The morning in the upcoming day rose to full height.
The spring's song was illustrious and upheld itself vividly. Newborn clouds repaired the fragile morning star's surroundings and hummingbirds would entangle themselves in their departures. However, amidst those departures, there were some that returned as well in spite of their long-term absence.
A familiar industrial yet organic fresh air alleviated his nostrils as the plausible reminiscent atmosphere displayed its upcoming scenario.
"You can go now." Their primary teacher, upon walking into the classroom filled with students---which is something that hadn't happened in more than a week now---warned the substitute teacher, Yuka, and as she saw his figure, she was quick to grab her personal utensils while leaving the desk "Byeeee!!" She eccentrically waved at the students present to her right side, but due to the tense atmosphere, no response came forth.
Basara Tenma took a seat at the desk that is located on the south parameter of the squared-shaped area containing twenty meters in width and ten meters in height. From that position, after crossing his hands and intertwining his fingers respectively, he looked at the students in the classroom.
"Looks like we are back in business, after all, the boys' exam is over." He spoke coldly "I will now announce the winners of this exam." Basara took a file containing a few classified papers located on his right and read through them "Satou Rayazaki, pass." Rayazaki, next to Hinagiku, became confused but didn't wish to interrupt Basara "Takeshi Kuzan, pass." Kuzan had a similar reaction but not the same formality "Huh? Oh, yay!" He simply yielded a small victory cry which earned him side looks "Ryousuke Kawahara, pass." Kawahara knew not what to think of this as he simply pondered with a shackled expression; his right hand covering his mouth expressing deep thought "Toharoh Tsudo, pass." Tsudo let out a relieved sigh "Hirakibo Tatsu, pass." Tatsu kept looking at Kawahara, pondering a few things on his own "Hiroyoshi Sagasuga, pass." Sagasuga closed his eyes and bowed his head as a manner of presenting his gratitude "Hajime Hyunda, pass." Hyunda was struggling to keep a normal expression as he supported his face's right side with his right palm; his eyes always going from open to close as a way of showing a desire for a greater sleep "And lastly, Daniel Lead, you too, pass." Daniel showed no visible emotion to this and simply looked at Basara once.
Basara had more to say, so he elevated from his desk's seat and began to circulate over the classroom, starting from the left side where a table for two people lay -----Rikishima Ikkiri occupying it, however, alone.
The illumination of the room was steadily growing as the artificial lights were closed yet Basara's looming shadow as he walked created a decisive shilloute.
"The rest that didn't make it back are no longer part of this program as a such, the numbers have been steadily decreasing. I am, however, somewhat glad, that some of you, especially the clusterfuck waste of atoms on the male side, have decided to elevate your testosterone levels by taking the exams seriously!" Showing a brazen smile while openly mocking the remaining eight boys, Basara demonstrated his usual attitude "But... Something rather... Unexplicable happened." He stopped walking and adjoined his back to the north wall.
Behind Daniel Lead and Lus Sera---Daniel not bothered enough to look in his direction---Basara envisioned all of the class and its students---which, majority of them, looked at him as he delivered critical information in regard to something that had taken place in the island.
"Percy Phoenix." A moment of silence was upheld "Does this name ring a bell to any of you?" Sagasuga answered immediately as he simultaneously raised his right hand "Yes; I know him. He's a member of the student council, teacher." Eyes were on Sagasuga, including his table partner's on his left, Tateyana "As expected. Something rather controversial occurred when the boys' exam took place. You see, Percy Phoenix decided to use his high position as one of the members of the student council in order to facilitate an educational trip. On paper, he proposed a visit for a week to an area in London, for educational purposes only. You know how it is, something so simple that you don't even have to bat an eye to it." Basara explained it "But it wasn't...?" Shizuku, who is on the right side of the room, on the fourth dual table all the way to the south side of the room---north from Basara's perspective now---asked.
Basara clicked his two right fingers; his index and his thumb in Shizuku's direction.
"Right you are, Shizuku. Phoenix had another idea. A rather questionable one..." Instead of posing another question to the class, Basara delivered the truth "Truth is, Percy took over six hundred students from various blocks all over the school to a deserted island instead of London." The girls became somewhat bewildered although the boys not as much "They were taken to the same island where their exam took place?" Akimiyashika asked Basara from his left side, on the southwest dual table with Kawahara "Am I lying?" Basara asked out loud.
