Now I know who the killer is!

One way or another, the alternate plan I had devised had led me to the solution of the mystery.

As absurd as it was.

The more I thought about it, the more each piece of the puzzle fell into place, starting with the clues that I had not yet been able to match. In the theory that was just formulating in my head, everything made perfect sense.

I looked at the pendulum clock again. It was less than fifteen minutes to midnight: if a moment before it seemed too little, now it was more than enough time to put the Masquerader to sleep, pack him and deliver him to the stakeout team before they invade the orphanage. I just had to choose how to neutralize him, but at that point it was the easiest decision to make.

Let's see... One gigantic punch would be the quickest solution... But wait, what if, even out of action, he continues to keep his disguise? I run the risk that the other orphans and even the ANBU will not believe me!

Hmm, then I should first get the killer to admit his true identity in front of everyone... Come to think of it, it doesn't matter! I'm sure the Masquerader is who I think he is, that's the only thing that counts!

And the proof is right here, at my fingertips!

I looked once again at the few drops I had wiped from my face.

If they had predicted the future I would never have believed it. For once, crying has really helped me...

"What were you really crying for?"

That was the question Master Kakashi had asked me, the day of my departure from Konoha, in front of Master Asuma's grave.

With all that talking about tears, it was inevitable that it would come back to me.

I had promised myself that I would've thought about it, but this was certainly not the ideal time.

Also... What kind of question was that? I was reliving the moment Master Asuma died, for what other reason...

No, wait, it wasn't it. It was...

No, it still is. It is fear. The fear I've always felt, from the day Master Asuma left us. "I'm always afraid... that all the other people I love may also die in battle." That's what I was going to say that morning, before bursting into tears. Since that day there has been no mission in which I have not been concerned, first of all, with the safety of Ino and Shikamaru. I can't accept the idea of losing them too, but at the same time I'm afraid I have to...

"And why, unlike that of poor Asuma, the tombs of Ino and Shikamaru have not yet been sculpted?"

It was the second question Master Kakashi asked. Ironically, the answer to the first question also applied to this one.

Danzo gave me the a last opportunity to prove my worth, because of my poor performances... but it is thanks to my worries, my objections, my excessive precautions, that Shikamaru and Ino are... still...

Inevitably, the possibility that I had made a mistake crept into my head. If the Masquerader wasn't who I thought he was, I would have sentenced everyone to death. The ANBUs would mercilessly exterminate them, and I had no power to stop them.

I have to... I have to secure the ones still sleeping in the dorms! ...but, doing so, I would lose precious minutes! So...

No, I have to take the risk... and hope that everything goes well...

"I wish you the best of luck on the mission, but I also wish you not to lose sight of the most important thing."

Master Kakashi had said these words to me, before asking those two questions.

The most important thing.

The reason I was crying.

The reason why Shikamaru and Ino are still alive...

Now I understand. All my life, I have never considered putting my friends' lives on the line. I never did...

...and I won't do it tonight either! Even at the cost of failing the mission, even at the cost of never being a ninja again, even at the cost of dying... I will never betray who I am!

I looked at the clock one last time. The position of the hands now didn't matter to me anymore.

...

First, I approached the still shaken Miss Hiromi.

"Excuse me" I said, pointing to the set of keys she had left on the desk "these are the keys to all the rooms in the orphanage, right?"

"W-what? Y-yes, of all the rooms. Why do you..."

I grabbed the bunch and with all the breath I had in my body I ran up the stairs to the second floor. I opened the doors of both dorms and turned on the lights, to check that all the other orphans were still in their beds.

Nobody is missing. Good.

I entered the girls' dormitory, ran to the end of the room and moved the wardrobes in front of the window, to bar it completely; then I went out, locked the door and barred it too, pushing a cabinet from the bathroom against it. So, I repeated the same things for the boys' dormitory.

I had just finished, when I saw Yori nearing me in anger.

"Are you out of your mind, Choji? Free them immediately..."

Without explaining anything, I took her by the hand and carried her back with me to the hall, where the others had been waiting for us.

"Will you ever stop doing bullshit?!" Iwao yelled in my face as soon as he saw us return. "The list of punishments we will have to serve for your fault just arrived, do you want Mistress Azumi to add more?!"

Saying that, Iwao pointed to the other side of the room, where Isoka was standing motionless with a very grave expression on his face. In his small, trembling hands he held a long sheet of paper.

