All of those damn things just happened so fast that I felt like still dreaming in my previous sleep. Two of my best friends had suddenly gone. One was killed, and the other was accused for his murder, and had been deserted by us. But, nobody could change that fact anymore. These heartless truths really had happened, and I must accept it no matter how hard they are. Though, I had already been completely destroyed by now.

Insane! Just insanity! Damn! Every single damned thing!

We were back again in Kazuki’s room, the third murder scene. I blankly stared at my poor friend’s dead body. I know that I must accept it. But it really isn’t as easy as talk. I …, my heart was ruptured. This long acquainted friend of mine really had gone from this world, forever. I felt dizzy. My heart was beating randomly, and so forcefully that I almost puked out everything I ate at the breakfast.

I wanted to hit something real hard. So, I bite on my teeth in fury, and punched the wall beside me as heavily as I could with a voiceless shout, not even concerned about getting hurt or anything. A truest power of grief and anguish was released on that single hit, resulting a big thud in the entire room.

What stupid secret were you going to tell me after the dinner? Why couldn’t you keep your promise?

Why? Why!? Why!!? Why did you need to apologize!!? Did you really not believe I could understand your feeling? Am I really that undependable? Hah!!?

At the end, I was unable to restrain myself from screaming my lungs out.

Everyone were startled. But, I felt a bit better now with my heart pumping slower, and my right-hand throbbing and shaking with real bloods instead of those in my insides. I forced myself to alter my anger into finding the real murderer. To save the one who is still alive, Kaede. She must have been falsely accused. She isn’t the murderer, even more surely isn’t as Kazuki’s killer, our real close friend together since middle school.

Kaigo said with an awkward smile.

“Wow! Wow! Wow! My condolences.”

But, I ignored him. Instead, I felt sorry for the death body that was still lying exposed on the floor.

“Can I carry Kazuki’s body onto bed, at least?”

Ringo answered with an awkward smile.

“But! But! But! It is best if we don’t move the body and all other things in the murder scene.”

“That will considerably aid for the incoming authorities’ further investigations,” Fionna explained from her long silence.

Yes, they were right. I sighed inside my mind, and looked at my friend’s cold corpse again.

Suddenly, a large white cloth was laid on the top of the body gently. It is probably one of the spare blankets taken from that person’s room. The one who did this kind of last considerate thing for the death with bitter expression, is Elena. She was in remorse as well.

“Elena …,” I uttered in a low voice subconsciously.

The atmosphere began to get crowded again after a brief of silence in grieving moment.

“All right, we will, then, proceed to this case’s investigation, to see if we could dig out something useful that could lead to the truth,” Elena had strengthened herself already while I was still bearing some emotions over the death of our old friend. Though, her eyes were still red as well, she was already on her gloves long before I noticed.

“You still haven’t convinced even after the murderer has been caught? You want to further spoil the death’s remains again?” This was the first time I had ever heard Megumi spoke directly to Elena since the first day. But, the tone isn’t a pleasant one.

“Calm your most delicate heart down, our young milady,” Kaigo was imitating a servicing butler toward the rich daughter.

“We just want to clean up the dust in the room that might have covered up some little evidences to solve the mysteries of the first two crimes, our young milady,” Ringo was mimicking a cleaning maid toward the rich daughter.

Megumi seemed to heed some words in, but she was still not in a good mood.

Then, just like before, only the twins and Elena who were doing the search on the murder scene. The rest of us, 5 people, were just waiting at the outside of the room. We really didn’t have any particular desire to go to any specific place anymore because of this shocking incident.

I looked at my wristwatch, which was only pointing at three minutes to 10 a.m. Still not even a full day have been spent in this mansion, but so many horrible and dreadful things had happened already. In this first middle school reunion, three of our ex-classmates had been killed, including one of them is my precious best friend in my life. Also, my other trustworthy friend had been accused as my best friend’s murderer. I thought this kind of interesting mystery plot could only be created from within the imagination, and exists exclusively inside fictional writing to appeal the readers. So, am I the main character now? There are the real murders. And of course, I don’t find it appealing at all.

Is there going to be more? Let’s hope … not.

Twenty minutes had passed, and the clue seekers finally came out of the room. They gave us their hard-gained result for free, while Elena was taking her investigation gears off with blank expression.

Kaigo announced while pulling his gloves off crudely.

“There is nothing to be found interesting. Also, no will has been left by the victim.”

Ringo followed while pulling her gloves off crudely.

“This certainly is a murder.”

“I … still couldn’t believe it! Kae-nee must have been framed!! Please check it again …,” Chika began to cry again. It is perfectly natural as she trusts her sister so much.

“What do you mean by that!? You didn’t hear what I had said before? I had seen it with my own eyes, Kaede-chan is the murderer!” Megumi still insisted on Chika.

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“For now, though Kazuki’s murderer might have been caught but …,” Kaigo deliberately unfinished it.

“… the murderer of the first double murders is still in free,” Ringo deliberately finished it.

“Are they one of us here?” Ryouta asked weakly.

“I believe they are. Though, Mr. Fujioka is still also a suspect,” Fionna only used her sharp intuition to answer.

“We, too, also, as well, believe in our cool Ms. Fionna, either,” The twins were showing their foreign young woman off in the middle as though a VIP proudly as they agreed with her without any evidences.