The target for this question was not Akimiyashika or any of the girls present. It was, as a matter of fact, aimed toward the boys and only them.
"No, you're not..." Tatsu was the first one to express his feelings "They came to that island. I remember it all so clearly; not only that, they kept us as prisoners most of the time..." Tatsu looked at Kawahara on his north side with hatred "Damn right, they fucking did!" Tsudo also expressed his feelings, far more vividly "Language, you waste." Basara warned Tsudo "......." He posed a silence but was quick to speak afterward "Tatsu is speaking the truth! They formed ten groups under ten leaders and kept us imprisoned the whole time after we got captured! Isn't that right, Sagasuga?!" Seeking verbal agreement as he feared his attitude didn't allow him to get his point across nicely, Tsudo passed the ball onto Sagasuga.
Correcting his posture while looking at Basara, Sagasuga emitted a respectful aura to everyone who was looking at him.
"I'm afraid they speak the truth. In the midst of our exam, we were thoroughly interrupted by their existences which came to be mild interruptions as we were held captive for days to come. However, this wouldn't be the case if they weren't particularly motivated by Kawahara, who sabotaged us directly." Eyes were now on Kawahara "...What...?" Feeling stabbed mentally, Kawahara turned to Sagasuga on his right; as Sagasuga sat on the very middle dual table at the center of the classroom "Though I know not what happened to Percy Phoenix, you became their leader somehow and an ongoing hunt for us was initiated which proved to be... highly unpleasant." Hyunda followed Sagasuga up "You, Kuzan, Rayazaki, kept us bound to trees just to halt our movements while you took the sole pleasure of allowing yourself to get ahead in the exam. Christ, all that beating was hard to get over, man..." Hyunda looked at Kawahara from the south with a provocative stare "WHAT!?" Arkalee looked at Kawahara too with hatred "The hell are you talking about?! I never did anything like that!!" Kawahara, who was becoming suddenly nervous, was finding it difficult to avoid the quickdraw allegations.
Kuzan and Rayazaki wanted to intervene but after seeing how rough Kawahara was being treated, they kept their mouths shut.
"Why are you dodging this, Kawahara?! You were their leader, weren't you?! Don't try to------" Interrupting Tatsu's verbal rant, Basara unleashed a louder response "SILENCE." It echoed perfectly through the room; the windows on the left even felt agitated "What happened between you all, is not the main concern here." Basara clarified "...What?" Tsudo's eyebrows became rigid as he thought that the topic was about that.
Basara now decided to move through the right side of the classroom where Sana's table, which is in front of Daniel's, and kept on walking while delivering new information to the now curious class.
"The actual concern is those students. As I've said, over six hundred students went to that island, so, they should have naturally gone back. However... After being thoroughly analyzed; the island has found no record of their existence. No bodies, no clues, nada." Basara stated "Mind you, this "field trip" was approved by at least four of their teachers, the sub-president of the student council, the president himself, and most importantly, the principal himself. So, even though I said that it was all papers in the end, Phoenix did manage to get their approval, somehow." This raised questions "But how? Is being a student council member that much of a power figure...?" Gale asked Basara but Sagasuga answered in his place as he believed he had a more precise answer "I don't believe it's tied to the position, Gale." Her eyes fell on Sagasuga, from across the classroom "There are, other methods... when it comes to obtaining a consensus between two parties, especially among wealthy elites like Percy Phoenix and the teachers of block A." Sagasuga indirectly implied a few things.
Not just Gale, but almost everyone in the room, understood what he was trying to imply.
"It's like that." Basara confirmed it as his journey in a circle across the classroom was halted as he stationed himself onto his desk once more "Now that the message has been delivered, I'm sure you understand what this means." Basara looked mainly at the boys present "Wait, I'm not a part of this! They all went on their own into the elevators and after the section showed a signal of being completed, I went to the helicopter with Tatsu!" Tsudo immediately pleaded not guilty, despite not being directly accused "Save it, Tsudo, you're wasting time. Not only is the island being searched to the ground, you boys, will be subjected to questioning after classes are done. However, the protocol issues that classes must go on." Basara got up and grabbed nearby chalk from the lower border of the dusty main board "Open your books; classroom will now resume!" Like before, the scenario played itself.
