••●••

'Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself'
— George Bernard Shaw

••●••

"Tadashi, I think I should tell you something about me before even I end up dead because of the mastermind's pursuit." Kazuma halted for a pause, taking a few seconds to gather up a breath, "Something about our past that I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I think this is what you need if you want to put a stop to the mastermind."

"Something about our past?" Tadashi repeated, baffled by his senior's words.

Repositioning his arms, Kazuma nodded. "When I was five, my parents let me out of the house and I went wandering around. As I was, being new to Japan and all, I found myself lost before long and in some unfamiliar neighbourhood."

Madoka was still wearing a glare towards the black-haired teen, while Tadashi was listening with a raised eyebrow, wondering what he was trying to tell him.

"That was when I found a boy up in a tree a few feet away. I needed help so I decided to ask him," Kazuma continued with a sigh, "which was a mistake."

"Mistake?" Tadashi asked.

"He yelled at me to take cover and before I could refuse, I found myself crouching behind a bush. I was confused, but that was when I saw a boy staggering around with a stick, searching high and low. He looked identical to the male beside me. Brown hair, pale green eyes..."

Tadashi blinked at the description but before he could question it, Kazuma went on.

"It didn't take long for the look-alike to find where we were and when he did, the boy beside me started laughing. They stood side by side and he asked me to play again. I was against it, of course, but he didn't care. The boy named Tadashi said I was it, and ran off to hide with his brother, Takeshi."

At that, Tadashi's heart stopped. "Wh-What..."

Madoka watched, mouth dropped. She recalled the day she was listening in on her parents sharing the news about her brother's origins. What did that mean? Kazuma and Tadashi... knew each other when they were little?

Kazuma exhaled a breath, pausing to swallow, before continuing, "Although I was trying to find my way back home, I got too absorbed with playing with those two boys that it had become dark before I realized it. That's when Ayame came out of nowhere, as if knowing where I'd be. My dad had sent her following a tracking device he had put on me."

"Ayame..." The brunet couldn't even feel his senses anymore as his heart was pounding too hard in his chest. The weird tale he had begun to tell was taking a shocking turn.

"But back then, Ayame was incomplete and didn't have a name. We just called her Prototype 17," Kazuma explained, as if the story he was telling happened only yesterday. "Tadashi and Takeshi believed her to be normal so they introduced themselves to her. And Ayame introduced herself as 'Prototype 17, June 8, A. K.' They though, were confused.

"Takeshi asked for her actual name and Ayame restated it. That's where I cut in and told them that she didn't have a name. Tadashi said that's impossible; what kind of human being didn't have a name?" The black-haired male closed his eyes. "I decided to tell them that she was an android, and that she didn't need a name. They were shocked. I honestly expected them to not believe me and laugh but instead, they were beyond ecstatic. They rambled on about how cool it was that they were friends with a robot, and that was when Takeshi told her that she still needed a name. And... he called her 'Ayame' since her eye colour reminded him of an iris. And, it was that day that Ayame smiled for the first time since she was created."

Tadashi didn't know how to react. His twin brother... Takeshi, he named Ayame, 'Ayame?' And... he knew Kazuma when he was little?

He couldn't remember a thing. Nothing. Kazuma's words didn't sound familiar at all. But... it didn't seem like he was lying.

"The rest of this story is the same as the one you've most likely already heard," Kazuma stated, dropping his arms and fixating his gaze onto the brunet. "Ever since, we'd all been hanging out nearly everyday. I was the closest to Tadashi while Takeshi and Ayame always spent time together. Tadashi used to always tease the two since they were actually inseparable. But Tadashi loved his brother a lot, and it was usually all he'd talk about whenever he was with me. And as the days went on, Ayame became more cheerful; the most around Takeshi than with anybody else. But that day, the day the accident occurred, everything went haywire."

Tadashi's heart clenched, already knowing what he was talking about.

