are you feeling?"

Tadashi was frozen. How he was feeling? But his parents. What did he mean they were buried? That had to be...

Kazuma's eyes were on Tadashi from the corner of his eye, and seeing his shock contorted expression, he looked away.

"Don't move around too much," he ordered. "The doctors say your body was in a tremendous amount of shock and that's why you kept throwing up. It's better if you wait here for the nurse to come."

Just as the black-haired male turned to leave, Tadashi reached out and grabbed his sleeve. His eyelids were risen as high as they could've gone, his green eyes shrunk back. His body was trembling as he pushed himself upwards.

"Where's... Madoka?"

Kazuma glanced at him without much emotion. "You little sister's fine."

When Tadashi heard those words, his shoulders relaxed and his grip loosened. He flooded with a huge amount of relief. Just thinking about what happened had his stomach clenching so with the reassurance that his sister was all right...

"She's been waiting for you to wake up since you passed out," Kazuma's murmur wasn't enough to reach Tadashi's ears but it didn't have to because in that moment, the door to his hospital room flung open.

Standing there, all dressed in black and out of breath was his younger sister. Seeing his brother's face, tears fell down her face as she bounded up to him, squeezing him into a hug. "Tada... Tada... I was so... worried."

"Madoka..." Tadashi's eyebrows were furrowed together as his sister continued to sob. Maybe it was because he was still in shock, but he couldn't muster up the tears that should've been coming. It was if he felt he was empty.

"The-They...buried...them... T-Tada. D-don't l-leave m-me too..."

Gently patting his sister's head of tangy orange hair, Tadashi's gaze downturned.

"That's going to be impossible."

Both Madoka and Tadashi jolted at the monotonous voice. They jerked their head sideways only to see a stoic Kazuma.

"Tadashi, I am sure you're already aware of this, but you haven't sent me a report in ages," he said, making Tadashi freeze. "Regardless of the reasons, just that fact has led to all this. This is why I told you to rely on me if you ever wanted to surrender the mastermind."

Tadashi swallowed hard, his palms sweaty. "Th-That..."

"That's not why I'm here though," Kazuma stated, cutting him off. "The mastermind has brought us all up to this point. The Kaisei Academy as we know it is gone—and so will be all of Kyoto if we don't do anything."

Tadashi's heart stopped. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"This game the mastermind started was only designed to make you miserable," Kazuma replied. "And he's going to kill everyone around you slowly and painfully to see to that. Even your beloved family members were targeted so late in this 'game.' This means that he's done playing around. He's most likely forcing you to find him, filled with blind rage and heartbreak after seeing your parents' bodies—we can't allow that."

"What are you saying?" Madoka leaped up to her feet, teeth clenched. "I don't know who the hell you are but leave me and my brother alone! We don't want anything to do with your conversation!"

"But I beg to differ, Madoka Matsumoto," Kazuma interjected. "In fact, you should care since it was due to this entire game that your parents were killed."

Madoka was quiet, though her body didn't quit shaking. Kazuma snorted before eyeing Tadashi once more.

"Tadashi, I think I should tell you something about me before even I end up dead because of the mastermind's pursuit." Kazuma halted for a pause, taking a few seconds to gather up a breath. "Something about our past that I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I think this is what you need if you want to put a stop to the mastermind."

☻☺☻

"What is the meaning of this?" Ayame's voice came out cold and harsh as her violet hues scanned the screen.

Juzo—no, Satoshi Kitawa flopped onto the couch across from her, a cup of coffee in hand. The strong aroma made Ayame clench her teeth. He had her captive and yet he was treating this situation as if it were nothing.

"Just what it looks like," Satoshi responded, taking a leisure sip.

"These are reports of the bombings taking place in Kyoto," Ayame stated, eyes darting from the laptop screen to him. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I have a hypothesis of those bombings," he replied. "I have listed the information of those cases on the list beside that document."

Cautiously, Ayame's eyes glazed the papers to her left. Picking them up, she was able to faintly read the wordings with the dim light consuming the room. "This..." Her eyebrows knitted together after a while of reading.

"I came here to Kyoto on an undercover mission," Satoshi started, placing his mug onto the tabletop. Ayame's attention snapped to him and she narrowed her eyes. "I'm a renowned detective in Tokyo. I've solved many cases and have had many respecting juniors who always looked up to my case-solving skills."

Ayame snorted at the description. "That sounds nothing like you."

Satoshi chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. "It feels so far away. This story is from three years ago."

"I don't mind receiving information. I like absorbing," Ayame said. "But I'd really like if you can get to the point. My wrists are starting to itch."

"Ah," he said, gazing at the handcuffs. "I wouldn't have had to get rough but you are an unpredictable one, Kobayashi."

She closed her eyes. "I won't run."

"Really now." He smiled. "Then I wouldn't mind taking them off."

Ayame held out her arms, gesturing for him to do so. Satoshi shook his head before going up to her and unlocking the handcuffs that held her together. When they hit the ground, Satoshi was startled to see that she was still sitting. Seeming to know what he was thinking, Ayame opened her eyes and smirked. "I can keep my promises you know."

