"Possibly. What do you think, Sana?"

Sana's wearing a facial expression that would tell the outside world that she's thinking about my question deeply.

Going as far as looking at the surface of your own table, advertising your gaze from everyone else, letting others believe that you have something to think about.

Furthermore, with every second you waste thinking about this stupid nonsensical point I purposely made, it's enough to tell me something Sana.

Something that you are not aware of.

"...I've always kept a close relationship with Yulia and there is no way that Ikkiri could have done something like that. Besides, Ikkiri has been far too gloomy ever since a few months ago. So, no, I don't believe it's Ikkiri."

"Ah, I see!"

Clapping my two hands together, I gave Sana a mini-ovation.

My bright smile should evoke a sentiment of fulfillment to her yet all I can see is present anxiety within her face.

Of course that's the case.

You're bad at acting, after all.

"But, you know, Sana, can you really eliminate that possibility? Like, what if it wasn't actually Ikkiri who did it, but instead, someone who would do it for her...?"

"Huh...? What could you be talking about, Yukishiro...?"

"..."

Come on... There's a limit, Sana.

You don't actually think you're good at this, do you?

"Oh, I see Yukishiro's point! That bitch's too much of a coward so she would tell Akimiyashika something like 'Hey I'll do that favor for you', right?!"

"Ah, that's correct, Arkalee! That was indeed my point!"

Arkalee, you are worse than Sana when it comes to acting. I think Sana actually thinks before she at least speaks.

The thing about Sana's acting is that she has no practice at all. Your acting, on the other hand, has practice, but you are just bad at acting because to whomever you practiced your acting against was certainly a novice.

There's yet another difference in their acting. Perhaps what distinguishes both. Sana at least says words that are natural and go with the flow of the common logic while you, Arkalee, say the most obvious things.

You don't think before speaking, Arkalee.

Or at least not in a clever way.

"Mhm... Okay, I suppose that makes sense..."

"Really? How does it make sense, Sana?"

As soon as Sana confirmed what I had stated somehow made sense, I urged at her and made sure she would justify her claim.

Yes, Sana. Why does it supposedly make sense? I'll make you answer me.

So, feast on this glare that I have reserved for you alone while you fight your inner anxiety.

"...It makes sense because, as you said, someone else might have done it in Ikkiri's place. And furthermore, Ikkiri doesn't seem like the type of person to take action. Sooo, she might've just told Akimiyashika to do something harmful to Yulia, you know?"

Using my own made-up argument against me is an extremely bad move, Sana.

Because I'm firmly aware that my argument makes no sense. In other words, the plausible conclusion here is that you have no conceivable way to blame Ikkiri for this.

Therefore, Ikkiri is out.

"Ah, I see! Good point!"

I clapped in Sana's direction once more thus evoking a large worry for her.

Nevertheless, I took my point to a further scale. Since you don't consider Ikkiri the suspect here, this elimination game will go on.

"So, Sana, you believe that Akimiyashika is therefore the most plausible suspect?"

"Eh...? Um, what do you think, Arkalee...?"

Ah... You...

Coward.

"I think that it makes sense for the suspect to be someone that used to hold a grudge against Yulia... You can't truly count someone out here, can you?"

"That's true, Arkalee... What about you, Yukishi---"

"Sana, I make the questions here."

"...."

I had to interrupt Sana before she got the wrong impression of the situation.

You're not as bad as I made you out to be, Sana. You at least know when to redirect the flow of the conversation so it doesn't go against you.

Simultaneously, you switched the target of my question, which was meant at you, from you to Arkalee and then from Arkalee to me.

However, don't think that I don't see what you are trying to do, Sana.

Against me, all of your efforts will be subsequently dispelled.

"...Yukishiro, you're being rude."

"?"

"This is supposed to be a group yet you are just using me and Arkalee to get answers for your own personal questions. Why don't we act collectively instead?"

"Ah, you do bring a good point, Sana."

Here you go again. Using Arkalee's existence to your advantage. Though, you are gravely mistaken if you actually believe that anything will change just from the way the situation is perceived to you.

I will not abandon my lead here.

Instead, I'll let you think that you are leading this as of now, Sana.