"Is that the list?"

Isoka nodded imperceptibly.

"Do you know what this brat just told us?" Iwao continued, spitting saliva in anger. "Mistress Azumi, after scolding him as he deserved, took him to her room to dictate that he writes a list of things we will have to do as punishment! She wanted to tell us in person, but she had a sudden dizziness and remained in bed! Do you know what this means, Choji? Because of your bravado, Mistress Azumi got sick!"

"She got sick... I see..."

Ignoring Iwao's further complaints, I walked over to Isoka and reached out to him.

"Give me the paper, Isoka. It's my responsibility."

The little boy handed me the list.

"You can be sure it's your responsibility, you moron!" Iwao yelled again from behind my shoulders "Come on, read it! Let's see what we'll have to do fo-OUFF!"

Without even glancing at it, I crumpled up the paper and used it to shut Iwao's mouth.

So, I began.

"Everyone, listen to me. I know I have committed a lot of infractions and as a result I have made you commit some too, and I am sorry, but I will not be serving a punishment for it. First of all, because... I'm not an orphan like you."

"...oh, no?" Iwao mumbled, spitting out pieces of paper "What are you then, a special orphan?..."

"I am a ninja, chunin grade, from the village of Konoha, located in the land of Fire. Here is the proof."

Iwao was still about to reply, but gasped when, out of my pocket I took and showed everyone my headband.

Miss Hiromi let out a shrill cry. Yori put both hands in front of her mouth and shook her head. Nao flattened himself against the wall in fear, and only after a few seconds he hugged his little sister. Isoka's eyes widened and his lower jaw began to shake. Finally, Iwao, left in shock, was only able to stammer out disconnected words.

"I apologize to everyone for the fright, but since I managed, in one way or another, to get you all together in the same room, I can't wait any longer."

I took a break, to gather all the breath I needed.

"I was entrusted with the mission of finding and arresting a dangerous murderer, an enemy of the Land of Fire for several years. According to information received from an ANBU team that has been patrolling the area for months, the murderer hid in this orphanage about a month ago: that's why I infiltrated in disguise, to..."

"ANBU?! Does that mean there are other ninjas hiding in the forest, spying on us?!" Miss Hiromi cried, jumping up.

"Exactly."

"And-d-d they saw a killer, like them, come in here?!"

"No, Miss Hiromi. They didn't see it enter, but they're sure he holed up here, after they reclaimed the body of the kid that you, Yori and Mistress Azumi found dead in the gym."

"BODY?" "KID?" "DEAD?!", I heard shouting almost at the same time.

"S-so t-that's... that's why the West Wing was closed for? W-was there a murder?!" Nao stammered, as he badly covered Naoki's ears.

"Murder..." Isoka just whispered instead, with a bewildered look.

"Huh?! W-what are you all talking about!?" Iwao finally spoke. "There are rats in the gym, everyone knows that!"

"No, the rat invasion is nothing more than a lie invented by the two ladies, to justify the closure of the West Wing, in order to prevent you from seeing the bloodstain in the gym, where the child I told you about was kille..."

"CHOJI, STOP!"

It was Yori who had screamed.

With two steps she walked over to me and grabbed one end of my forehead protector, to get it out of my hand and throw it away in anger. I let her.

"Enough, Choji! Enough! I... I don't know where did you found this thing, but... Enough! Stop this bullshit! You wanted to snoop into the west wing, you convinced me with fake affection to reveal all my secrets, you got other people in trouble... Stop it! Shut up! You are in detention, accept this fact and shut up! There has been no murder and there is no murderer! Cut with these excuses to avoid the punishment..."

"That child's corpse was unrecognizable because somebody had... cut off his face, right?"

Yori's cry became a whisper, as if she had suddenly lost her voice. Miss Hiromi hid her face in her hands and began to cry. Iwao and Isoka both covered their mouths, as if to prevent a retch.

"Choji... W-why" Nao tried to say "why are you saying this..."

"Because the killer I'm after used to steal the faces of the ninja he killed, to make masks out of them. The kid's face had been cut the same way, so the ANBU immediately thought..."

"No, NO! I mean... Why are you telling us these things... These horrible things?" Nao said again, holding his little sister tighter. "Why are you saying this to us? What do we have to do with it!?"

I sighed upon hearing that question.

