↑ Yasuo Ishikawa above ↑

••●••

'Friends show their true colors in times of need; and not in times of happiness'
— Kristian Goldmund Aumann

••●••

Yasuo Ishikawa didn't know what exactly to feel when he saw his closet companion laying dead in the math hallway's floor. The police were hovering over him, keeping the students that remained behind yellow tape, while some even evacuated them out of the building. His heart was thudding in fast, irregular beats, but his body was numb. His eyes had shrunk back, feet stuck in place.

"Nobuo..."

Yasuo was slowly whipping his head from side to side. No... no...

"I need you to do something for me, Yasuo."

The sixteen-year-old's mind traced back to the conversation he had just last week.

"Kill those clubmates of yours and peace will be restored. You like peace, don't you? I'll give you as much money as you need, and I want you to eradicate them. Simple deal, right?"

Yasuo's fingers furled into fists as his breathing hiked. His mouth was quivering, his eyes glued to the bloodied mess of the friend he grew up with his entire life.

"Yasuo, huh? My code name is Crimson. I'm shitty when it comes to assassinations, but let's get along, okay?"

"Hey kid, I need you to get away from the site."

The police officer's words didn't reach Yasuo's ears. Instead, his head lifted up, eyes gleaming with such malice and animosity it could kill somebody with just one look. The intensity of it even made the officer flinch.

"Seii..." The blond's face scrunched up as he turned on his soles, stomping down the hallway. Grounding his teeth, nothing but the urge to stab and shoot the new principal of the academy welled up inside of him. "You're dead... I'm freakin' killing you... Fucking bastard...."

Nothing had gone his way for as long as he could remember. All he did was get himself involved with crazy things, and get hurt in the end. Hitmen troubles and gigs, the whole Crime Games ordeal, the death of his dad, his clubmates, his crush.

Yasuo's heart squeezed at the thought. He quickly blinked back the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat.

Minamoto... Yasuo stuffed his hands in his pockets, his destination clear in mind. I'll get revenge for you if it's the last thing I do—I promise.

Letting out a shaky exhale, Yasuo came to a halt once he reached two large doors. Since it was after school, nobody was anywhere near the principal's office, but if he listened closely, he could hear the faint whispers of his sneaky and underhanded employer and another male, maybe a teacher. Nothing along the lines of fear were shown on the Yasuo's face.

Slinging it off his shoulders, the blond pulled out his gun from his bag. He eyed it thoughtfully, going over the reckless idea in his head. If he followed through with it, there was no guarantee he'd be the one to live. No, it would make more sense if he were the one to die. And he'd for sure have to leave the academy if he walked through these doors now...

The teen gulped, hazel hues swelling with his resolve. But he couldn't go down without a fight—there was no way he was going to. Seii... he had to die.

"You're such a horrible person, Ishikawa!" fumed the blue-haired girl he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of.

"I agree, can't you just give it up?" Ayame chimed in, crossing her arms.

"Shut up, Kobayashi!" he had barked. "This plan is the best!

Ryuu pursed his lips. "How is bombing the entire school the best way?"

"Ooh, I like it! I like it! Explosions are awesome!" Haru giggled.

"See, two against twelve!"

Tadashi sweatdropped. "That's obviously a disadvantage..."

"Why doesn't he understand this already?" Izumi snorted. "We're doing a mass murder, not an act of terrorism."

"Wh-Wh-Where w-would we k-keep the bombs anyways?" Mayumi said, biting her thumbnail.

Kiyoshi adjusted his glasses. "Th-That's not even worth th-thinking about..."

"I agree." Atsushi folded his arms. "This is ridiculous!"

"More like...moronic..." Juzo yawned, head implanted into the table.

"Me doesn't understand! What are everyone talking about?" Iori pouted, puzzled by how fast things were moving.

"Same here," Saya—or really Chiaki—agreed. "Is this an actual murder or what?"

Katsura opened her mouth. "It isn't."

Yasuo slammed his fists onto the table, boiling with anger. "You guys are all so negative! You didn't even let me finish!"

"Then finish," said Ayame. "Not that it'll change anything."

Yasuo growled, trying his best to suppress his anger. Eventually, in an act of defeat, he fell into his seat, folding his arms and clenching his teeth. "Screw this! I'm done participating!"

"Oh, he gave up, he gave up," snickered Akira from the sidelines.

"Finally," Ayame sighed.

"I know right," Izumi scoffed. "I mean, out of everything he could've suggested, bombs? Is he okay?"

"Yasuo can't seem to think outside of the box," Ryuu drawled with a grin.

"His brain's the size of a peanut!" Haru laughed. He paused, drooling at the thought. "Yum, peanuts..."

"Guys, guys," Tadashi said in an act to settle things. "Maybe he just didn't hear the crime scenario properly?"

"H-He's the on who suggested it," Mayumi stuttered.

"H-He did." Kiyoshi bobbed his head.

"So he planned on bombing the school from the beginning?" Atsushi gasped at the idea. "This delinquent!"

"Tsk, tsk..." Juzo yawned.

Cheeks flushing with each and every passing comment, Yasuo sprung to his feet and shouted, "J-Just shut up!"

Gaze brimming with an unreasonable amount of rage, the hitman didn't hesitate any longer. He threw open the door.

He would kill him; the man who wanted to kill his friends.

☻☺☻

"I'm home!" Tadashi's voice echoed within his house's walls, going as far as the first floor. Somebody let out a heart-rending scream in response and his sister came racing down the stairs, deathly pale. Tadashi's heart stopped. That look never meant any good.

"Tada..." Tears were pouring down her face and she covered her mouth to withhold her loud snivels.

