••●••

'The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance'
— Napoléon Bonaparte

••●••

"Miss, everything is in order. We're ready to take action."

Smiling to herself, the seventeen-year-old gazed out of the window she was standing before. Turning the wheels of the wheelchair she sat in, she directed her attention onto a suited man who was saluting.

"Go right ahead." She waved him off. "Those bombs going off will be exterminated tonight. There's no need for anymore chaos in Kyoto."

"Yes, ma'am!" Instead of leaving, he quickly added, "Also, we traced the bombings back to a warehouse at the far corner of the city..."

"Send the police force after it then," the girl replied as if it were obvious. "The sooner we stop the cause, the safer it will be for Kyoto."

"Of course, I apologize. I will call them at once." With a curt bow, the man left running out of the room.

Her lips upturning even more, the blonde gazed out into the darkened city. Even her eyes were smiling.

"Lady Kai seems to be enjoying herself."

Her pink eyes shifted onto the only visitor in the room and she rose an eyebrow at him. "Enjoying myself? Please. The city, and the citizens, could not be in more turmoil so how can I possibly be enjoying myself?" She closed her eyes, berating at the thought. "Considering this all, around now... I hope everyone in the club is all right."

The male behind her joined her by the windowsill, staring out into the view of the night sky also. "I hopes so too."

Kaide primmed her lips. "You could always go back and see them, y'know."

The one with broken Japanese shook his head. "I cannot. I will return to America. This city has been nothing but trouble."

She laughed at his words. "Tell me about it."

"What is Lady Kai going to do?"

"What I should be doing," she answered him almost immediately. "I didn't lose my title as the Prime Minister's daughter so I still want to help out this city for sure this time."

"That sounds nice... but us can be together if Lady Kai wanted to." He grinned.

He held out a rose to her to which she snorted in response. "I'll have to pass, playboy. Go back to America and have fun chasing after those girls."

He sighed dreamily. "Those ladies are beautiful."

Rolling her eyes, Kaide spun on her wheels, about to leave the room. "This entire thing has been one long nightmare. I hope it ends after tonight."

Iori quickly raced up to her side, grabbing the handles at the back of her wheelchair. "No, Lady Kai, don't move your fingers. Doctor says you have to wait until you completely heal!"

The girl sighed. "What's the point? I'm still paralyzed in my legs. At least I'm now able to use my arms at least."

"That is still no excuse! Lady Kai can't injure herself more!"

She again rolled her eyes. "You're honestly such a worrywart."

"Lady Kai's not worrying enough!"

"I am worrying enough!" she snapped. Iori recoiled, her yell ringing in both their ears. Hesitantly, her lips pursed together. "I... can't move most of my body anymore after that bullet damaged my nervous system. That's why I can only have confidence in my voice. So I'll use it. Even if I lose sensation in my arms too one day, I can still utilize my voice and move people. From now on, that is all I can offer for Kyoto."

Iori was wide-eyed. "Lady Kai..."

"I'm done feigning helplessness. It's because of that I'm here now. I lost my place with them because I didn't try hard enough..." Kaide's face contorted with vague pain. "So at least if I can... I'll make it easier for them. I'll stop these bombings and make the Kyoto they return to the same as it's always been."

Iori caught the smile growing on her face and was hit with a pang of guilt. He dropped his hands and Kaide quickly grabbed one, taking him by surprise.

"They won't hate you, Iori. Even if you assisted the mastermind in capturing Kiyoshi Oogawa. You were threatened, but regardless, that was history. As long as you don't approve of your methods then you can still integrate back into society."

Tears filled his eyes. "B-But I should be hated. To live I sacrificed. I left Chiarin and Kiyosy to die... I should've..."

"Being able to live isn't a sin," Kaide told him. "It's a blessing. Don't be hard on yourself, and have hope that they're alive. I have plenty of things I am ashamed of and regret too, but I'm not going to let them weigh me down. To make it up to the people I've let suffer... I'm..."

Kaide's words trailed off as small tear droplets rolled down her cheeks. She heard Iori's sniffles, making her smile weakly.

"The mastermind... really had his fun with this game, and our club. Throughout my life, even more so through this game, I've always asked myself: for what exactly am I living for? If it hurts this much to be alive, carrying the deaths of all those who I've held dear, then being dead..."

Her eyes flickered upwards onto the snuffling male.

"But, Iori, that's why I've got to keep pushing forward. Death changes nothing. It only causes pain. It's the reason behind my suffering so how can it ever be an escape? That's why I have to... No, that's why I will let this nightmare end right now."

Seeing his expression lighten up, Kaide flashed him a smile.

"Want to stick around Kyoto a little longer to help me, Iori?"