"Believe me, I would have preferred to face the killer alone. But fate wanted you all to be present tonight... Anyway, the killer not only hid in the orphanage, but also took the appearance and the identity of an orphan. An orphan who is now here, in this room, along with those who, to me, are the main suspects."

Miss Hiromi lifted her hands from her face and looked from side to side, terrified. Then she started to run away, but Yori managed to stop her by pulling her by the arm.

"Miss Hiromi, calm down! And you, Choji... Do you mean that this "killer" has been pretending to be one of us all this time? And, also... w-why should it be one of us five, among all the fifty guests living in the orphanage?"

"Because, at my disposal, I had five certain clues relating to the murderer. You must have noticed that I have made friends, or at least tried to, with all of you" as I was talking, my gaze passed first on Isoka, then on Nao and Naoki, and finally on Iwao "in order to know you better and see which of you possessed the same signs as the killer."

"And... do we all have them? Are we all suspects?" Nao asked.

I shook my head.

"Obviously not. At first something had escaped me, and for this reason you were still all likely to be guilty. However, a little while ago, after having discovered the truth in another way, I understood everything. There is only one person who, just like the murderer, is right-handed, is stronger than the average guy and attentive to details, carries a golden object with which has left traces under the victim's fingernails, and uses Soldier Pills to replenish chakra."

I raised an arm.

"That person..."

I lowered it abruptly, to point my index at the culprit.

"That person is you, ISOKA!"

Gradually, everyone turned their gaze to the child whose name I had shouted.

Nao and Naoki, imperceptibly, began to move to the side, to get as far as possible and reach Yori and Hiromi, motionless behind me.

As for him, Isoka did nothing but stare at me with wide eyes, unable to open his mouth.

"I had already noticed that you're right-handed and wear a golden chain around your neck, and this afternoon I also found out that the Soldier Pill found in your hiding place really belonged to you. I was missing two clues, but on second thought I realized that they were always been under my nose. First, the attention to detail. You have shown that you possess it, in being careful to move from your hiding place without being discovered, based on the movements that other orphans and Yori make every day. Second, the uncommon strength. You were very careful never to show it, except on one occasion. I'm talking about the time when, on the morning of my second day here, you rushed to help me hide that tree branch I broke. You remember it too, right? You proposed to push it into the river, and you carried one end on your shoulder... But it was the thickest and heaviest end!"

Isoka gasped as I raised my voice, but continued to remain silent.

"C-Choji... Are you sure?" Nao said suddenl. "Are you... sure what you're saying?"

"...in fact, the fact that Isoka has so much in common with... with the killer... doesn't mean anything," Yori echoed. "It could be just a coincidence! And... Also... Isoka has been living in here for a couple of years! In all this time he has never run away from the orphanage! While this elusive killer you speak of..."

"He arrived here a little over a month ago, yeah. Times do not match. There is only one possible explanation for this fact."

"That is, the criminal killed the real Isoka, stripped him of everything, cut off his face and took his place!"

Yori and Miss Hiromi screamed all their terror out loud. I would have done the same, in their place.

I also heard the sound of a thud, where Iwao was still supposed to be, but I didn't turn to check.

I had to have both eyes fixed on the monster in front of me.

"No... NO! You are wrong, Choji!" Yori yelled. "That... That dead child wasn't Isoka! It's not possible! And Isoka... Isoka is still him! If he were a different person... We would all have noticed! Isoka..."

"There is an answer for this too. The killer managed to play the part of Isoka perfectly, without making anyone suspicious, because he knew him very well. Of course, one might think that the killer remained hidden and spied on Isoka to learn everything about him, so as to better take his place, but that's not how things went. That's another explanation... But before we get there, I must first explain to you how I discovered the truth. You're right, Yori. Even though I have all five clues, I cannot be one hundred percent sure that "Isoka" and the killer are the same person. That's why I have come up with an alternative plan to identify the culprit."

"What is it?"

"As I just told you, before tonight I still hadn't been able to match all five clues to Isoka. So, thinking again, I ended up finding a way to create a sixth clue."

"A... sixth clue?"

"Yes. This afternoon I made sure to give most of my suspects a thing that distinguished them from each other. That made them unique. It's a system that costed me a lot of pain, I admit, but in the end it was worth it..."

"Well, what is it?"

"I gave each of you a bag of chips. Have you forgotten?"

"W-what?" Naoki let out, only to be immediately silenced by her brother.