"Takeshi was with Ayame and Tadashi. I was at home that day. But something happened and Takeshi ended up getting run over by a truck and tossed into a ditch near the old shrine beside your house. He died instantly." Kazuma's face contorted with vague pain. "Ayame, who had left my house earlier that day, scared of getting crushed by my dad for being the emotional failure that she was, disappeared on the day Takeshi died, crying over him—the boy that bestowed her with a name; the boy that treated her as an equal.

"After that day, Tadashi became a mess too. He was always crying and hallucinating that his brother was still there, playing with him as they've always done. He just couldn't accept that he was gone. Even Ayame, when she finally returned home a few days after running away, she passed out and all her systems reset. It was the day I told you about, if you recall; she had forgotten all about those months with those twins. It was around the same time Tadashi seemed to forget as well. About his brother, about Ayame, about our months together, about me. And we all never hung out again."

Kazuma's eyes met Tadashi's.

"That day you came to Kaisei Academy, I was shocked. You were akin; had the same name and same face as the boy from my past, and yet you didn't so much as remember me. But I still remembered who you were, and that's not the you you are now. You aren't the Tadashi Matsumoto I knew."

Tadashi gulped hard, hanging his head. "Then, why did you trust me?"

"I didn't trust you," Kazuma said, knowing he was referring to the day they had made that deal. "Maybe it was because you reminded me of the only guy I ever did trust, but I wanted to find an answer. And I needed your help. Though, even that fell short, huh."

"What's... going on?" Madoka spoke up, her voice shaking. She absolutely hated the vibes going on around them. "What does this mean? What exactly is happening—"

"Tadashi," Kazuma cut off his sister, his countenance solemn. "I told you this because I believe you are involved with the mastermind in some way. He created this entire game to see you—at least, that's what I believe."

Tadashi's head jerked up. "But why..."

Kazuma shook his head, strained. "That conspiracy is too big for me to decipher. But I do know my dad plays his way into this case as well, and that the one boy that was supposed to be dead, isn't."

Tadashi's eyelids opened and closed. Madoka gripped her brother's sleeve, antsy.

Locking eyes with them, Kazuma let out a breath. "The mastermind.... I think he might be Takeshi," he confessed, "your twin."

☻ ☺ ☻

"Are you sure we should've left?"

The clattering of feet against the chipped cement was the only sound that was audible as the three teens entered in through the side entrance. Ryuu was running behind Katsura, Sousuke following behind.

Biting his lip, Ryu was anxious. "I mean, that must've been the mastermind, right? We shouldn't have."

"Miss Kobayashi gave us specific orders," Katsura stated, slowing down into walking speed.

Ryuu stopped behind her, disbelieved.

"Besides, if that was the mastermind, which it probably wasn't, why would we all want to stay in the same place? It makes killing us easier." Sousuke shoved the brunet, making his body lurched forward.

Ryuu yelped and stabled himself before glaring at him. "B-But..."

"We must follow through with our mission and have faith that they will make it too," Katsura said, though on the inside she was trying to fight down the urge to hurry back and assist them.

Ryuu sighed, bobbing his head. "All right." He picked up his head and took in their darkened surroundings. "So... where are we?"

Sousuke clicked his tongue as he peered through the hollow darkness ahead, not being able to see anything. He could hear the small whistles from air blowing in through the broken pipes and cracks between the walls but other than that, their voices echoed as well.

"We don't have a flashlight since our phones aren't working," he noted, ambling forward. "We have to keep close."

Katsura walked by Sousuke's side in agreement and Ryuu panicked slightly as he hid behind them.

"I-Is it me or is it getting darker...?"

Just then, another howl was heard and Ryuu shrieked, holding up his hands protectively.

"Ahh it's a ghost!?"

Sousuke knocked his head. "Shut up!" he hissed. "Instead of worrying about ghosts, worry about your death. This place is giving me the chills."

Katsura looked to her left, not really being able to make out her two companions' bodies in the darkness. If she stepped too far, lagged behind, or even got distracted, they would be separated.

Ryuu pouted, rubbing his head as they picked up their steady pace again. His heart was pounding as he whipped his head around, apprehensive. Agh, he always did hate haunted houses. It just felt like a scene in a horror movie where something would randomly pop up to kill him.