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Around 3 o'clock, during the afternoon, after the classes were done, the students began to disperse themselves---no longer tied to a single room. Through the second floor and a short descent to the base floor, they would exit the notorious block F; firmly bathing in light spring rain droplets--utterly gentle and harmless.
Daniel, dressed as a student with a dark blue blazer and a white shirt underneath---accompanied below with stark dark uniform pants as well as black shoes, was approached by his teacher Basara, who towered his height slightly, during his exit of block F.
"Daniel, you're up tomorrow." He spoke to Daniel as they crossed eyeglances "Yes." Daniel meekly replied, not showing much interest "..." Basara looked at Daniel for two seconds, but after that, he moved on; leaving Daniel near the entrance of block F, where other students were passing through.
The dorms lay to the south area, so Basara went to the east direction, where the uprising blocks remain. Though Daniel could go through the sheltered path that connects block F all the way to the dual path that enables anyone to decide between walking to their desired dorm down south, Daniel also took the east direction.
Or rather, he attempted to walk in the east direction, where a sheltered path definitely lies, but he was put to a halt as two girls appeared from his side; one from his right and another from his left.
They greeted him with smiles and closed eyes.
"Hiiii!!" Yukishiro and Shizuku made themselves known as Daniel didn't muster a liking to their existence "What?" Already bothered, Daniel demanded to know why they were in his way "Wow, what a pushover you are." Yukishiro spared nothing "Seriously, he's made out of stone, maybe he's the one?" Shizuku looked at Daniel's apathetic face and pondered while tilting her face to the right "I'm not in the mood for your clown gestures, fuck off." Daniel looked at the two of them with a malicious serious stare "We'll get to the point." Shizuku was very quick to dismiss her prior attitude "We would like to ask you a few question---" Yukishiro attempted to reason with Daniel "Not interested." He took three steps forward, showing no signs of interest.
Paving his path to the east side, he forcefully came through Yukishiro and Shizuku---who dodged Daniel's collision by taking two steps back from where they came from.
They watched Daniel's back as he carried his school pack with his right hand on his right back's side.
"Wanna follow him?" Shizuku asked "No... He's not the type that can be naturally reasoned with. He has an agenda of his own..." Yukishiro deducted as she formed a telescope with her semi-wet left hand; the rain pouring on a higher intensity now from the sideways "For someone like him to talk, there has to be something that only he wishes to know..." She smiled "Ahhhh, that's just like you, Yuki... He's definitely not over her death, after all..." Shizuku's eyes shrank "We need to persist with our investigation, my dear." Yukishiro finalized.
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On the northeast side of the school which is over ten kilometers in width and length, near block C, a football field could be visioned. Wet and filled with pools of water all over but more importantly, with little to no people anywhere in sight, this football field held a sheltered area to the west side of it that was a ten-metered rectangle that allowed anyone to sit on it; completely safe from any sort of torrential rain.
Not safe from the rain which had been ongoing for a while and since the sheltered path doesn't extend to the area where this particular football field is located, Daniel was a victim of torrential rain. His clothes were wet; his bag too, and his face was covered with droplets.
"A perfect day to stay inside, wouldn't you agree, Daniel?" Sagasuga asked Daniel, who was now entering the sheltered area where the brutal sound from the rain droplets' impact could be heard with extreme vocal resonance "He's lying to you, Daniel. Rain is the best, isn't it?" Hyunda cracked a smile at Daniel.
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Daniel didn't answer their question and instead sat in the middle seat in between Hyunda and Sagasuga.
The three of them watched the torrential rain pour onto the mud forming water-intersected pools furthermore.
"Daniel, what do you think of your performance?" Sagasuga asked "...Sufficient." He said though slightly hesitant "Sufficient? I'm curious; elaborate." Sagasuga gently suggested and Daniel became nervous, but nonetheless committed into explaining it from the start "The first trial, Sirius A, went arguably very well. I didn't waste too much time and got to the point fairly quickly. In Canopus, Rigil Kentarus, Arcturus, Vega, and Antares, it all went according to the agenda." No objections were made, as Sagasuga and Hyunda listened to Daniel "But... I got somewhat careless during the seventh trial, Sigma." Daniel exhibited rage as his eyebrows couldn't stop twitching "What happened?" Sagasuga asked.