"Chips?" Nao continued "Wait a minute, I didn't get any! Also, from what I got, you weren't in the mood to give them to Iwao either..."

"I took Iwao off the suspects since he's left-handed, while you went away before I could offer you some. However, being the only one who hadn't tasted them, you were still distinguishable from the others."

"Okay, but distinguishable in what way?"

"Eh eh... You know, ever since I was a seven-pounds baby I have cultivated a passion for food and its countless flavors, eventually learning to distinguish with my eyes closed any kind of smell perceivable by a human nose. Including the different tastes of the limited edition versions of my favorite brand of snacks. These are special chips, the taste of which stays in the mouth of those who eat them for many hours, even after they brush their teeth."

"I see it now!" Nao said after a while, in a tone of voice that sounded excited. "By smelling the killer's breath, you would have immediately understood who he was! But then... in order to succeed, you had to meet him closely, in his true appearance! When... When did it happen?"

"A little while ago. I was sure I was going to find it in the West Wing, because I had already seen it last night when I went out on a secret exploration, after I finished serving my punishment duties."

"W-what?!" Yori exclaimed. "You mean you were already there yesterday?"

"Exactly. Where was I... Ah, yes. Tonight, despite a series of unexpected events that I had not predicted, I finally caught the killer in the same room where I had already seen him yesterday: in the modeling room, where he was intent on... working on the latest mask."

"Angels of heaven..." Miss Hiromi whispered.

"Knowing he was busted, the killer burned what he stole from his latest victim to obliterate all evidence, and then attempted to strangle me. We had a brief scuffle in the dark, and..."

"Were you able to smell his breath?" Nao asked hopefully.

"No, unfortunately. ...let's say, however, that immediately afterwards I had a stroke of luck. The murderer himself, shortly afterwards and in front of other people, made the mistake of breathing in my face. I didn't notice at the time, but some minutes ago I realized that my eyes were watering. And what kind of smell makes our eyes water, if not the smell of onion? The same onion smell of the fries I gave you, "Isoka"!"

I pointed my finger at him again, staring him straight in the eye.

He was as still as a statue, and he had not yet uttered a word.

"You said the killer breathed in your face in front of other people," Yori objected. "Well, when did this happen? WHO is this person?"

"...Mistress Azumi. A little while ago, on the second floor, she scolded me and yelled in my face. Her heavy breath, which made me tear up, smelled like the onion chips I brought with me from Konoha."

"B-but... She might have bought them and eaten them too, on her own..."

"No, Yori. These chips are made only in Konoha, and the day I arrived at the orphanage Mistress Azumi told me she had never been there. Either she lied to me, or the only moment she ate them, it was this afternoon, in the woods, while she had Isoka's appearance."

A single drop of sweat slipped from "Isoka"'s forehead.

"Are you telling us" Nao asked "that the killer temporarily took on Mistress Azumi's appearance, to scold you and prevent you from continuing your investigation?"

"I wish I could tell you that. Unfortunately, however, I have to ask you a question. In this last month, do you by any chance remember seeing Isoka and Mistress Azumi together in the same room?"

"What question is it, Choji ?!" Yori protested loudly. "Of course Mistress Azumi and Isoka were in the same room! I told you, the morning I found the body in the gym, Mistress Azumi went to one of the two male dorms to check if everyone was there! And Isoka slept in that dormitory! I remember!"

"Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"I... No, I was upset! But why should I doubt Mistress Azumi's word? She saw that everyone was in bed, and that's enough!"

"All right," I continued. "And what about the following days? Do you remember a moment when you saw them together?"

"...no... But that's because Isoka has started hiding more and more! If Iwao hadn't persisted in pestering him, Isoka would have certainly shown himself more!"

"Als-s-s-so... Azumi discovered Isoka in the bathroom a while ago."

This time, it was Miss Hiromi who objected.

"Everybody heard her, didn't we? She came in, she slapped Isoka, and he started crying... We all heard her! We didn't see the scene, but..."

"That's the point, we haven't seen them. We haven't even heard them speak at the same time! We've only heard what the killer wanted us to believe! What the killer always made you believe in the last month! The killer always made you believe that Isoka was still alive, and he and Mistress Azumi existed at the same time! But the truth is different, guys! The truth is that Isoka was killed, and Mistress Azumi always did everything in her power to make you believe he was still alive, by assuming his appearance! In this last month Mistress Azumi and Isoka have always been the same person..."