→☻☻☺☻☻ CRIME GAMES ☻☻☺☻☻←

As if he had woken up from the longest nap he had ever taken, Tadashi Matsumoto lethargically drew apart his eyelids. It took a while for his pale eyes to focus ahead of him and when his swirling vision finally came to a halt, his heart stopped.

He wanted to believe he was dreaming.

But as the many vivid images came flooding into every portion of his mind, he was assured it was reality.

Satoshi Kitawa's body was sprawled out on the hard cement beneath his feet, his blood and organs splattered mercilessly across the floor. Hitomi Watanabe was face-first on the ground, her skin a frightening hue of purple. Haru Tomachi's blood-stained head was laid inches away from the wall, his body crumpled on the floor.

And his petrifying blond haired look-alike was seated on a chair meters away from him, smirking from ear to ear and staring at him right in the eyes.

"You're finally awake~" the blond drawled, exhaling a breath. "I was growing tired of waiting for you."

Just like before, Tadashi's heart rate had spiked into a series of wrenching squeezes and seconds later when he tried to grasp hold of his chest, he realized his hands were tied together by a rope.

"I missed you, Takeshi," murmured his look-alike, looking tremendously happy.

"Takeshi...?" Tadashi repeated, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to break free.

"It's your name," the male responded, slowly rising up to his feet.

When he did, his blood soaked attire became visible and Tadashi felt queasy at the sight of it.

The blond took a step closer to him. Tadashi's heart throbbed and felt as if it would explode. Groaning, he whipped his head forward, trying to ease the pain.

"Ah, you look like you're in so much pain~" The mastermind's cackle sent chills down Tadashi's spine as he fixated a glare in his direction. In response, the blond held up his hands in defence. "Whoa, no need to look so hostile," he drawled. "I am your brother."

Tadashi frowned at the mention. Recalling back to what he had said before he had gotten here, nothing but bemuse welled up inside of him. He said he was Tadashi... but then if he was Tadashi, did that make him Takeshi?

It made no sense. He didn't know what kind of game the mastermind was playing this time, but he wasn't going to fall for it.

"Loading systems... 28%... 34%... 55%... 79%... 87%..."

At the sounds of a machine of some sorts starting up, Tadashi craned his head to the side to see Ayame Kobayashi seated next to him, her arms tied up also. Her purple eyes shone a bright hue then soon settled down into its regular state. Her eyelids fluttered and her eyes scanned the room. As if a boatload of relief was splashed on top of him, Tadashi's face lit up.

"Kobayashi!"

Ayame's gaze fixated on him and instantly, her mouth curled with recognition. "Matsumoto... Where..."

"I think we're inside of the building," Tadashi replied in a hushed whisper.

Her eyebrows knitted together. "And everyone...?"

Tadashi frowned at the mention and Ayame's attention turned towards the bodies laying on the ground—including those they were assured were working for the mastermind.

"How unfair. You wouldn't even talk to me~"

Both teens flinched at the pout and whipped their heads in the direction of the voice. The blond wore a glare aimed at the white-haired female.

"She's still important to you?" His glare flitted onto Tadashi and he felt his chest tighten again.

"Matsumoto," Ayame called out worriedly. She would've tried to protect him from the guy but her hands were tied together and she couldn't. He was doing something to the teen and she didn't like what it was.

"No fair, Takeshi," the blond continued. "We had so much fun together, too. I even created this entire game for you. And what do I get in return?"

"Nobody asked you for this," Ayame shot, scowling at the blond.

He simply smiled. "And nobody asked me to revive my brother from the dead, but I did."

Ayame's brows furrowed while Tadashi's face contorted with surprise.

"Or to be more specific, Azusa Kurosaki did," the mastermind went on, holding up his hand. "Then again, after figuring out all of his secrets, he was of no more use to me."

Both Ayame and Tadashi were startled to hear the familiar name.

"Azusa Kurosaki plays a way into this?" Ayame inquired in a demanding voice.

"He is your creator, right?" he asked back, shaking his head. "His mind really was at a genius level. I'm glad I took his brain. It makes this all the more easier."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

At the incessant rain of questions, the blond instantly turned sour towards the female.

"Why should I spend my time answering that?" Ambling forward, he approached a cringing Tadashi. "But if it was my precious brother doing the asking, I'd tell him everything~"

Tadashi let out a cry of pain as he attempted to kick his legs to keep the guy away from him. His heart was killing him for some reason and it was as if this male touched him, it would literally stop.

"Get away from him!" Ayame yelled. "Stop whatever you're doing!"

As the words left her mouth, the blond halted immediately. The corners of his lips upturned into a smirk as he let out a hysteric laugh. "I'm not doing anything," he breathed after his laughing died down. "My heart is just pounding for me, is all. My body is calling for me."

"Your body...?" Ayame repeated incredulously.