"Arkalee, you've been rather silent. What's wrong...?"

"Yeah, true, Arkalee. You've been oddly silent for a while. Even with your name mentioned a few times, you kept your silence nonetheless."

Going with Sana's take, I agreed with the fact that Arkalee has been weirdly silent.

Though, this is fascinating, actually.

"Oh, don't mind me. I was just watching your takes about the suspect. But yeah, I do agree with Sana, Yukishiro. It's best if we put a collective effort instead of a solo effort."

At first sight, going as far as labeling that Arkalee and Sana are somehow working for the same cause wouldn't be too much of a blunder.

However, it gets progressively deeper once the realization that these two aren't even aware that their collective effort to hide your identity is collective yet distinct.

I think like this because Arkalee, all this time, hasn't just been watching us throw our takes at each other.

Arkalee has been observing both of us with a vast amount of attention and that alone tells me much already.

"I see! I'll apologize! Um, so let's think as a group, right?"

"Yeah!"

Happily, Sana agreed with me, thus I went forth with my question directed to the two of them.

"We should change our approach. How about instead of trying to see who has held a grudge against Yulia, we start by eliminating those that would not have any chance of holding a grudge, at all?"

"Um, sure."

"Yeah, fine, I agree."

Arkalee and Sana gave her consent right away.

Ultimately, I followed this up with something extremely basic.

"Okay, between we three, which of us would be the least likely to hold a grudge against Yulia?"

I didn't exactly wait for any of them to answer this question because it was self-explanatory.

"Without a doubt, it's you, Sana. I think we can both agree with this, right, Arkalee?"

While I waited for Arkalee's answer, I took a hold of my pen and started noting down a single name, which was Sana's.

"Hm, yeah! You and Yulia were best friends, right...?"

"...Yeah..."

Sana had visible difficulty answering that question. Surely, this could be interpreted as an emotional sting as she was forced to remember that her best friend killed herself yet I suspect something far deeper.

You see, Sana, the thing here is that your situation makes no sense whatsoever.

At the hands of my dear Omega, your best friend had her days numbered swiftly yet despite knowing this, you still protect his identity from me?

Normally, this wouldn't make any sense, but there's a way out of this.

A way that you undoubtedly went with. That being; Sana is not aware that it's you who is behind Yulia's death and you used this to your advantage masterfully.

Which means, something definitely happened in the time gap of Yulia's death all the way to this current day.

It's unthinkable to believe that you would be able to get Sana on your side while maintaining an invisible image to her yet that was not impossible for you!

Amazing!!!

"You are... amazing..."

Shyly, I clapped while firmly staring at the bottom of the floor in order to conceal my shy face.

"Yukishiro, why are you so absent-minded...? Also, I only noticed now, but is that a tattoo on your neck...? It's really small though."

Slowly elevating my face from the surface of my table, I spoke to Sana, who had asked me that question regarding my tattoo, out of self-interest.

"Oh, you mean this?"

With the tip of my right index finger, I placed it on top of the mini-tattoo that was on my neck's left side.

Both Arkalee and Sana seemed to immediately recognize what it was, as it should come to no surprise.

"Ah, yeah, that. That's the Scorpio symbol, right?"

Perhaps out of worry if her answer was insufficient, Sana looked at Arkalee briefly and the latter returned a positive response calmly.

"Yup, that definitely is the Scorpio symbol, Sana. Eh, is that intentional? Are you a Scorpio, Yukishiro?"

I thought about changing this topic completely, however, I am not good when it comes to questions that regard me.

Guilty, therefore, I went with this topic for a little bit.

"Yes, I am. I was born on November 18th, so that makes me a Scorpio!"

"Woah, so you are a Water sign too! My birthday was a while ago; March 2nd!"

"Eh, what a surprise, Sana. Late happy birthday!"

"Ah, thanks... Haha..."

Sana's awkward response aside, the astrology topic isn't rare at all.

It's a common trend that I eventually picked up. Not just because every girl of my age is hung on to it but because I do believe that little details hold the most answers. Strictly speaking, my own birthday alone can already tell so much about me.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Plus, astrology is an approved science and has been used several times, even in cases of serious necessity.

However, I do wonder what sign you are under. The best match for Scorpio is Taurus; as both are soul mates.