"...because it was Mistress Azumi who killed Isoka, just like she has killed and stolen the faces of hundreds of Konoha ninjas all these years! Mistress Azumi is the killer! MISS AZUMI IS THE MASQUERADER!"

The drop of sweat broke off "Isoka"'s chin and fell to the ground.

"That's right, "Masquerader"! That's the code name they gave you," I added, taking two steps closer. "...Mistress Azumi. You can deny all you want, but know that until you confess I will always have my breath on your neck, so I strongly suggest you..."

"NO! NO! NOOOOOO!"

Finally, "Isoka" had opened his mouth to speak.

After letting out a cry of despair, he raised his head to give me a pleading look.

"No... Tell me it's not true... Tell me it's a joke! Choji, tell me you're just kidding! Tell me it's actually all a joke! PLEASE!"

I didn't answer.

"You... Please..." he continued, even starting to sob. "You... you were my first friend ever... the only one who loved me... Were all lies, those beautiful things you told me? Were all lies!? Answer me!"

"Isoka" Yori tried to intrude "if what Choji said is false... to prove it, we just have to go upstairs and wake up Mistress Azumi, right? If she's there, we will know that Choji is lying..."

"But we can't!" "Isoka" yelled. "She told me she doesn't want to be disturbed! We will never be able to wake her up before tomorrow morning! Choji, if you really are my friend, you must take my word for it! PLEASE ! Please..."

"Isoka" dropped to his knees. He crawled to get closer to me, but I took a step back.

I had no intention of letting myself be moved.

After a few seconds, the person in front of me tried to get back on his feet.

I immediately raised both arms, ready to prevent a risky move on his part.

In the next few seconds, however, I fell for a move that I could not predict in time.

Falling to his knees, due to the sudden movement Isoka's gold necklace had popped out from under the collar of his pajama, and was now dangling over his chest

Inevitably, I looked at it.

It was enough to fall into the trap.

"Isoka" shook his head vigorously, shaking the necklace even more: a bit of the light from the chandelier reflected on the medal and hit me in the eye, blinding me for a split second.

Nothing more than a second, but in that second I felt "Isoka" jump over me, cling to my back and wrap the golden chain around my neck.

Immediately I slipped both thumbs between the chain and the neck and leaned forward to throw him in front of me.

In that instant, though, the weight of my attacker tripled in a single stroke, so as to increase the grip and make me arch my back backwards.

Mistress Azumi had regained her original appearance. I knew this from the screams of Yori and Miss Hiromi behind me.

"They're too terrified to try and attack me" the hoarse female voice whispered in my ear. "But just so as not to take risks..."

The killer forced me to turn around so that we could both face Iwao, Nao, Naoki, Miss Hiromi and Yori. Pure disbelief was painted on their faces.

"What did you say they call me? "Masqueraderer"? I must say, it has a nice ring to it... Uh?"

I took a deep breath of air and increased my grip, thus managing to destroy the necklace.

All the rings and the medal fell at my feet, but unfortunately I had not yet managed to free myself: under the chain, Mistress Azumi had hidden a thin but strong fishing line, which not even my fingers were able to break.

My thumbs between my neck and the thread were the only thing still keeping me alive.

I had to free myself as soon as possible. ...but, who knows how many counter moves she was already thinking about at that moment.

I had only one way out.

I have to... I have to make her believe she killed me! This way, she'll feel safe, and she won't immediately think about attacking someone else! It is the only way!

Slowly, I stopped struggling.

I lowered my head, shifted all my weight down...

One. Two. Three.

...and finally, I let both arms dangle at my sides. I had let go.

I just had to wait for Mistress Azumi to do the same.

I waited.

I waited.

I waited.

Even when I felt the air leave my brain, I kept waiting.

...

"Pathetic. I thought they had more respect for me. But instead, they sent a clumsy chunin to arrest me. I feel outraged..."

"...M-M-Mistress Azumi... W-w-what's going on..."

"Azumi... M-my friend... it's t-t-true... w-w-what you..."

"I'm thinking of killing you too, so you'll finally stop stuttering. But I guess I owe you an explanation at this point, since my cover is now blown. Then, I'll kill you."

"C-c-cover?"

