↑ Atsushi Yamada above ↑

••●••

'Never give up on something you really want. It's difficult to wait but it's more difficult to regret'
— Unknown

••●••

Dashing through the darkened streets, the blond tumbled and fell onto the hard cement. He collided onto the sidewalk and groaned, heaving in and out. A sudden chill ran up his spine and mustering as much strength as he could, Yasuo Ishikawa hauled himself up on his arms again. He glanced behind him and at the darkened pathway he had come from and was hit with a tremendous amount of relief when he saw she hadn't bothered to chase them.

Looking over to his left where a black-haired male lay, who was breathing in and out, tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, Yasuo breathed one last loud exhale. Sitting upright against the store walls, Yasuo gripped his bleeding side, wincing. He knew he no longer had the ability to run anymore.

It was a miracle that they both managed to escape Hitomi but thanks to Yasuo's fast acting by throwing his gun at her, she let go of Atsushi and Yasuo grabbed him and made a mad dash out of the room. He had been running straight from the school which was numeral blocks away now but even then that couldn't stop the shivers. Just remembering her heartless cackle and smile filled him with immense paranoia. He still felt as if Hitomi would appear again out of nowhere and kill them.

For a hitman, he was assured he'd be able to accept death at any time but he really couldn't. Especially with the thought that she was his killer.

When sniffles reached Yasuo's ears, he stared at a weeping Atsushi. His arm was over the top of his face while he slammed his fist against the cement, biting his lip furiously. It was only a few seconds later he spoke up with his quivering voice, "Wh-What...is this..."

Yasuo frowned. Recalling his friend and partner in crime, he swallowed hard. "This is reality..." he said after a long pause. "People can die that easily... With a snap of your fingers, they can be gone."

Atsushi cursed. "Th-That was my brother—"

"Atori Yamada was known as the most heartless and vicious hitman ever," Yasuo cut him off. "He's killed more people than he could count. It's better off for the world for such a guy to be dead."

Although hating the way Yasuo put it, Atsushi didn't comment on it.

"Atsushi." The way Yasuo called his me made the teen ground his teeth. "Did you know—"

"Upperclassman Watanabe probably works for the mastermind?" Atsushi pulled his body upright and he quickly wiped away his tears. "She said Mr. Nobuo died... with a huge smile on her face. She was obviously lyi—"

"Nobuo is dead."

Atsushi's eyes almost bulged from their sockets. He snapped his head in his direction only to see Yasuo rolled up into a ball, a solemn look slapped onto his face.

"He's dead," he repeated, "and I'm guessing it's your brother who killed him."

Atsushi was speechless.

"The principal, Seii, wanted Nobuo dead for not agreeing to kill the CRF members. I was going to get killed too, and I thought that if I went to kill your brother and Seii I'd be able to save us from another calamity. But your brother was too strong... " The blond balled his fists, saddened. "Then that bitch came..."

"We should tell everyone what happened..." Atsushi spoke, gulping hard. "She said her mission was to kill everyone involved in this case..."

Yasuo's face lit up at the mention. "She must be after them now."

Digging into his pocket, Yasuo took out his cell. Right as he did, his eyes widened. Atsushi saw the fear smacked onto his face and blinked, inching closer. Right when he read what he was looking at, colour paled from his face too.

"Th-This is..." Atsushi began, panicked, "from Sasahara."

Yasuo clenched his teeth. "This picture..."

Atsushi narrowed his eyes. "For my very wonderful victims," he read aloud, heart thumping loudly in his chest, "I welcome you to this address for a relaxing midnight tea. Those invited: Chiaki Asahina, Mayuki Hiruko, Katsura Inohara, Yasuo Ishikawa, Satoshi Kitawa, Sousuke Kitoshi, Ayame Kobayashi, Kazuma Kurosaki, Tadashi Matsumoto, Ryuu Sasahara, Atsushi Yamada. Those whose name is not mentioned shall not enter. I will eagerly be awaiting your arrival... Yours sincerely, the mastermind. "

Yasuo spared Atsushi a glance after reading the following text. "You should go meet up at Ryuu's place."

Atsushi was taken aback. "What are you talking about? Are you not coming?"

Yasuo breathed in and out, bobbing his head. "I will. I just have something to deal with first."

Atsushi, having knowing Yasuo for years now, knew that arguing against this stubborn male was no use. So he got up to his feet and nodded his head.

"We'll wait for you."

"Don't bother," Yasuo's words shocked Atsushi.

Titling his head up, Yasuo smiled. Atsushi's mouth fell.

"I'll meet you guys at the address." Glancing down at his cell phone, Yasuo looked determined. "I'll see you, Atsushi."

"All right." Nodding, Atsushi took off down the road.

Once the clatter of his footsteps left the vicinity, Yasuo collapsed to the floor into heaps of gasps. Clutching his bleeding side, he grimaced. His hand was soaked with crimson. And so was the area around him.