Though, is that really the case here? A Taurus is often reserved and while your pattern of action does not show anything entirely on the surface, the way you do your plays results in catastrophic endgames.

"Wait, wait. If Yukishiro is a Scorpio and I'm a Pisces, then what sign are you under, Arkalee?"

"Cancer! My birthday is on July 17th!"

"Oh my god... We are all Water signs! Different ones at it too! Isn't this super rare to happen...?!"

Sana's probably addicted to astrology. I don't exactly fault her.

But it does bother me that we are going far too out of topic, so I'll propose something reasonable instead.

"Yes, it's so rare to happen! Though, shouldn't we focus on the task at hand first? Oh, I know, when it's lunchtime, why don't we three eat lunch together?"

As I asked this question, I readied myself just in case they dared to deny my generous offer with abhorrent arguments.

Yet, Sana was the first one to give a positive reply.

"...Sure... I've got nothing better to do anyway."

With a semi-sad look, Sana agreed with my suggestion. There are plenty of ways to interpret Sana's reason for upholding that semi-sad look that she's wearing on her facial expression right now.

Is it because Yulia isn't here to give her comfort?

Is it because you are on that island right now? Then, that would mean that Sana somehow holds a considerable level of affection for you...

Or, or, better yet, is Sana agreeing with my suggestion in order to study me just so she can know my intentions better and therefore learn how to counterattack them just to protect your identity?

Now, I do know that this can be qualified as over-thinking, but when I put you on the equation, I don't believe this is over-thinking. No, no, this is...

Supposedly, simply, figuratively, literally, cynically, deliberately, touching the tip of the iceberg's depth; as you are the whole iceberg thus containing immeasurable depth.

"Ah, I can't go, sorry."

Interrupting my thought process, Arkalee, for some reason, decided to decline.

Since I was not in the mood to let her have her way, I urged to know why yet I consulted Sana with a look first, and to my surprise, she got the right intention that I was trying to portray.

Thus, Sana spoke on my turn.

"Arkalee, if this is about Hyunda, then you should just face the reality already... He, just like all the other boys, is on that deserted island. There's no way that you can be with him."

"Sana's right. Furthermore, if he truly is on a deserted island, then you can forget about texting and calling him because there's no signal."

"Yup, it's as Yukishiro says. So, just forget about him for the time being."

Truth to be told, Hyunda has been on my mind for a while, but he's unlikely to be the suspect and that's because Hyunda and Arkalee are glued to each other.

Hyunda could not have gathered up the necessary time to spend with Sana while simultaneously gathering her support because Arkalee would not allow that.

Frankly, my point gets even stronger with Arkalee's next response.

"Y-You never know! Maybe he didn't go! He wouldn't just leave me here like this...!! He knows that I-I can't go on without him...!"

Arkalee has decided to cry and thus, Sana and I traded exasperated looks quickly.

It's not as if I don't understand Arkalee's situation, as a matter of fact, I can relate to. Once you love something or someone so much, with an invisible infinite depth, any type of absence can strike fear onto your heart.

I'm not heartless since I can relate to Arkalee's worry. It's just... When I think of you, nothing else can compare.

In the end, both Sana and I decided to comfort Arkalee, who was sinking on her forearms while crying almost silently.

"Arkalee, I think Sana and I deeply understand your situation. It sucks, doesn't it? To have feelings with an indescribable depth that do not get rewarded slightly, right?"

"But, Arkalee, even if you have such feelings for him, if he's away, then there's nothing you can do about it. You'll have to learn how to deal with it."

This should be the prime example as to why Hyunda is such a bad suspect. A clingy girlfriend like Arkalee would not let him even talk to someone like Sana.

But, but. Let's not assume things too much.

This is an open hypothesis. Taking things for granted might backfire ever slightly.

Because, in the end, you are aware that if I assume something... If I do that, then it might just be the end of the line for me and you would like that, wouldn't you?

Well, so sorry, darling.

I don't like to dance on a tilted stage.

"I'll tell you what, Arkalee, if Yukishiro's fine with it, why don't we three hang out a lot? We could form a group just for the three of us!"

Ah, this is a better display of your skill as an actress Sana.