Thoroughly, Daniel covered every detail and told Sagasuga and Hyunda how it exactly went down.
Until he had to reach the part about the soul liquid.
"So, why did your brain start feeling immense pressure by then?" Daniel momentarily looked at Hyunda as Sagasuga made that question "...My medicine, I neglected it and I got anxiety attacks... That's why." Daniel went with that line "That's poor judgment, Daniel. You knew what you had to do and yet you not only suffered an injury, but you were...?" He made Daniel go forward but he was finding it hard to continue as the implications would connect.
Hyunda sighed and spilled the truth as he judged that there was no point.
"I gave him a vial of soul liquid beforehand, Sagasuga." Contrasting his usual balanced expression, Sagasuga's expression started to descend into a more decensored one as he found this piece of information intolerable "Hyunda, why would you do that? It's strictly forbidden to give any of the trialists the soul liquid. Have you gone mad?" Hyunda gave Sagasuga his explanation on the matter "I didn't think he would have it in him, honestly." Hyunda confessed to Sagasuga and Daniel felt hurt by that statement "...What...?!" He wanted to know why Hyunda didn't give him a vote of confidence.
All this time, Daniel was under the impression that the vial of soul liquid was something that Hyunda had given him because he wanted to look out for him but in reality, it was simply a worst-case scenario insurance.
"Come on, Daniel. You were bound to screw up sooner or later---you need to take frequent medication and on top of that, you were tasked with killing innocent people. Even if you don't want to acknowledge it, it must have subconsciously placed a burden on you." Daniel begged to differ "No, not at all. I felt completely free and independent while killing all of them. I liked the feeling of being in control, Hyunda." Hyunda and Sagasuga looked at each other simultaneously "Regardless, you did screw up. Yoh played a trick on you, as you've described it, and your right calf was torn apart, was it not?" Forced to acknowledge Hyunda's point, Daniel didn't rebook this time.
Knowing it was meaningless to hide all the information from Sagasuga now, Daniel told the rest to Sagasuga and Hyunda, all the way until he returned back to the school via helicopter.
"Daniel... First of all, do you realize just how many infractions you have broken?" Sagasuga asked Daniel, and Daniel began to show visible nervosity "Uhh..." He looked at Hyunda "No, I never told you that you could use them." He didn't defend Daniel "I-I didn't know that I couldn't use them!" Sagasuga looked at Hyunda with an abhorrent expression "It's not your fault, Daniel. It's his." Sagasuga sighed "And----her's too. I am undoubtedly curious as to why she was the selected one? There were so many other options, Hyunda. Did you get her to come to the island?" Sagasuga asked Hyunda and Hyunda calmly replied "No, I sent a monitor request but after some thinking, I suggested her because she does have more experience with the rebirth process and thought it would further motivate Daniel to succeed. I wasn't wrong." Hyunda delivered his explanation.
Sagasuga sighed yet again as he didn't find Hyunda's explanation satisfactory.
He took a deep breath and talked to Daniel now.
"There's a lot to digest here, Daniel. Hyunda and I will have a detailed discussion about whether or not you ultimately qualify to be a member, Daniel." Daniel became perplexed "W-What?! I completed eight out of ten trials! That's eighty percent, Sagasuga!" Presenting a percentage-type of approach, Daniel made his stand "Indeed, if all there was at evaluation were the passage of the trials, then you'd be undoubtedly qualified. However, that's simply not true. To give you an example, you abused the Galilei device for far too long. You took your time with them far, FAR too long. Despite the Galilei device allowing you to functionally control the pre-determined time within the sections so that it never starts unless a section is either cleared or via an administrator's decision---in this case, it's deemed a success----it's still not an excuse." Harsher now, Sagasuga showed no quarter.
Seeing as he wasn't getting across Sagasuga or Hyunda, Daniel began to feel a bit emotionally agitated as he was unsure of what he would do if he were not to be elected.