Turning his head forward again, Ryuu was just about to hurry to catch up, but as he ran ahead, he wasn't reaching anybody. Tentatively, he slowed down, waving around his hands to feel if anybody was there.

"Sousuke, Inohara?" he called right as the eerie silence settled in. He listened attentively, and that was when he realized he no longer even heard footsteps.

His wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans as the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He laughed nervously.

"V-Very funny! Come on, we shouldn't be playing jokes like this here!"

His voice echoed, but nothing replied back. Ryuu trembled, eyes as wide as saucers. No way, no way, no way. There was absolutely no way he got separated! No way at all! They were there right in front of him just seconds ago!

Shrinking, Ryuu inched a few steps backwards. "Sousuke...? Inohara...?"

When Ryuu collided with something soft, his face lit up as he spun around.

"There you are! You guys scared me you know!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryuu chuckled. He got worried for no reason. See, he was fine. He just ran a little too far.

"So, who are you?" he asked, outstretching his hand. "Inohara?"

His hand landed on what he believed to be their hair and at the spiky sensation, he blinked. Did Inohara always have such spiky hair? Maybe it was Sousuke?

As Ryuu retracted his hand away, his fingers rubbed along a surface that felt a lot like a hat. His tilted his head. Sousuke had a hat on?

Just then, a small crunch was heard. Then another. Then another. Ryuu's eyelids fluttered rapidly.

"Are you eating chips, Inohara?"

Where did she get them?

Narrowing his eyes, Ryuu tried to focus in on the person before him in the darkness. The first thing he saw was a smile.

"Sasarin~ I missed you!"

Ryuu's heart stopped at the nickname and voice he knew all too well.

"I never expected to run into you here! How are you?"

That was when Ryuu's vision adjusted into the darkness and he noticed the orange hair, green hat, and babyish face of one of his best friends.

"H-Haru...?" he murmured, eyes as wide as can be.

Haru Tomachi grinned. "You look like you're lost! Want me to take you to them?"

Ryuu took a couple steps back and away from the shorter male. His brain couldn't properly function in this situation as his astonishment was too great.

"You didn't fall for the trap. Who knew you wanted to see me so badly!" Haru held out his bag of chips, smiling. "Want one?"

Ryuu couldn't hear his own breaths over how hard his heart was pounding. What was Haru doing... here? Was he dreaming?

"What... happened to Inohara and Sousuke?"

Haru made a face at Ryuu's question. "It doesn't matter," he drawled with a pout. "They'll be dead soon anyways."

His blood ran cold. "D-Dead... what do you..."

"Ah, you're surprised?" Haru giggled. "But what's so surprising? You guys came here to bring us down and we're here to do the same. How else can we defeat each other? Killing is the best way of course!"

"K-Killing..."

Haru stepped up to the brunet. "It seems like you're still slow at processing things," he pointed out.

He reached into his pants and pulled out a pocketknife. His eyes reflected an amused emotion.

Ryuu slammed into the wall behind him but Haru kept advancing until his knife was right up against his neck.

"It was really fun being friends with you, Sasarin. You gave me enjoyment in life. You taught me lots of new things. And you even called me your best friend." Haru paused, inhaling a deep breath. "But I have the order to kill you... and there's too much at stake."

"H-Haru..." Ryuu stammered, trying his best not to give in to his fear. But it was too late—his knees were buckling.

"Stay still," Haru immediately ordered, reeling the knife back and getting ready to stab him. His look was smouldering. "If possible, I'd really like to kill you in the nicest way I can."

☻ ☺ ☻

It seems a little short but...I feel like it's good to stop here. Next chapter will be kinda bloody... I guess? I have the habit of droning this story on lol. I was supposed to confirm what happened last chapter in this one but I couldn't because this makes more sense.

Building up on the climax is fun :)

Hope this chapter was good though. Look forward to the next chapter!

But tell me! Opinions about Haru's character in general?

-Misty