You are using the fact that Yulia's death dealt you a huge emotional blow in order to create this group. The common thought here would be that this group's creation is for the sole purpose of making Sana feel better. Or, the mediocre thought, on the other hand, would be to follow Sana's train of thought, which is to create this group in order to make Arkalee more emotionally stable.

Not exactly bad acting yet not brilliant either. There's a certain flaw within this proposition.

"Yukishiro, what do you say?"

Those reasons above are lackluster.

"Ah, sure thing! We can't let Arkalee in this state of mind, right?"

"Yeah, that's the spirit! Cheer up, will you?"

Even though our hands were reaching out to Arkalee's back, it took her a while to answer, as Arkalee refused to look above.

Not even Sana's getting to her, so I'll have to try something else.

"You know, from my past observations, Hyunda seems somewhat cold-hearted, wouldn't you agree, Sana?"

"Yeah... I mean, sometimes --- er, I mean... The whole point here would be that if you cry too much for him, it will all go to waste."

Arkalee's situation is easy to understand. She's an obsessive person who loves to be with the one that she loves and it's natural that she's feeling heart-broken right now.

Her boyfriend's away and this is just the beginning of his absence.

"Mhm, but Sana, you know what is truly a waste?"

"Oh, what, Yukishiro?"

"Being a crybaby over an absent boyfriend. I mean, there's nothing you can do about it, Arkalee. So, why not take this chance to practice the distance betw---"

Erupting her head from the surface of her table, with crystal-like tears streaming down her fair skin, Arkalee yelled mildly to me and Sana.

"I hate distance! Hate! Hate! Hate!! I know! We should steal an airplane and use it to meet up with Hyunda and then, I ca---"

"Arkalee..." x2.

Arkalee's refusing to accept the reality of the situation but even so, I won't be merciful.

She's far too whiny.

"Arkalee, you're being delusional. Get over it already. He's going to be absent until the end of the month, whether you like it or not."

"Wait, hold on, Yukishiro... I think I got this, let me try something."

"Sure."

"Arkalee, see it from this perspective. Imagine that Hyunda went on a business trip and he had to be absent for a few weeks. While he's absent, do you think that he would like to know that you are feeling extremely sad due to his absence...?"

Arkalee stopped a while to think about Sana's words shortly.

Sana's perspective is kinder and relies on imagination yet that seems to be slightly working.

"...True... That would hurt him..."

"See? You know, there's something you should know when it comes to guys like Hyunda. They don't really like emotionally fragile girls and you... Well..."

"Are emotionally fragile."

Since Sana was having trouble finishing her sentence, I gave her a little push.

I can understand why you wouldn't want to be blunt in this scenario, but it's better if Arkalee comes vis-a-vis with her problems.

"But I'm not emotionally fragile... I'm just extremely sensitive."

Which makes you weaker in comparison. Though, there are actual differences. It's not as simple as it seems at first.

"Right, I understand that, Arkalee! But, don't you think he would be happy to see you as an emotionally stronger individual than the person he already knows? Heh, wouldn't that be pretty neat?"

".....Oh..."

It seems that after a short sequence of reasonings, Arkalee must've grown a mental image, and inside her mind, she most likely agreed with Sana's perspective.

Not that I particularly care about the current topic, as this is just a gathering that's happening for the sake of being able to extract more and more information out of my sources.

Nonetheless, this is a very dangerous game. Because you are aware of my aim.

Probably, hypothetically speaking, you aren't aware of my current intentions yet I was already in your mind way before you were inside mine.

That's just unforgivable. How dare you be so unfair? I promise I'll repay you eventually, so just wait a bit until I find you.

"Girls, ten minutes left!"

All the way from her desk, located plenty of meters away, we heard the subsequent warning from Yuka-sensei.

"Arkalee, come with us during lunch and afterward. Yukishiro and I can help you. And besides, what better way to spend your time now that your boyfriend is absent except with your friends?"

"...Friends...?"

"Yeah, Arkalee! Friends! We three are friends, right, Yukishiro?"

"Oh, for sure!"

What exactly are you planning? Do you intend on attempting a manipulative course of action through this gathering, Sana?

You are awfully protective, Sana.