"Daniel." Hyunda's call made Daniel snap out of it "Go to sleep; you're not fully recovered from the trials still. By tomorrow, I will give you the answer." Daniel could barely accept that but there wasn't anything that he could do about it "You did well, Daniel. It's just a matter of putting everything into the scale and seeing whether or not it's balanced." Sagasuga adjoined his opinion to it as well.
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A little bit after that, Daniel made his way to the male dorms though looking defeated; psychologically. The raindrops were now not as severe but they could still be sensed, as he walked through the crater on block F's left side.
"Well..." He rotated his jaw upward amidst apathy in order to feel the rain even more "If I'm not in, then I will just end it. What a shame though... I gave Syndrana a fake equation; I wrote it from my memory from the time I told Youjo a part of the real equation... Yet, how come I know the real equation... No, it's not that I know it, but... Didn't I always have it...?" Daniel rapidly put his two hands on top of his brain while kneeling down with his back adjoined to the wall of block F.
The thought of the real equation---the genuine deal---the alma matter of it; just by simply taping into that thought process, although he couldn't do this before, he arrived at a singular conclusion.
"When?! When...?! I always had it with me! From the start! But who was it that...." Daniel's memory began to remember a time when he had kept the genuine article with him, but it was eventually stolen away from him "Oh..." Daniel elevated his posture and aimed toward the male dorm on the west side.
Passing through the small gate containing a height of three meters and a width of four, Daniel had officially entered the dorm and he could already hear noises.
"THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?! SAY IT ONE MORE TIME, I'LL CLOBBER YOUR HEAD INTO THE VENDING MACHINE, FREAK!!" Rayazaki's voice was heard from the cafeteria which is just up ahead all the way to the north side for Daniel "BET, PUSSY!" Tsudo's voice was heard as well but this time, a table could be heard being trashed to the side.
Daniel took out his shoes and shook his head so the droplets all over his hair would decrease.
Direction-wise, if Daniel wanted to go to the cafeteria, all he had to was go north. Since there are only bathrooms to the hallways' left, Daniel's choices were to either go to the path on his right which will lead to his dorm's supervisor's room, or he could ultimately start to climb the stairs that start on his right side a meter from his current position.
He judged that who he wanted to talk to was not in the cafeteria as he thought that he would've heard him already, so he ascended to the second floor of the dorm.
Semi-bright illumination covered Daniel as he entered the second floor which contains six rooms. Furthermore, the hallway holds a grand size of twenty meters yet a small width of a meter and a half. There are two one-metered rectangular-shaped windows allocated on the east and west side of the wall on the right---one can see the not faraway female dorm from them and a few blocks up north.
As Daniel walked further into the hallway, he didn't encounter anyone, but that somewhat made sense for him. He knows that Hyunda and Sagasuga are absent from the dorm. Rayazaki and Tsudo are downstairs having an argument alongside Tatsu and Kuzan, which only leaves a single person left.
In the very last room just right before ascending to the third floor, Daniel knocked on his door.
"Kawahara, it's me, Daniel." His voice was rather apathetic "The fuck do you want? Not in the mood, dude." Very harshly, Kawahara left nothing to hide as he seemed quite angry "Don't you want to know the truth? It's bothering you, isn't it?" A few seconds of silence remained and loud footsteps could be heard.
Suddenly, with extreme precision, even to the point of mildly surprising Daniel---Kawahara opened his door and used his right hand to drag Daniel into his room while slamming the door at the same time.
The bright artificial light emitted from the sole lamp that came from Kawahara's headboard right next to his bed; made the luminosity here somewhat poor.
"You! Speak, NOW!" Getting physically intimidating with Daniel by adjoining Daniel's chest to the right wall of his room, Kawahara forced Daniel to speak "...That hurts... Can't I have a seat instead?" Daniel proposed "Daniel, you can seat later, I don't give a fuck! I want to know what's happening!!" Kawahara let go of Daniel's chest and untied the upper buttons of his own blazer "I don't mind telling you that, Kawahara." Daniel said "On with it." He ordered "Not so fast. I will tell you everything from scratch and you will understand everything, but I need it back." Daniel now walked in Kawahara's direction so he could see Daniel's serious eyes.
However, Kawahara did not understand what Daniel was saying at all.