Then, what about the Snow White that I had seen before? Is the murderer a female? Is she really a girl? Is she also one of us? Then, why only appearing in front of me, and as another person, and even sent me the letter? Is the knife fake? Is the blood … fake? Is she really ever existed?

“That means we are still not safe yet,” Megumi was worried, and looked at us suspiciously.

“That is right, we must still in our very defense for the incoming stealthy attack from the first and second crime murderer while …,” Ringo was unfinished in a dignified manner.

“… striving to find them,” Kaigo was finished in a dignified manner.

“This is a battle between us, the real graduated middle school students with the one who has the corrupted mind, that self-claimed 13th middle school reunion member, who is still living in the past,” Elena said with absolute resolution. She must be feeling extremely distressed, and very impatient to expose that lunatic murderer as well.

That is right. All of us, or at the very least, me alone had yearned for so much to have a happy reunion party with the rest of our ex-classmates from middle school. We were hoping for an exciting time spent together again, and reconnecting our long lost friendships since graduation. But, who would have ever guessed that it would end up this way? There is at least one murderer lurking around in this regrouping party, and he or she is very likely blending among us. One of us had changed, to … an insane one. Why? Because a normal one wouldn’t be able to think about murdering someone, to kill their own ex-classmates as though showing to the others that they deserved to die in such a gruesome way. A normal one wouldn’t have done such things, moreover, during a reunion.

While the others were already silently leaving the newest crime scene, I still wanted to accompany my white-cloth-covered old friend a little while longer. I kneeled down in front of him until I thought all the rest had left the room. My best friend and I …, only one was living right now.

Though we are just that inseparable.

After a while, it was the time for me to move on as well. So, I took a deep breath, stood up, and turned myself around to take the first step. But, a low and weak voice called, stopping me from leaving.

“Yoru ….”

Of course, I recognized that very familiar sound. It came from the only one of the other left exempted gang member right now whom had accompanied me in almost every situation back then, Elena. I turned to face her who stood by the door. I was so distracted that I didn’t even notice her until just now.

Though she was very determined just a while ago, but she continued to say the rest with a regretful expression.

“I am very sorry for the lost of Kazuki-kun as well, also … for behaving so cruel to Kaede-chan.”

I was the one who was feeling bad for her. Now that I had cooled my head a bit, I think I could understand her reason behind that.

“No, you have done the right thing for that moment. I am sorry … for shouting at you before. I am so stupid. If you just left it as it was, and didn’t isolate Kaede-chan away from us. There is no telling what will have happened to her by the rest of us. As it wouldn’t be fair if she isn’t arrested for being a murderer, or something. But, I still believe in her even though there are just Chika and I. Kaede-chan didn’t kill Kazuki.”

“No …, it isn’t like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I also don’t think of Kaede-chan as the perpetrator of Kazuki-kun’s …, at least for this moment.”

“What!?”

I thought Elena and the others already judged Kaede as the most suspected among us, which is the main reason to lock her up. But now, Elena had said that she doesn’t think of that way. Yet, why did she still suggest to lock her up?

The long black-haired gang member continued with a little change of aura, a serious tone.

“Because, as I think of it if I were in her position, when Megumi-chan said about had seen Kaede-chan doing something on Kazuki-kun’s coat. She could just give us some random excuses, and not as easily accepted everything as she did before. Though, she was still so broken down for our best friend’s sudden death.”

“Then … what about those spilled words?”

She stared even more deeply at me. After a slight pause, she said.

“Don’t you think that provided information is way too … specific, and not necessary at all? As though she had deliberately said that. Also, still about those Kazuki-kun’s belongings, Kaede-chan could just say that she has already known his medicines are in his coat by that time because the two of them are so close that she might have known his habit to stuff in there. It is an undeniable fact that she could just say those easy excuses because of their closer relationship than the rest of us. I have even heard that they are still always contacting each other after our graduation up until now. It isn’t an information that only the perpetrator would have known, more or less the spilled words. It isn’t a complete checkmate.”

I was dumbfounded, a little.

“Now that I think of what you have just said. It seems sensible. I would have kept my mouth from saying too much if I were the murderer. Even more careful about such vital information about the cause of the homicide.”

Elena smiled a bit.

“Precisely, Kaigo and Ringo already noticed that, and that is why they are still going to investigate more to it. The way Kaede-chan behaved is way too strange. She must still have something kept in secret. The worst possibility that I could think of is she is blackmailed.”

“Blackmailed? By who? The real murderer?”

“That is what we are going to find out.”

I was so relieved to hear those words came from the others especially from Elena who is also our gang members. I felt really-really dumb now for acting so recklessly at them without thinking logically first. She is so wise in her every action, but still hadn’t answered my most basic question from the first place.

“Umm …, then, why do we need to lock her up?”

Elena seemed a little surprised. She raised her eyebrows.

“You can’t be kidding me! You really haven’t figured it out, have you? I had especially asked for a room that doesn’t have any window to prevent any attack from the outside, and a stronger door to keep her protected from any breakable by force, while its room key and master key are kept by Kaigo and Ringo whom I most trusted, and had even gone through all the troubles to suggest setting up a telephone for her in case any emergency situation ever happened. Do you think that all those actions are just a whim?”

“I still don’t understand.”

My friend sighed. But, she still continued.

“If Kaede-chan isn’t the murderer, and now is being threatened, then, simply locking her up is the safest option.”

That brief and plain sentence had cured my long concern.