This is the guy that made your best friend suicide yet you are giving him the protection of the world. You clearly don't know the full story.

Unlike me, you are dancing on a tilted stage yet to you; it's not tilted, it's firm and resistant.

"Okay... But it's not going to be easy... I might cry a lot."

"Yeah, we need to work on that... You cry too easily!"

Almost out of anger, Sana said that to Arkalee, which provoked an emotional reaction from Arkalee.

"It can't be helped, alright?! It's a way to express passion!"

"For you, at least. To me and Yukishiro, you're like a whiny baby. So, stop crying already!"

"Geez, I already did! Sana, you're a brute..."

"No, I'm not..."

"Yes, you are..."

"Not."

"Are."

........

These two are idiots.

"Okay, we got less than ten minutes now. We have to be quick. I'll quickly resume, so let's indulge in the current task right now."

"Alright, Yuki."

"Yukishiro's fine, Arkalee..."

I don't like being called 'Yuki'.

Yet, despite this internal thought and my previous words, Sana managed to still not get the point.

"Yuki's cutter though..."

"Please don't."

In order to not let this subject turn into a comedy, my eye glare turned far grimmer and darker than usual, as I heavily spoke to Sana, who decided that it was a good time to take this subject in a light manner.

There are some things that you are allowed to say and some that you aren't.

However, I didn't delve deeper into this and thus decided to follow the task.

"Alright, Sana is out of the equation. What about you, Arkalee? What was your relationship with Yulia?"

"Pretty straight-forward. I did consider her as a friend and she has helped me out from time to time, right, Sana?"

"Yeah, I was there the whole time, this is pretty much true..."

"Oh, I see."

As I wrote Arkalee's name down on the list, I quickly remembered the fact that I was supposedly present throughout the majority of the times.

There were times where I had to attend the events, thus creating my absence. Did you capitalize on that factor?!

You do realize that your indirect affection is intoxicatingly alerting me, right?

An astral psalm would be inadequate of me, wouldn't it? After all, the affinity keeps on translucently expanding itself from unknown origins; beyond imaginable margins.

"Yukishiro, what about you? What was your relationship with Yulia?"

"Don't worry, Sana. I never talked to her in the first place. You were with her the whole time, right? You can confirm this. Ah, I don't mean to be rude, I'm just sorta blunt, I guess."

"No offense taken... It's like I'm the only one that's taking what has happened seriously... It's somewhat frightening to think that we are in a room full of heartless liars who don't even care that their classmate has just passed away. Like... Yulia was here yet why are the majority treating her like she wasn't..."

Gloomy, Sana expressed her honest feelings about the current situation.

All in all, Yulia's situation doesn't mean that much to the rest because they didn't connect as deeply as Sana did with Yulia.

It's not reasonable to expect a sad reaction out of everyone here. Yet, her primal reasoning was that death is being treated far too lightly, which in that scenario, I would agree.

Yet, do you actually expect me to be sad over my Omega's art? Please.

I'm exhilarated.

"That's why I want the suspect to be found as quickly as possible... Truth to be told, this happened while I wasn't aware..."

"What do you mean, Sana?"

"...Yulia was fairly insecure, I know this for a fact... Whoever did this surely must've been aware of things that I wouldn't normally be aware of. It's just weird because I was with Yulia the majority of the time. I wish I could know what happened in those layers of time that I wasn't there with Yulia..."

Sana's detailed answer to my simple question just proved my point even further.

You are dancing on an incredibly tilted stage. A stage, so tilted, that you might as well be on the edge of it while thinking that you are in the center, medium position.

"Um, can I give an honest answer here?"

Arkalee, raising her hand up mildly, spoke to Sana and me.

With a simple glance upon her, we silently gave our positive confirmation.

"I don't think we are going to find who did this. If we have no evidence to link to the suspect, then our efforts are pointless."

"Arkalee, this isn't exactly about finding out who did it, strictly. We are aware that we have no evidence to work with, which is why this is most likely an endeavor made to create a profile regarding the suspect. By doing so, we can get a clear image of the suspect's pattern, ideology, and whatnot."

"Eh, but Sana, if the suspect already knows this, then the suspect will just have to adapt to the situation, no?"