"Maybe we should switch to our original bodies before you die on me," the blond went on without a care for Ayame, extending out his hand and touching the top of Tadashi's head. The excruciating pain built up like a wildfire and Tadashi couldn't move. "Ah, your roots really are healthy. My body really is healthy..." He ran his fingers through Tadashi's hair, taking strands and pulling at them. "I forgot how it feels. This body I'm in has nothing valuable. It's like I'm a walking corpse... Get it? Because I am."

The blond howled at his own joke before moving his hand away. He reached up and grabbed hold of his blond hair, lifting it up and revealing his molding and dented scalp. The sight of it was utterly repulsive. Tadashi fought back the urge to empty all the contents in his stomach to the floor.

"All the hair fell off," he noted simply, fixing the wig back on appropriately. "The skin peeled too but I sewed it back together every time it decayed. I don't know how Azusa did it but he kept your body in top shape before we switched."

"Matsumoto's body is yours?" For a mere robot, Ayame's glower was murderous as she asked the skeptical question.

"Yes," he responded. "Tadashi I'm Matsumoto...and he's Takeshi Matsumoto. Not that I'm sure you remember, Ayame."

While Ayame seemed baffled, Tadashi was wide-eyed. He was... Takeshi? That was...impossible. Yeah. It was. He was Tadashi, not the name of the twin brother he's forgotten. The mastermind was just pulling his leg.

"Wow, you look so lost, Takeshi." The male smirked, hands to his hips. "It's like you don't believe me. Don't you remember? The day you died." He held out his index finger towards Ayame. "You died all because of that robot. All because you wanted to play with that hunk of metal instead of me."

Tadashi couldn't muster up his voice as the explanation of what Kazuma had told him filled his mind. So it was true. The two of them really used to play with Ayame...

"What does that...mean?" Ayame asked after a pause.

"I went to Kazuma's dad and asked him to bring you back," the blond continued, ignoring Ayame's existence entirely. "So I dug your body up and gave it to him. He left his household and began working on bringing you back, and I came to visit every night, watching, observing. I stopped acting like such a mess to everyone around me and pretended like I forgot about my brother due to trauma. Maiko and Narumi, our adoptive parents, gratefully accepted that and didn't bother to question anything. It took a few years, but one day, Azusa finally succeeded. He brought your body back...but it was decayed and broken. You needed new organs and body parts." The blond's smirk grew. "So I got them."

Him pacing around the room consumed the teens with unease. Tadashi's heart was pounding a mile per minute as he listened carefully to the tale.

"Killing people was easy, but getting their organs out correctly was more difficult. But as I continued, the more I got used to it and the more organs I obtained." The blond came to a halt, folding his arms across his back. "And each time Azusa planted them into your body, it went and became useless again. Day after day I went searching for organs to give to you. Then, one day, Azusa told me that if we kept up with that, there's no way you'd wake up. So I took matters into my own hands and began experimenting."

"Experimenting...?" Ayame said after him, lips pursed.

"I learned that electricity works well, and with these certain rods I created, the deceased bodies would move even if they didn't have organs... I used it on your body and voila, it began working. After nearly ten years, you were finally alive." Exhaling a breath, the male chuckled. "But wanting you to come back to have those happy 'we-meet-again' reunions would be stupid. I wanted to welcome you back better. I wanted you to come back and belong to me. I never wanted you to leave my side. But if I let you do what you wanted again, it would only repeat that tragic day and you would die..."

Stepping up to Tadashi again, the blond tittered, eyelids raised high.

"So I decided to break you."

Tadashi gulped hard, shaking.

"It's the most effective way. I'd give you happiness and snatch them away from you one by one, again and again... until you no longer had the will to live and would come crawling back to me." Backing away, he stood taller, squaring his shoulders. "I ordered you to kill Azusa and you did before I switched our bodies. How I did seems to have to remain a secret—you're already looking so green and I really don't want you throwing up." He laughed, shaking his head. "Anyway, I gave you only the positive memories you needed and let you return to back to our family. I started creating allies: Hitomi, Haru, Mayuki, Iori, Chiaki... I killed people all for this day. This day where we meet again; the day us brothers would finally reunite once more; the day you'd be so broken after seeing all of your dead comrades and family. It's such a nice feeling, right? You're despairing that I killed all of them, right? And now I'll take you back officially and switch our bodies. I'll get my healthy one while you can keep this useless one. I can control you forever. Oh, how I've waited for this day~!"

Tadashi pushed himself back so that he could get as far away as he could, absolutely petrified. He tried to muster up something to say but couldn't. Images of his clubmates' faces and all of his dead companions, tears welled up in the corner of his eyes. Shaking his head, Tadashi shut his eyelids tight. This was a nightmare. There was no way... Absolutely no way this was happening...!