Satoshi chuckled before flopping back into his seat. "So it seems."

Rubbing her wrists, Ayame bobbed her head. "And? What about your title has led to this?"

Grabbing his mug again, Satoshi eyes portrayed a far off feeling. "The main thing I was good at was really getting into somebody's shoes and figuring out how they'd think."

"You were good at profiling?"

He nodded. "Figuring out where they come from, their living environment, their way of thought... I still am pretty good at it, actually."

"So?"

Satoshi exhaled a breath, leaning back in his chair. "I'm a police agent and that's why I had the pleasure to attend gruelling cases and murder sites. But the first one I wasn't able to get...was a certain one."

Ayame raised an eyebrow, curious.

"It was horrific," he gulped. "This occurrence began around three years ago here in Kyoto. Countless amounts of people were found in gruesome states—"

"Pardon if I may," Ayame cut him off, "is this the Red Murder Case?"

Satoshi smiled weakly. "Nothing slips past you, Kobayashi."

Folding her arms across her chest, she looked Satoshi in the eyes. "What else would you be talking about? It's those murders where the bodies of the deceased appeared perfectly untouched, but when autopsies were done on them, it was revealed that their organs were completely gone."

"It was scary," Satoshi sighed, shivering at the memories. "I got a chance to see the bodies, and the high skill of the assaulter who took them out were out of this world. Tracking fingerprints were impossible."

"But those murders stopped suddenly," Ayame said. "Only ten people fell victim to this case. Didn't you catch—"

"We didn't catch him." Satoshi grounded his teeth. "We couldn't. Even I, the genius of the Tokyo Police Force, couldn't make it happen."

"That's..." Ayame's eyebrows knitted together.

"But, I was frustrated when the cases suddenly stopped. I wanted to find the culprit but the police force didn't want to continue on such a terrifying case." Slamming his fist onto the table, Satoshi swallowed hard. "So I took this case into my own hands. I left the force, took as many documents as I could, and came to Kyoto. I searched all day and night, for a connection, just one connection. Then, I found it."

"A connection?"

"Yes," he answered. "To be more precise, it was a letter. Sent to Moriko Kitoshi. I traced it back to Kaisei Academy."

Instantly, Ayame's eyebrows rose. "Letter?"

"The post office hadn't sent it yet so I thankfully was able to get my hands on it," Satoshi explained. "It said: 'Organs are a wonderful trade don't you think?'"

"Organs..." The white-haired female repeated, blanching.

"Obviously, I stopped the original sender from reaching the one they were targeting, and in replace, since that was my only clue of finding the culprit at the school, I decided to infiltrate." Satoshi put down his mug and grabbed his green wig. "I created 'Juzo Fatora, a dull and lazy being who is of no use.' Since I couldn't simply arrest anyone who I think is suspicious, I studied the students of the school, and went through their files. That's when I got suspicious of the CRF after figuring out some details about it and about some of the members."

"Then you joined," she finished.

"It took three years, but then my suspicions were confirmed at the start of this year... The cases hadn't stopped. We just lost sight of the bodies."

Before Ayame could speak, Satoshi went on.

"After that Crime Games, and finding Moriko Kitoshi's dead body, I was ascertain of the connection of the mastermind in this club."

"Because all of her main organs were missing?" Ayame suggested.

He bobbed his head solemnly.

"I began doubting you all so I started looking into this case more. I actually was panicking. That's when Kazuma Kurosaki met up with me."

"That guy?"

"Yeah," he responded. "He knew of my identity right when we met. Then he told me about the weird request he was given."

Ayame clutched the water bottle she had received and took a sip. Satoshi continued forward.

"Apparently weeks before her kidnapping, she was getting letters sent to her at school. Being scared, she went to the Student Council to request some help."

"Do you have them?" Ayame inquired and Satoshi nudged his head in the direction of the table where a tiny box sat.

Ayame blinked before unlocking and reaching into the box only to grab a few sheets of paper. She quickly retracted her hand, face contorted.

"Kazuma has the real ones. These are just photocopies so it doesn't matter if you're wearing gloves or not," Satoshi told her and her shoulders relaxed. Picking them up once more, she read the first one out loud: "'Dear Moriko Kitoshi, Your life is about to end. So don't leave any regrets. Because if you do....nobody will come to your rescue... Just a little stalker.'"

Shifting in her seat, she gulped hard as she brought the second letter into her field of vision.

"'Dear Kitoshi Moriko, The shrine will be your end. Everyone may love you, but we all want to you dead. Don't be afraid though. It's all his fault.... Someone you'll meet very soon.'"

"Chilling, aren't they?" Satoshi chuckled, seeing her discomfort. "But these letters are weird. According to Chiaki Asahina, Iori Yutaka and her were the ones to have kidnapped her on request from the mastermind. If that's the case, maybe they wrote it—"

Ayame shook her head. "That's not it."

Satoshi's head jerked her way.