"I mean, yeah, you make a fair point."

These two are so, so dumb. Either that or they are attempting to make a fool out of me.

Regardless, their points are flawed, and here is why.

Arkalee, you are claiming that we have no evidence that can be used to link to the suspect's identity yet you did not explain why that's the case. Why don't we have that link? Because the suspect played this out correctly.

Surely, that's simple to understand.

What doesn't add up is why you bothered to speak up. Our efforts being useless? Are you sure that it's not just you who wants us to perceive our efforts as useless?

But now, Sana's point is the one that bothered me the most. Initially, I thought that she had just forgotten about the fact that the boys are on the island and that it's just us girls here, yet I think it's a little bit deeper than that, which makes her point flawed, accordingly.

Her point is flawed because she went ahead and claimed that if the suspect is aware that the suspect is being suspected and that the suspect's profile becomes public knowledge; adaptation to the current situation is possible.

The flaw comes from the fact that the suspect has no way of adapting to a situation that is happening behind the suspect's back.

In other words, this profile that we are attempting to create will only disclose the picture that the suspect is indeed a boy.

Assumably, this profile will not connect to any of the girls here and the boys have no way to know.

Plus, it wouldn't be a mistake to assume that this will be kept as confidential knowledge in order to use against the boys.

If the profile's characteristics do not correspond to any of the girls, then the boys will be suspected.

It's not as if I disagree with the pattern of action here. It's actually quite effective. What I can't stand, however, is bad acting.

Sana, stop.

It won't work, I'm telling you. You can pretend all you like and it will not make a difference.

Do you think I haven't noticed that you made that flawed point in order to make me think that your initial point was flawed and that you'd, therefore, make me think that you had committed a mistake?

You sneaky devil. You placed a bigger lie on top of a bigger lie.

Ultimately, still bad acting. It's all stagnant once I can read you like an open book, Sana.

Commendable effort regardless.

"Two minutes!"

While I thought all of that out, we were eliminating the primal individuals that most likely had no reason to hold a grudge against Yulia, and thus, we arrived at a conclusion that we all agreed on based on who had the highest likelihood of holding a grudge against Yulia.

"Yeah, Ikkiri has the highest chance of being the suspect here. Though, I still think we should blame Akimiyashika here."

"I agree with Yukishiro here... Hasn't she been acting way too high and mighty?"

"Yeah, since she's covering for Ikkiri, she most likely doesn't like the fact that Ikkiri got blamed by Yulia and you, Sana. Don't you think that it makes the most sense for Akimiyashika to target someone like Yulia? Think about it, Sana."

"...Are you implying that Akimiyashika did this just because Yulia and I blamed Ikkiri back then...?"

"You know how over-protective Akimiyashika is when it comes to Ikkiri. So, knowing that, do you really have to ask?"

"Time's up! Write down your group's take on a paper and bring it to me. After that, you are free to go to the interval!"

Upon hearing Yuka-sensei's order, each group's indicated person that would bring the paper to Yuka-sensei started to depart to her desk in no specific order.

Sana was already ahead of time and was writing down Akimiyashika's name.

Furthermore, Sana made sure that she got up from her seat when Akimiyashika was already long gone.

Though, before Sana could entirely get up from her seat, I transiently placed my right hand on her left wrist, causing her to revert her position.

However, I spoke about what I had wanted to just say to her and her alone, now that Arkalee was away, somewhere else.

"Um, Sana, this is really important, but can you do a request for me?"

"...What?"

"Oh, you accepted. Nice. Nice. Don't go back on your word, now. Okay, sooo... Just in case, hypothetically speaking, should you encounter him, I want you to pass this small message, on my steed, please."

Feeling a staggering sensation let loosen on my throat's surface, almost as if swelling magma, the salient words that I find myself being insatiable about relied on the explicit implication of keen embarrassment.

This life, which I drink from a bottle constantly used to hold the same sporadic taste until the spike of your existence made me a victim; embracing this euphoric and vulnerable state.

Evocation or resemblance of an elixir; able to cure one's limpness in life, I thank you.

[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/810323018014261321/810877770246651904/Kyoko_telling_Sana.png]

"I SWEAR I WILL FIND YOU!"