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'The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is'
—Winston Churchill

••●••

The blaring, reverberating beep overfilled the darkened room, not seeming to stop for a second. Even for the brunet, it was an unnerving sound. He knew he couldn't stay hidden forever; that he had to keep moving forward. And it was that enigmatic senior of his who made him remember that.

Tadashi who was sitting on his bed pushed himself forward and onto the floor. He shuffled his feet to where his phone lay, and with a sigh, he bent down to pick it up, frowning to himself as he shut off the shrill 'beep!'

Turning his head toward the light switch, the brunet hesitated before flipping it on. He squinted as a result, hating the effect of the light after being away from it for a week's time. And his room's condition wasn't in any better shape. Since when had it become like a zoo had stayed for a visit in here?

Moving to his washroom, Tadashi's focus landed on his reflection in the mirror and he nearly cringed at the horrendous sight. His hair was messy and all over the place, his complexion was pallid, his eyes still red and puffy, clothes mismatched and colourless; he looked like a living zombie to put it nicely.

Staring at himself for a while caused Tadashi to inhale a deep breath. He shut his eyes, memories overfilling his mind.

"I didn't think you'd let this knock you down. Regardless of whose fault it was, I took you to be a person that never gave up no matter what. Who never hid just because something out of their reach happened. The Tadashi Matsumoto I know isn't frail like that."

Tadashi opened his eyelids once more, his pale eyes reflecting his seriousness.

She was right. Why was he hiding? What was he hiding from? His guilt?

He frowned. Of course he felt guilty. No matter what Ayame said, it was more his fault than theirs. It was. But did he need to hide because of that?

"Standing up. Getting something done. Never giving up. That's a very unique and impossible way of doing things, but it's how I accomplish everything. And this case will be no different. I will put a stop to this tragedy, with or without your cooperation. You could stay where you are if you want, I'm not forcing you to get over it so soon and come back to help. But if... if you really want to make a difference—to stop this occurrence, to make it up to your guilt, to move forward—come assist us..."

Tadashi's mouth curved into an unexpected smile. It was a foreign expression on his face, as if he'd never smiled in years.

Once again, she was right. She always was.

He ran a comb through his tangled hair, washed his face, brushed his teeth, showered, prepped himself up. He wasn't going to sit around any longer.

"They, along with myself, need you to put a stop to this case. That's why I'm asking you to not give up."

Clenching his fists determinedly, Tadashi threw on his school uniform. No more sitting around. He was going to do it. He was going to go help them! And he was definitely going to find the mastermind and put a stop to this occurrence once and for all!

Exiting his room, Tadashi had his destination clear in his mind: the academy.

Just as he turned towards the staircase, something snagged his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned his head toward his parents room where he spotted a shiny jewelry box placed onto their dresser. He'd never seen it there before.

Curious, Tadashi stepped into the room and approached the box. His eyelids peeled further apart at the sight of the designs enveloping the glass. The familiar, intricate markings were like a punch to the gut.

Tadashi's heart rate picked up.

No way.

Racing toward his room, Tadashi dug through his messy room, throwing around his t-shirts and pants, and scattered papers, until he found it resting on his table. Snatching the item from it, he dashed back into his parents room, panting heavily.

He held the key he found at the day camp up to the box to compare the design and his eyes shrunk back.

It was a match.

He did wonder why the design felt so familiar. The box was always within this room; right under his nose. But his parents had never opened it in a long time because they lost the key somewhere so it was a decorative antique they'd kept idling inside their room. And now, for some reason, it was placed right before him.

But...

Eyeing the key up and down, Tadashi pondered if he should do it. Should he put the key through the hole? Would it work?

Despite telling himself it possibly couldn't and it was just a mistake since he found it nowhere near in the vicinity of his home, Tadashi's hands were already moving. Sliding it into the lock and turning it, Tadashi's eyelids shot up as he heard a faint click. It worked?!

Extending his hands to the top of the box, he wasted no time to pull it open. It came as a surprise to him when his gaze landed upon the large amounts of papers stuffed inside. No signs of jewelry were placed around it despite it being a jewelry box, which baffled him.

Tadashi frowned unsurely before grabbing one of the papers. This was what was inside of them? It somehow got him excited to know what it contained, and he just assumed it was something big considering all that was happening lately.

He flipped it open to read its content, and his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets in shock. His gaze travelled up and down the paper in swift speed, hoping, begging that this was all a lie. Wasn't this supposed to be just a meaningless paper...?

Tadashi's throat felt dry as he swallowed hard. All his determination from a while ago flew out the window as his attention was glued to his name and the seven letter word printed on the document.

"I'm... adopted?"

☻ ☺ ☻

"I found something regarding the school." Kazuma stood up straight as he addressed every member there. "I wanted to address this information to Tadashi but, I'll tell you it without him anyway.

"Though, before you get the wrong idea, Tadashi isn't working for the Student Council," he clarified briefly, pointing his gaze in Ayame's direction. "We've made a deal." He chuckled wryly in remembrance. "Since I've been interested in this case, I asked him for a little trade. What I said before, the person I believe may be the one responsible for the occurrences that have been taking place lately, I was talking about one of you. I suspect one of the members of this club to be responsible for it—to be the mastermind—so I asked Tadashi to give me a report on everything that happens during club time every week.