"Daniel, what the fuck?! BE DIRECT!!" Kawahara shouted at Daniel "THE BOX! YOU HAD KUZAN STEAL IT FROM MY ROOM MONTHS AGO AND YOU KEPT IT WITH YOU!!" Daniel showed visible emotion as well as agitation "......" Kawahara's face became rigid and chained as he tried to think of Daniel's words.
After precisely five seconds, just as Daniel was about to burst, Kawahara turned his back on him and headed to his bed to the left.
He took a seat and then clicked his fingers.
"I remember now! You were stupidly obsessed with that fucking box! But wait, we had a deal, Daniel!" Kawahara remembered it; Daniel walked in his direction side to side with Kawahara's eighty centimeters tall and a meter width plasma on his right "The deal or the truth, you choose." Daniel offered him a choice "Both." He struck his bargain "There's no way I can do that. Have you seen the way she looks at our teacher? You're out of his league." Daniel delivered the truth "Shut up, that's not true, I------" Not in the mood for some sort of comical dialogue, Daniel became very persistent "I'm not here to waste time, Kawahara. You will be the primal suspect at the end of this and once evidence piles up... Well, let's just say your fate will become equal to those that you don't see anymore in the classroom." Kawahara gulped.
Intersecting their vision; their strong eyes looked at one another and Kawahara refused to bargain any further.
He got up from his bed, walked to the northeast side of his room, which is a square-shaped one, upholding three meters to each angle----and went for his drawers where he keeps his usual clothes. There are four drawers but Kawahara went to the second one and after digging through the clothes there, Daniel saw a mini box that was smaller than Kawahara's right hand. This box contained familiar colors such as scarlet red and glittering gold on its borders.
Most noticeable was the fact that the box which is in the shape of a coffin, is a blockade with a small horizontal cylindrical lock encrypted in numbers. Therefore, it will only open if the correct numbers are all inserted.
Kawahara showed no hesitation in tossing it to Daniel, despite Daniel not thinking that was a great idea.
"WATCH IT!!" Daniel firmly caught the locked miniature of a box with his two hands just like holding a newborn baby; in addition to lashing out at Kawahara "I tried many, MANY times to open it, but not even I have the patience to waste my entire life on calculating all the possible numbers until I just get the right combination. IT'S A FUCKING 19 NUMBER COMBINATION, MAN!!" Kawahara also complained as Daniel kept on observing the coffin-like miniature box in his hands; holding a look of admiration somewhat crossing the line of obsession.
Transiently, Kawahara snapped his right-hand fingers in front of Daniel's face in order to wake him up.
"YO!" Daniel hid the box inside his pants' right pocket and put on a serious expression "So, where to start..." Daniel took a seat on Kawahara's bed, in the middle of it meanwhile Kawahara supported himself with his back against his wide wooden desk; his two hands holding onto the boarders as he faced Daniel.
For about thirty minutes, Daniel would tell Kawahara a version of the story that he envisioned to be a conventional narrative from his point of view.
Therefore, after a lengthy explanation and answering many questions, Daniel was done with his long story. Kawahara, on the other hand, had a difficult expression. He was unsure of how to process the entirety of the newfound information and how to perceive it from an objective standpoint. His facial expression was margining between rigid and nervous.
Daniel found it necessary to offer some more words, as he snapped his neck to the right side a little bit.
"...Now you understand why you, Kuzan, and Rayazaki will be the primal suspects." Kawahara immediately asked something "How the hell is it possible that I remember everything from all the way I killed Percy Phoenix, but after that, I just can't...?! The last thing after that I remember is waking up here in my bed the next day!" Kawahara described his experience "You must feel confused, but now you know why, Kawahara. Anyways..." Seeing as Daniel didn't gain anything more from being here as he had achieved his two goals, he got up from Kawahara's bed.
Not looking in Kawahara's direction, Daniel simply walked straight into the room's door, seeking an exit.
"Wait. I need to say something." Kawahara made Daniel stop just before opening the door lock "....?" Daniel slightly rotated his head to the right just so he could see Kawahara's face as he got up too; placing his right hand on Daniel's right shoulder "I'm sorry about your girl, man." Daniel's eyes widened "...." Unable to respond, Daniel couldn't form a verbal reply "It's fucked up, no one should have to go through what you went through and what you're going through. I don't know from experience but I just want you to know that I---" Daniel interrupted Kawahara "Thanks. Me too." Daniel smiled and replied, but Daniel's second sentence confused Kawahara momentarily although he instantly brushed it off as he figured this wasn't the time "You should try some other one, it'll be easier, just saying." Kawahara offered his suggestion, with a smug-looking expression.