"True that would be a logical response but these letters are written, not printed. I have memorized everyone in the club's handwriting and they do no undergo Chiaki or Yutaka's writing." Holding it up, she spoke, "And according to the Chiaki, it was a sudden request. They didn't plan the kidnapping weeks in advance. If they did, she would've told us."

"Either way, the truth is that the letters I was keeping away from Kitoshi ended up getting to her  anyways, and by another sender—somebody in the academy."

Ayame put a finger under her chin. "Which means that even before we thought up the plan for the Crime Games, somebody was trying to kill her..."

"Exactly," he said. "The culprit targeted that Crime Games time and planned this all... And this person had to be the one who first suggested using her during that Crime Games on September 2nd."

Ayame's eyes almost bulged from their sockets. "Th-That was..."

Satoshi nodded. "Akira Minamoto."

Silence filled the air and the two of them were inable to speak. That...

"Well! Like I said when I came in, I have an idea for this week's target!" Akira declared, bolting from her chair.

"And who might that be?" Izumi raised an eyebrow.

"She's not well-known or anything, but she interests me. I talked with her today and learned just how smart, friendly, and nice she is—"

"The fuck does that matter? Sounds like any other bitch to me," Yasuo commented.

"She's not a— Geez, Yasuo!" She shot a scowl his way. "I brought her up because while I was getting to know her, I landed on a huge secret!"

"S-secret?" Mayumi said.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ryuu inquired.

Akira slammed her hands on the table, smirking at her clubmates' curiosity. "W-e-l-l..." Her shoulders sagged. "I'm not too sure, actually. But she is hiding something. She froze up whenever I mentioned the word 'family.'"

"Hold up, you don't know?" Izumi snapped. "How can we use that then?"

"I'm telling you she's got potential as a victim."

Saya tilted her head. "And her name?"

"Moriko Kitoshi. Know her? I think she's in your class."

Just as the memory crossed Ayame's mind, she lurched up to her feet. "Wait."

Satoshi peered up in surprise while Ayame's face was as white as snow. "If that's the case, based off that letter, it said that 'the shrine will be your end.'"

"And it was," Satoshi murmured sadly. "Akira planned it well because she worked for the—"

"No!" Ayame cut him off. For an android, she was startled by how panicked she was.

Satoshi was taken aback as well. He'd never seen Ayame so flustered before.

Inhaling a breath, Ayame spoke, "Matsumoto... He's the one..."

"Tadashi?" Satoshi asked.

"Yes. He's the one who..." Ayame's circuits were starting to fry as she tried so desperately to rid the memory of that day.

"I found this place while walking home yesterday," Tadashi proposed. "An abandoned warehouse. It's old and near a shrine that hasn't been used in ages. I doubt anybody visits it either." He deliberated it before securing the notion. "After we lock her down there, we can threaten her to supply the money."

"Matsumoto is the one who suggested using the warehouse," Ayame concluded, biting down on her lip.

As if he were struck my lightening, Satoshi bolted up. "Tadashi did!" His face began losing colour. "Since he's been so close to all of us none of us would've thought anything about it. Nobody suspected Tadashi... but he can be found guilty!"

"What are you trying to say?" Ayame's voice came out harsh, and Satoshi held up his hands in defence.

"He's been feigning weakness since the beginning." Satoshi's eyebrows furrowed. "But... even if I try to think of something to connect him to a case, what is there? Tadashi... who is he anyway?"

Ayame stared at the detective, a little shocked.

The black-haired male stared back, apprehensive. "What do we know about Tadashi? His files are completely average. Even his family records... well, he is adopted but his family lives pretty well."

"I have information of that as well..." Ayame muttered thoughtfully. "He has never shown any signs of trauma either. But, he plays a big part in this case for some reason..."

"Kobayashi," Satoshi began, and Ayame looked at him. "Is there any reason why you always have the need to tell Tadashi anything? Even before anyone else in the club, you seem to trust him most."

Ayame gulped hard. "It's always been like that. I... Whenever I receive information I have the urge to tell him. Like I need to tell him."

When the words left her mouth, Ayame's eyelids shot up. She never stopped to think about it before but... why was that? She felt security whenever she told Tadashi things even though she had no reason to. It was only Tadashi...

"This is weird." Walking up to his laptop, Satoshi easily erased some windows. "I'll come back to asking about the city's state some other time. Right now I should—"

"Satoshi, leave it to me."

The male was startled as he glanced at the teen.

"There's a high chance that the one related to our Crime Games is related to the Red Murder Cases. It's better if you stick to that. We're so close to finishing this tragedy." Narrowing her eyes, Ayame ran a finger through her long hair. "I'll deal with gathering information on Matsumoto. As you said, I know very little about him. Finding out more could help us solve this case quicker."

Satoshi's lips upturned. "All right. I'll leave it to you then."

With a small bow, Ayame exited his small apartment building.

Satoshi watched her go, smiling. "I wonder if there's more than just gathering information that she's interested in."

Fixating his gaze onto his computer, Satoshi's attention clicked. He was so close.

The mastermind's identity was in reach.