"I'm alive, dumbass!"

When Tadashi's eyelids snapped open at the sudden shout, his jaw fell when he saw that a familiar brown-haired male was holding the blond in a chokehold from behind.

"Ryuu!" he shouted in shock.

"I'm here as well."

Tadashi's gaze darted onto the female who was crouched down in between Ayame and him, already working on untying Ayame's ropes. The grim expression she wore on her face was like a wake-up call to him as she continued on to unravel his very own ropes.

As soon as they hit the ground, Ayame lurched to her feet and begrudgingly, Tadashi did so as well. Katsura spun around to face the mastermind and they all wore glowers aimed towards him.

"What's this?" the blond snorted as he attempted to move forward.

"Don't move!" Ryuu shouted, tugging him back. "I'll rip off your arms and snap your neck!"

"We have you," Ayame stated, folding her arms across her chest. "Give it up."

It was quiet for the first few seconds until the male erupted into a fit of hysteric laughter. "You have me?" he repeated, voice full of amusement. "Haha~ You guys are quite the bunch. This is exactly why it was fun watching you all break."

Stepping forward without a regard to Ryuu's death grip, the male was grinning. Ryuu struggled at first before yanking his arms as hard as he could to stop him. Though, when he did, Ryuu definitely wasn't expecting for both of his arms to pop right out of their sockets and for him to come tumbling to the ground with them.

"Take my arms with you, I could care less," the blond murmured, continuing with a snicker. "They're useless anyway."

Tadashi, Ayame and Katsura were wide-eyed and frozen. Despite losing both his arms, he was perfectly fine, and no blood came gushing out either. Ryuu was paralyzed, shivering uncontrollably at the tattered and decaying arms that lay outstretched on his legs.

The blond's eyes met Tadashi's and the teen subconsciously inched back. Ayame grabbed hold of his arm to stop him and even with her violet hues never leaving the male in front, her firm grip told him all he needed. He had to stay strong. He didn't go through all that he did to wimp out at a time like this.

"You all..."

Baffled at the hushed whisper, Tadashi and Ayame discreetly spared Katsura a glance.

"I'll finish it off here. You three escape."

Both of them were caught off guard, not knowing what to say.

Katsura swallowed hard before continuing, "Earlier, Mayuki gave me orders on how to stop him. He has rods somewhere within his body and if I can successfully pull them out, he will die. Or, stop moving at least. I promise I can do it. I'll stop this occurrence right here and now, no matter what."

"Don't be ridiculous—" Before Ayame could finish, Katsura took a martial arts stance. She held out a fist, planting her feet appropriately, eyes fixated on the blond in unrivalled determination.

Whistling, the blond laughed, "What's this? If I didn't know any better, it looks like you want to fight."

Katsura's look didn't waver. "For all of the casualties and monstrosities that you have caused, I promise you will not leave here alive. You are punishable by death."

"Death?" tittered the mastermind, flashing her a wide smile. "But my body is already dead. How do you plan on 'killing' me?"

Katsura inhaled a deep breath, casting aside all traces of fear. Although she was scared out of her mind, she had to do it. She was the only one who knew how to get it done.

She would save her friends.

His gut twisting, Tadashi extended out a hand. "Inohara—"

Ayame yanked him by the grip she held him from, shooting him a pointed glance. "Let's go."

Tadashi gaped at her. "What do you mean—"

"We don't stand a chance like she said," Ayame stated simply, catching Ryuu's gaze and giving him a curt nod. "Moreover, we'd get in the way. Let's leave this to her and call the police."

"But—"

In the exact moment that Katsura lunged at the blond, Ayame dragged Tadashi and booked for the exit. Ryuu bumbled behind as they raced through the darkened hallways until they finally found a way out. Maneuvering themselves out into the courtyard, it was to their utmost shock to find the entire area surrounded by police cars already.

"Who are you?" a police officer cried out.

In a matter of seconds, countless amounts of police officers swarmed them with a boatload of questions. Most charged into the warehouse, weapons in hand, as if they had received a call from someone about what was going on.

Ayame was gripping onto Tadashi's arm as the police spoke to her, Ryuu was a mess of anxiety and apprehension, and Tadashi couldn't even muster a single emotion due to shock.

In the end, they never did find out who made the call for the police. And when the officers returned with a perfectly fine Katsura and a decaying blond haired corpse of rotting flesh and body parts, the three of them bit back all words.

As they brought out the bodies of all of their comrades one by one, silence hung in the air.

Seven died that night.

Only six of them lived.

Just like that, the entire occurrence had ended— just by the death of the male who called himself Tadashi.

Though it should've been a happy and victorious thing, they could only drown themselves within a pool of dejection, despair, and sorrow.

The occasion would be something they would regret for the rest of their lives.