"Yes, Hiromi. Do you think I decided overnight to open an orphanage just for the fun of it? I'm not the philanthropist you thought. Just like this fat guy said, I'm a killer. I always have been. During the previous world wars I have offered my services to the highest bidders and killed in their sleep hundreds of soldiers from the Land of Fire, the most feared and dangerous world power. For some years I continued to live in the shadows. Occasionally I would return to my underground lair, where I could cultivate my passion. That is, creating masks with the faces of my countless victims. I continued like this for many years, until I began to develop the idea of creating a second identity for myself. A public and respectable identity, above all suspicion. The idea formed in my mind the day I stalked to his house a ninja who had managed to elude me, but not see my face. In order to keep my existence a mistery, I killed him and all the people who knew him, including his closest relatives. Or so I thought. Among the rubble of his home, which I had blown up, I found a battered but still alive baby..."

...Rokuro... She's talking about... Where... am I?

I don't remember the exact moment when Mistress Azumi decided to leave me.

I just remember that I didn't see anything.

My cheek was scratching against the carpet. I was lying on my stomach, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open my eyes.

I could only hear voices, and I'm still not sure if they were real or part of a dream of mine.

"Everything started because of him. In my wanderings I met Hiromi, and thanks to her help and that of other older, parentless children, brick by brick I built this place."

"No... I can't believe it..."

"Hiromi, you have always been a poor naive idealist. Where do you think I made all the money we spend each month on food?"

"...Mistress Azumi... You... You are the heroine of the orphanage... It can't be true what you are saying..."

"It is, Yori. And there's more. The orphanage is not just a cover, but also... the certainty that I would get away with it for the rest of my days. I'm well aware the Konoha ninja were on my tracks, and I knew that sooner or later they would have sent someone to investigate the orphanage more closely. So, after months and months of planning, I implemented my strategy. I chose, among my little guests, the most expendable. That Isoka brat, who never accepted the rules that I had imposed on him with so much love. I killed him on a night when, particularly stubborn not to give in to the sleeping drug, he took refuge in his secret hiding place, in the courtyard, to look at the only photo he had managed to save from Iwao's fury..."

...Isoka...

"I cut his face the same way I used for all my other victims, with the purpose of attracting the attention of the Konoha ninjas on my trail. I wanted them to approach and fall into my trap. ...unfortunately, this Choji here did not act as I hoped, but in the end it turned out to be nothing more than a setback. Now, finally, I will be able to land my ultimate and definitive escape route. After killing the five of you I will run out of here, screaming for help. The ninjas who have chased me, and that I'm sure they're currently lurking around, will have the confirmation that "the Masquerader" is actually disguised as an orphan. They will rush in and exterminate all the young people who still live here, leaving me as the only survivor."

...everyone... everyone... will die anyway...

Slowly, I opened an eye.

My vision was blurred, I could not recognize anything but colored silhouettes in the distance.

A dark and very tall silhouette, closer...

In the midst of those figures, I recognized a sharper object.

It was the image of a woman. She was young, very beautiful, and was holding a baby in her arms.

With a pang of pain, I opened my eye a little wider: the woman and the baby were nothing more than an oval photograph inside Isoka's medal, which had fallen two inches from my face.

Isoka... So, this is your mom... You were just remembering her...

And for this... For this reason you died...

It's not fair...

"I'm afraid the time for you to die has come. Don't be fooled by my age, as you have just seen I can still defend myself very well. Maybe you, Yori, might be able to stand up to me for a few seconds, but I don't recommend it. A we both know, you're nothing but a rookie."

Isoka, Rokuro, Yori, Iwao, Nao, Naoki, Miss Hiromi, everyone...

You've been fooled all your life... For money... Just for stupid money...

It's not fair...

It's not fair...

"You're silent, Yori. Very well, this is our goodbye, then-"

"...it's not... FAIR! BUBUN BAIKA NO JUTSU!"

Noticing my awakening, Mistress Azumi whirled around to finish me, but, for once, I was faster. Rising to my feet, I magnified my right hand.

I hit the woman with all the anger in my body and smashed her on the wall, right against the pendulum clock.

Myriads of gears and chunks of wood scattered all over the place, while the dial, detached, rolled and then came to a stop, face down on the floor.

Finally, Mistress Azumi too fell to the floor, motionless.

After making sure she was knocked out, I pinned her wrists behind her back and used her own fishing line to immobilize her.

"Here. It's... It's finally over... Mh?"