"Crap, I lost too much blood." Yasuo felt his consciousness slipping. "Even though... the mastermind is in reach..."

Wheezing, Yasuo flipped over so he was staring up at the sky.

"Listen, Yasuo, in this occupation the trick is to do everything you can while you're living so you won't leave any regrets."

"I won't leave regrets," he would say to his dad, frowning.

"You can say that all you want, but when you're faced with death, nothing matters. Not your wealth, not your house, not your car, not your gun—"

"Why am I listening to this sappy stuff?"

"It may be sappy, but it's the truth. Dying isn't heroic, no mater how you die. But if you do die, wouldn't you want to die after accomplishing something?"

"I guess..."

"But that's the thing. Sadly, that doesn't happen to everyone. Not everyone gets the opportunity to die the way they want, especially in this occupation. But they have the opportunity to accomplish what they want. So accomplish as much as you can so you won't die with a spiteful feeling in your heart. Remember, you chose this life."

Yasuo snorted at the memory. "Such... gibberish... I... regret it... that I can't go..."

Just as black splotches started appearing around Yasuo's vision, he heard faint footsteps. Then, a face appeared hovering above him. One with their lips pulled back into a huge grin.

"Found you~"

☻☺☻

Standing outside the front door to an oddly eerie house, Ayame pursed her lips. She contemplated before rapping on the door with her knuckles. As she waited for a response, nothing came.

"Is nobody home?" she pondered, peering over at the empty driveway than back to the looming household.

Cold air blew around and if she were human she knew she would've been freezing. But thanks to her reflexive program, she shivered despite not feeling the cold.

"Matsumoto..." The white-haired female mumbled, her violet eyes filled with conflicted emotions. She wanted to believe he really did have nothing to do with this case... So why wasn't he home? Where could he be at this time?

The sudden vibration in her pocket jolted the android. Blinking, she dug into her uniform pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Seeing the time portrayed, she was taken aback. Ten o'clock PM — it was late.

Checking the notification she had received, she was startled to see it was a message from Ryuu Sasahara. Clicking on it, she read the message saying: 'Get to my house, now!' with the addition of his address along with the image. When she read what the image had to say, her mouth fell. Then without another thought, she turned on her heels and raced off.

"The mastermind..." she murmured, eyebrows furrowed, "is summoning us?"

What did this mean?

☻☺☻

"I see you're still a busybody," Kazuma said, leaning against the doorframe.

Satoshi smirked. "What a surprise to see you here, Kazuma. You never come."

Kazuma exhaled a breath. "I came to tell you one last thing."

"One last thing?" Satoshi repeated, baffled.

He gestured to Kazuma to come inside to his apartment and the teen relented.

"I think I know who the mastermind is," Kazuma stated, flopping down onto the couch.

Satoshi rose an eyebrow, amused, as he did the same. "So you say."

Kazuma glared at him. "I'm serious. And I think I may know what he was after starting up this entire Crime Games."

"Crime Games..." Satoshi exhaled, relaxing his shoulders. "That actually isn't such a bad name to call this ordeal. It started with that after all."

Kazuma was silent for a while. He had his arms crossed against his chest, lips pursed. "I met this guy in my past," he began, closing his eyes, "we used to be best friends."

"Best friends? Someone wanted to be friends with you?" Satoshi snickered and Kazuma's glare heightened. Satoshi who sensed it, sweatdropped, and turned that laugh of his into a cough.

"He was full of energy and always wanted to go on adventures." Kazuma sighed. "But when his brother died one day, it ruined him."

"His brother?" Now Satoshi was serious.

"He went, bluntly put, crazy. He started hallucinating that his brother was there after his funeral, and giggled a lot. His brother was close to him so I understand that but it got to the point where no matter how many times somebody told him he was dead, it'd only add to his inane mindset that his brother was still alive. His parents even knew it was a lost cause," Kazuma went on. "Then one day, he just stopped. He didn't cry nor did he pretend to be playing with his brother anymore. To be more precise, he stopped bringing him up altogether. Like he forgot him..."

"But wouldn't that mean the trauma was too much for him?" Satoshi suggested. "Lots of those cases happen often."

"It was around that time that my dad disappeared," Kazuma said and Satoshi's eyes widened. "He didn't come back home and I don't know what happened to him even today. But one thing was for sure. After that incident where he changed, Tadashi didn't even remember me anymore."

"Tadashi?" Satoshi's heart stopped and he lurched up to his feet. "What do you—"

Just then, a sound went off and both teens fished into their pockets simultaneously. When they checked their phone notification, they stopped functioning entirely. Kazuma jumped up to his feet.

"This is from... the mastermind."

☻☺☻

"What does... this mean?" All three teens were frozen as they read the message on their phones.

"He's already acting?" Mayuki's breathing hiked and Katsura bit her lip.

"What the hell does he want?" Sousuke demanded in a whisper. "He even knew I was alive?"