"He's a little too trusting if you ask me, but he didn't accept this deal suspecting all of you," continued Kazuma. "He only agreed because he wanted to prove me wrong. He wanted to prove that nobody in the CRF was a traitor and would never commit such a crime."

Ryuu's eyelids shot up. "So—"

"He trusts all of you." Kazuma pointed Yasuo's way. "So I don't believe he's a traitor, or whatever else you may be thinking."

Ayame furled her fingers into a fists, a bunch of emotions swirling within her. Opening her mouth, she asked the question everyone was waiting answers for.

"What did you find about the school?"

Once again, Kazuma's eyes fell upon the female. Though they shared similar stoic natures, he couldn't stop himself from goggling at her.

Clearing his throat, Kazuma shook away the notion before starting to explain what he had meant, "It may be a little difficult to take in, but I'd first like to start by talking about Izumi Shinzo."

All four members blinked at his words.

"I don't know if you're aware of this... but Izumi Shinzo isn't the Prime Minister's daughter. She's—"

Yasuo cut off the Student Council President of Kaisei Academy with a scoff, "Hate to break it to you Mr. All-Knowing-President, but that chapter is already done and over with."

Kazuma paused, his expression portraying his puzzlement.

Yasuo smirked at his reaction. "I'm saying you're one week too late. If it's about Shinzo and her past, we already figured that out." Crossing his arms behind his head, he snorted at his surprise. "I guess the SC isn't all that resourceful and fast after all."

Kazuma was taken aback by his declaration and was at a loss of words. It rarely ever happened. "...Done? So you're already aware of the Kitoshi's..."

Sullen looks enveloped both Akira and Ryuu's faces at the mention.

"That's what we've been saying," Yasuo said, speaking up in everyone's place. He closed his eyes painfully, clenching his teeth. "Shinzo's mystery is over."

The ticking of the clock in the room echoed within the quiet space while Kazuma hurriedly relinquished himself.

Gulping back any further questions, Kazuma opened his mouth. "Then, that makes things quick."

Everyone's heads snapped toward the black haired male, intrigued.

"Regarding the information I found out about the school itself..." Kazuma frowned sourly. "The principal of the academy committed suicide about two weeks ago. He was found dead in his own home last week."

What... Everyone's blood ran cold, their eyes enlarged in shock. D-dead...?

Akira bolted up from her seat, her cerulean eyes filled with a distraught emotion. "You're kidding us, right? Principal Toudou—"

"The police are keeping it top secret but I heard the teachers talking about it in the faculty lounge." Kazuma's eyes met hers. "Principal Hiroshi Toudou is dead."

Akira's face paled drastically, and she flopped back down into her chair, yanking at her hair in disbelief. No way... There was no way... She covered her ears to block out his voice, her breathing intensifying. Not again. Not again.

There was no way this was happening again!

"Of how I know he committed suicide, I guess you could say I pieced it together," Kazuma continued, oblivious to Akira's reaction along with everyone else. "The principal killed himself due to how scared he was of the Kitoshi's. He also had promised them to watch over Moriko Kitoshi during her time here at school, so he was terrified of them coming to kill him for letting her get kidnapped on school premises.

"But if you guys have been following the news," Kazuma went on, knitting his eyebrows together. With a serious edge to his voice, he said, "It was announced yesterday that most of the Kitoshi family have been assassinated."

Kazuma closed his eyes, ignoring their jaw-dropped reactions to his words.

"I guess this means that the principal died in vain... With the Kitoshi family in this condition, they lost all their dominance and power in one night. That's why, everyone, I'm telling you right here and now because I know. The mastermind has wormed his way through anything and everything occurring around us and that may as well be showcasing he is one of you. He or she is destroying this city from the inside out. This entire case is more than what we all thought and yet knowing that, all of you are still letting your guards down. You're denying everything that is happening and turning the other way because you don't want to get involved anymore. But from what I know, the mastermind isn't one to simply give up on you. He started this 'game' to make your lives, along with everyone else's, miserable."

Scowling, the black-haired male didn't hesitate with his next words.

"The mastermind really thought it all through; from the start to finish. These... games of his are only just the beginning." Kazuma's violet tinged hues carefully scanned all four members gathered. "Just like Chiaki Asahina and Iori Yutaka, there may even still be traitors amongst you now."

☻ ☺ ☻

Heyo~! Ignoring how my chapters nowadays have ended in nothing but cliffhangers, I'm making the chapters shorter now because it's easier for me to write it that way. I don't know, the whole thought of "aww, I have to make this chapter this long" just makes me lose my will to write, lol.

I'm also gonna try to update a lot this spring break, hence the many updates I've been putting forth. And an apology for the messy chapter too. It feels extra crummy to me but no matter what I did, I couldn't make it any better so... x'( Still hoped you enjoyed the chapter regardless~

‹ SOME QUESTIONS ›

↪ Who do you think is the traitor/ the righthand man?
↪ Who do you think is the mastermind?

-Misty