I turned to look at the people I had just saved. Only then did I realize that Iwao had collapsed to the ground, passed out from one too many emotions.

The others were still conscious, but they stared at me just the same in fear. I guessed I also had regained my true appearance.

"I have to ask you to go upstairs, right now. The ANBU will be here any moment, and when they arrive I want them to find only me and Mistress Azumi. It's for your safety! Go!"

They were all still in shock, but they obeyed me. Nao and Naoki, hand in hand, were the first to run upstairs. Hiromi and Yori followed suit, helping each other with Iwao.

Left alone, I went to collect the clock face. It froze from the blow he gave it, but I could still read the time.

Seven minutes past midnight.

I would have never been a ninja again.

Feeling no particular mood, I just closed my eyes and bowed my head.

"...who's there?"

A sound of footsteps. I dropped the dial and turned, but instead of the ANBU team I saw Yori again, just down the stairs.

"Yori? I told you to stay away from here! It's still dangerous!"

"It will take a second, don't worry."

Like some kind of ghost, the girl passed me, walked among the fragments of the pendulum scattered all over the place, and then stopped in front of the body of Mistress Azumi. She stared at her for a moment, then turned away, disgusted.

"She deceived me... She deceived all of us... It's like a nightmare... Just a nightmare..."

"Yori..."

I hesitated a little, but then found the courage to put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm really sorry it went like this," I told her. "If you wish, maybe I could stay in the orphanage a little longer... To help you explain to the other children why Mistress Azumi and Isoka will never come back..."

Yori touched my fingers, to kindly invite me to let go.

"Thank you, but I already know what to do. Miss Hiromi is not strong enough, so it's up to me to take over the reins. And I will never be able to do so unless I start immediately erasing all traces of Mistress Azumi from this place. I'll have a chance to cry... another time. "

"As you wish, Yori. ...mh?"

I was about to move Mistress Azumi's body, when I noticed that Yori had just grabbed the face of the clock, to tinker with and try to make it work again.

"Do you think you can fix it?" I asked her.

"Yes, the blow has only shifted a couple of internal gears. It seems complicated, but actually it's very simple to restart it. This way, I also have the opportunity to reset the hands to the correct time. A real stroke of luck, so to speak."

"The correct time? Why, is it a few minutes behind?"

"No, quite the contrary. To convince us that, in her orphanage, we are in a world apart, safe from what's going on out there, Mistress Azumi made up her own time zone. For fifteen years, within these walls people have lived an hour in advance... Here, fixed. This is the exact time, Choji."

Satisfied, Yori showed me the dial as it really should have been: with the hands pointing to nine minutes past eleven.

"...are you all right, Choji? Your eyes are shining... HEY!"

Unable to restrain myself, I took Yori and hugged her tightly.

"My ribs... They're still intact, I think... Forgive me, Choji, but are you really sure you're a ninja?"

"Oh yes! Absolutely!" I giggled in joy as I let her breathe again. "And I'll still be for a long time! By the way, where did you leave my headband?"

"I threw it... over there, there it is. Would you want to tell me what is happening all of a sudden?"

"Well... I was wrong, the ANBU have not left their places yet, so I will be the one to bring the murderer to them! In fact, I shall move immediately! You, however, just to be safe, go back upstairs and have some sleep! See you tomorrow!"

"It will be impossible to sleep, but I'll try... Goodnight, Choji. And... Thank you."

Left alone again, happy as a child, I picked up the forehead protector. I looked at my reflection on it, and then tied it back around my head with a nice firm knot.

I can't believe it... I did it! I really did it!

I quickly wiped the tears of joy from my cheeks. Then I turned to Mistress Azumi, slung her over my shoulder and walked out of the building.

Once outside, however, I dropped her to the ground. Before taking her to ANBU, there was an even more important thing I had to do.

From a pocket, I took out Isoka's medal, which I had secured before delivering the decisive blow.

I opened it and looked once more at the photo kept inside, and then turned my head to the starry sky.

Master Asuma, I have completed the mission. But... I still don't feel completely proud of myself.

If you ever meet Isoka, please tell him... that I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for not immediately realizing that the Isoka I met was the Masquerader. I'm sorry for giving her all those gestures of affection that the real Isoka never had.

Help him reunite with his mom, if he hasn't already.

And... Give him a big hug for me. Even if we have never met, tell him I will always be his friend.

May he finally rest in peace.