Mayuki bolted up to her feet and dashed to the doorway. Sousuke and Katsura were caught off guard.

"Wait!" Katsura cried after her. "Sasahara said to meet up at his house!"

Mayuki came to an abrupt halt. She didn't turn around. "He has my sister," she whispered. "H-her name... wasn't on the list. I'll meet you guys there."

Without waiting for another word, she raced out of the room. Katsura exhaled a loud breath and Sousuke gripped his phone, frowning.

"I'll go talk to the front desk to have you discharged early," he told her, getting up to his feet. "I'll be back."

Katsura nodded and Sousuke was gone as well. Staring down at her patched up hands, determination welled up inside of her.

"And I have a plan to do that so listen carefully."

Her brown eyes clicked into focus.

She would do it.

☻☺☻

Staring into the faces of all his friends who had gathered in only the short amount of time, Ryuu found it difficult to swallow. They all wore solemn expressions but determination was clear in their eyes.

"I-Is this really happening?" Chiaki asked aloud.

Ryu solemnly bobbed his head.

"Show me the letter."

Ayame stepped forward and Ryuu did as told. She scanned it briefly before a pained look enveloped her face. Then, she pivoted to look at them all.

"Who hasn't arrived yet?"

Like an army cadette, Atsushi saluted. "Ishikawa was with me but said he would meet us there."

"Miss Mayuki said the same," Katsura stated.

Chiaki shifted her head towards her. "Hey, are you okay?" she questioned, voice laced with concern. "Is it okay to be moving?"

"The doctors said it was all right," Sousuke chimed in to reply. "As long as she doesn't do any forms of labour, she'll be fine."

Chiaki forced a smile, relieved. "O-Okay, that's good."

"So eleven minus two, nine," Ayame did the math out loud. As she studied every face there of all her companions, she easily noticed a missing face.

Tadashi wasn't here...

Ayame's lips primed. "The only missing person is Matsumoto—"

"Who knows if he'll show up." Everybody's head darted towards the inexpressive black-haired teen who, as usual, had his eyes closed shut.

Ayame's eyebrows knitted together. "What does that mean? You know what happened to Matsumoto?"

At first, Kazuma was reluctant. Then, he spoke, "It's rare of you to be so concerned, Kobayashi," he noted calmly. "And yes, I do. He's admitted at the hospital."

Everyone's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"The hospital?" Satoshi gasped.

"His parents were murdered. Plus, he was the one to find the bodies. He was in so much shock he kept puking to the point where it was uncontrollable," Kazuma explained. "When the ambulance showed up, they calmed him down but he's been at the hospital ever since."

Everyone was stunned to hear the news. Even Ayame didn't know what to say.

"Y-You're lying..." Ryuu mumbled, jaw-dropped.

"Don't believe me if you want." Kazuma shrugged. "He looked like he wanted nothing more to do with this case anymore so even if he's received the message you sent, there's no way to say he'll come."

Ayame was conflicted at the news. By the way Kazuma put it, Tadashi had to be awake. Did that mean he was alone in the hospital now? He could've at least contacted one of them about it then! Why did Tadashi always have to bottle up his sufferings inside? And why... did he never tell her things?

Growing tired of the silence in the air, and her own thoughts, Ayame decided to break it. "It is true that this is the only clue we have," she declared, spinning around and facing everyone. "The mastermind we've been searching for has called us out and invited us for tea. You know what this all means don't you?"

Despite knowing the answer, they all didn't waver. This kind of clue was what they were waiting a long time for. Even if it was a trap to get them all gathered, they couldn't ignore it anymore. Even if it meant casting aside their safety and those who no longer wanted to stick around for this case. Even if it meant their lives. It needed to finish. It all needed to end.

"I think it's time we should go," Ryuu announced with a short inhale of breath.

Ayame stared at him carefully. "What do you mean let's go?" she asked blankly. "Matsumoto still hasn't arrived."

Everyone gaped at her words.

"We don't have any more time to wait," Sousuke responded. "If he did get the message, he can meet us there."

'But we can't go unless he's here...' Ayame was jolted at the thought. But that wasn't true. They didn't truly need him there with them.

Shaking the useless notions away, she marched forward, leading them and they all followed. Just as she turned out of the driveway and onto the cement, she bumped into something. Instantly, she stumbled to the floor. Wincing, she glanced upwards. Who she saw filled her with immense astonishment.

"Sorry I'm late guys," Tadashi Matsumoto chuckled with a small smile. "It was tough getting discharged from the hospital."

Kazuma snorted from where he stood while everyone else returned similar weary smiles. Why did this male always surprise them? Either way, with the reassurance that they were all finally assembled, they were relieved.

"Let's head to the train station," Chiaki said, checking the watch on her wrist. "We still have a half hour until midnight."

All together, the tense air returned. Without another second, they set out towards the station, each consumed with countless amounts of emotions and various thoughts. But one thing was certain, they would put an end to this once and for all.

At last, they would be rid of this nightmare.