For a single moment, in utter, plain disbelief, Daniel was left stone; speechless---Kawahara wondered if something had happened to Daniel.
Until he saw Daniel's lips start to twist in laughter.
"Haha..." Daniel's eyebrows formed a ridiculous structure as he felt the need to perform a crescent hysterical laughter "HAHAHAHA!!!" Exhibiting a clinically unstable type of laughter, Daniel put his two hands around his stomach area as he fell on the ground with his knees laughing nonstop "HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Dripping saliva from his mouth's corners began to unravel itself but more importantly, Daniel's laughter was the trouble; it was a strange, cryptic, unholy laughter that Kawahara had never heard before---and this transiently haunted him "What the----" Daniel in the midst of his laughing spree, got up from the ground and stopped laughing; resuming the dialogue now in a normal manner "Kawahara... Haha... If... Hah..." But he was still struggling with keeping a straight face "If something out of the ordinary happens, let me know. All of you, are like brothers to me. And trust me, we are all going to make it. All of us." Daniel saw himself out of Kawahara's room, still lowly laughing---ultimately closing the door with brutal strength.
Kawahara was left wordless as he pondered whether or not he knew the person he was just talking to.
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Not far away; as a matter of fact, too close to where the conversation took place, a reception was thoroughly transmitted to the two-way radio device in the middle of the table. Seating in the lonely cafeteria in the middle of the afternoon, all the way to the table on the southwest corner which holds the capacity for four, Yukishiro and Shizuku paid close attention to the reception.
"Dude's fucked in the head..." They heard Kawahara's dialogue as his electronic voice came from the radio's reception and didn't do anything as they wanted to see what Kawahara had to further say "Still, Kuzan and Rayazaki should by now know, otherwise they will be confused and won't understand the situation. I need to resume the Hideout's activities as soon as possible..." Shizuku spoke out loud to Yukishiro as she heard that "Hideout? Rings a bell?" Shizuku shrugged midst her confusion "Hmm..." Yukishiro put her right hand's face on her chin while thinking "It has to be a secret area, for sure. But that's strange... We found no such thing during our "trip" there, right?" She wanted to confirm with Shizuku "Nope, we didn't. Kawahara here, is holding onto a secret..." Shizuku lowly laughed as she looked at the radio in the form of a walkie-talkie "Oh, my dear, that's not it! That's not it at all..." Yukishiro's sudden wicked smile caught Shizuku's attention.
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Furthermore, Yukishiro shut down the radio as she judged that further information wasn't necessarily crucial.
"That story... Do you believe it, Shizuku?" Yukishiro questioned Shizuku and with a huge smile, she replied "Nooooppppeeee, although there's probably some truth to it; just a lot of lies mixed up. Mister Daniel is a clever one; he took the initiative to go out of his way to feed a story that Kawahara would probably otherwise never know, right?" Yukishiro agreed "Yes, yes. I agree very much. Now the question remains... Just what was Daniel's goal with this initiative...? He could've kept his mouth shut and let the blame eventually fall onto Kawahara as he said, but he went out of his way to do something here... Don't you find it rather odd, Shizuku?" They greatly enjoyed asking each other these questions "Oh it's odd alright. However, through this alone, we have definite proof---or rather, some substantial evidence though not concrete, that Kawahara was involved with Percy Phoenix's supposed death." Shizuku reasoned.
Yukishiro saw this from another point of view, however.
"Proof? Oh, Shizuku, you're so much better than that..." She gently massaged Shizuku's orange hair's left bang; the latter feeling slightly embarrassed "It's not about proving what happened, but rather, to collect the pieces of the puzzle. If we go out of our way to let them know what we know, then that's no good. And for that matter, you know what's next?" Yukishiro's eyes became narrowed as her ideas spread like wildfire in Shizuku's brain "In order to collect the pieces of the puzzle, we need to first know where the pieces are, but if they are already for our use, then we hold nothing back." She concluded.