"M-Mom a-and D-dad..." She jumped onto him, now a crying, sobbing mess. "Th-They... won't wake up..."

At the sudden hug his sister had given him, Tadashi's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Madoka... wh-what do you..."

"Th-They won't wake up!" Now, Madoka's voice resounded, and she was cowering. Her breaths were shallow as she exhaled again. "Th-They... won't wake up... Th-They were i-in th-there th-this morning...b-but even now they're still laying there... They didn't go to work... Tada..."

The brunet was frozen in place. He soon lost the ability to hear his sister's wails. Won't wake up...?

Without another sense of thought, Tadashi gently shoved his sister off of him and raced up the stairs. His heart was palpitating at such a strong rate in his ears as he slammed open the door. He clambered inside, flipped the light switch, and came to an abrupt halt at the sight of his parents. They were laying peacefully on their bed, and at first glance, you'd believe they were sleeping. But the closer you got, you'd see that they weren't moving, breathing, anything. Their eyes were shut, bodies sprawled out from underneath the blanket, and Tadashi was shaking at the sight of them.

No... there was no way this was happening...

Not now...

Tadashi collapsed onto his knees, tears welling in his eyes. Reaching out, he touched his dad's face, and it was freezing. It assured his worst nightmare. They weren't unconscious. They were dead.

From behind him, Tadashi heard the sniffles and sobs from his sister. He couldn't even breathe.

His mom and dad... They were.... But... He left for school that morning without bothering to check on his parents because they were still in their rooms sleeping, but...

As tears streamed down his cheek, Tadashi caught sight of something at the corner of his eye. His head snapped towards the dresser where that weirdly designed jewelry box sat. There was a note on it.

Crawling over towards it, Tadashi was numb. He picked up the yellow sticky note, and when he did, his head thumped harder and images flashed into his mind.

Somebody—him—had gotten up in the middle of the night... went down to the kitchen and took out cleaning materials and bleach from underneath the sink. After putting them into a syringe, he was ambling up the stairs, through the hallways, and up to this room...

Tadashi's stomach clenched and he clasped his hand over his mouth. His eyes fell onto the nearest garbage can he could find and began to throw up.

Entering inside and tiptoeing up to his snoring parents... He inserted the syringe into their arms, releasing the poison into their bodies...

As Tadashi continued to upchuck, the vivid images he saw didn't feel like his imagination. His fingers trembled. It was a real sensation. It felt like with this hand... he...

Just then, another flashback played as a recording in his mind.

Someone was screaming, twisting and struggling. He dragged a tied up girl through the streets in the middle of the night. He came to a stop at a building: the shrine near his house.

Tadashi shut his eyes but the images didn't fade. No, they enhanced themselves even better that way.

He entered inside, tied her up to one of the poles. As he did, somebody emerged from within the shadows... A blond whose lips were stretched back into a wide grin.

Tadashi barfed again. Madoka ducked at his brother's side, anxious. "Tada..."

The teen couldn't stop himself. Bloodied images of Moriko Kitoshi's body, Iori's exploding, Izumi's being shot, Akira and Akemi's killings, his parents—his stomach was churning out of control.

He didn't know how long he was puking, but by the time the police arrived, they strapped him up and laid him down, giving him a cup of water to make him stop. He passed out before long, head throbbing, throat burning, and as he was slipping from reality, the face of that blond couldn't escape his mind.

"Tadashi," he would call to him. "Help me kill them."

The images would start again. And he would.

☻☺☻

"Mind sharing what you've been hiding from us for awhile?"

Juzo Fatora was at his door, gazing blankly at Ayame who stood on the carpet in front of him. Her mouth was primmed in a straight line, her eyes smouldering. Seeing it made Juzo sigh.

"All right," he said, pushing his door open all the way. "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while anyway."

Ayame, though startled at how easily he gave in, entered his apartment. It was rather dark inside but extremely dull for a high school boy. It was almost like walking into an adult's house.

"Where are your parents?" Ayame inquired as she walked into the living room.

Her eyes flitted to the laptop in the center of the spacious area as she took in her surroundings.

Juzo's footsteps from behind Ayame as she was busy occupying herself, were soft and quiet.

"Kobayashi, you really saved me the trouble." At the low-toned voice coming from Juzo, Ayame spun around. But it was too late. The teen had snapped a pair of cuffs over her left wrist. Ayame flinched as she tried pulling herself away but Juzo skillfully grabbed her other arm and shoved it upwards against her back to the point where it would break. His green eyes usually hidden beneath his bangs were filled with a solemnity. "You're under arrest."

He snapped the other cuff over her other wrist, halting the senior's movements entirely. Ayame scowled.

"Juzo Fatora, so these are your true colours."

Juzo smirked as he put his hand to his head and tugged on his hair. It came off like ornament and before she knew it, she was staring into the face of an entirely different person. How come she didn't notice his face when she walked in?

"I'd prefer if you called me Detective Satoshi," the black-haired male said in amusement to her hostility. "But before you go on about how much you hate me, we need to get something done."

He led Ayame up to his couch and made her sit. His lips were no longer in the form of a smile and instead was replaced with a frown as he nudged his head towards the documents on the tabletop. "I'll need to borrow your robotic brain for awhile, Kobayashi."

☻☺☻

Wow. Why am I so cruel? So many things in this chapter that I bet you guys weren't expecting! Tell me your thoughts!

• How does Juzo know about Ayame?
• What exactly were the images flashing through Tadashi's mind??
• Is Yasuo gonna live??

ABOUT 10 CHAPTERS LEFT UNTIL THIS IS DONE. Such a long way to go, but short as well.

-Misty