What the hell did you do.

What? No hi? Hello? I missed you? (ㆀ˘･з･˘)

Answer the damn question.

(● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾
I'm innocent until proven guilty!
You can't get a confession outta me!
I'm calling my lawyer!

This is why he'd been eerily quiet lately.

I had a hunch, but being proved right like this left a foul taste in my mouth.

More importantly, what are you gonna do about my boredom?!
You're not taking my game seriously at all!!!
It's been over two months and you and Takumi haven't done anything remotely romantic yet! You're a fraud! I'm sick!

So, your solution was to steal exam answer sheets and pin the crime on him?
Sets a very romantic mood.

Steal answer sheets? Whatever do you mean?（＾ν＾）

So, this was his game plan.

As long as he didn't admit to it, I didn't have any evidence.

Asshole.
This is supposed to stay between us.

And it will be, so long as you abide by our rules and regulations.

What? You think I haven't noticed?
Anyone with properly functioning eyes can tell you no longer want your childhood-bully-turned-rival to burn in the flames of hell.
You're having second thoughts about hurting him.
Ha, how ironic. You think you're suddenly a good person?
Don't give me that bullshit.
You're the one who put him into this situation. You're the reason he's suffered since he was a kid.
And you're the reason all his hard work all these years—and his future—will crumble right before his very eyes.
But you're used to that, aren't you? You've been ruining lives since the day you were born.

Somehow along the way, I'd forgotten who exactly I was dealing with. I assumed I could pry myself out of this situation before there were any serious repercussions.

How wrong could I have been?

Blackmail was his expertise. He'd stalked me for ages, meticulously dredging up my weaknesses in order to manipulate me into providing him with some twisted means of entertainment.

There was no way out from the start. And, if I didn't do whatever he ordered, he'd come for those around me.

This was my fault. I'd already caused irreparable damage to Takumi's life. And now, because of me, even his future would be in jeopardy.

I hear he's already being forced to give up old trophies and awards. Pfft, what college will want him now?

I'll show these messages to the principal.

If you had the guts to do that, you would've already done so.
Let me make something clear to you, Anri. I make the demands. You listen to them.
Now that we're on the same page, here's how things will go.
You will let Takumi go down as is. Dare interfere, and I'll ruin your future alongside his. How does that sound?
Such a toughie. Whatever will you do?
(⁎⁍̴̆Ɛ⁍̴̆⁎)

My blood boiled. I could've chucked my phone right here and now, shattering it across the floor to my bedroom. There had to be another way out of this. Something I was overlooking. There had to be.

Moral dilemmas are quite fascinating.
Most human beings tend to make choices based on what they deem is in their best interest. If you consider the situation, there's no reason at all for you to endanger your well-being for a boy you've despised your whole life.
Trust me. You're better off protecting your behind and having him rot away for a crime he didn't commit.
You get your revenge. I get great entertainment. It's perfect.

I thought you said you wouldn't accept anything but a happy ending.
This is supposed to be an otome game for you, isn't it?

Ehhh but happy endings are boring (_ _).｡o○
Kidding, kidding. I wish I could see your face right now ( ◠‿◠ )
Fineee. Out of the kindness of my heart, I'll give you a secret ✨second option✨.
One that will give this "route" a textbook definition of a happy ending.

Like hell I'm doing what you ask.

Oh, come on.
I'm sure you'll love this one.

Nothing you say will change my mind.

Even if I give you the identity of the culprit?

. . .Culprit?

The person who cruelly went out of their way to frame Takumi, duh!
You want to know who that is, don't you?
You want me to tell you their name, don't you?

You're going to reveal your own identity? Willingly?

Pfft.
I've been telling you from the get-go that the culprit isn't me, silly!
I'm innocent!!

What are you talking about?

I have to spell it out for you, don't I?
ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ
I found the whole situation hilarious, so I thought I'd test you and see what you'd do. Oh well.
I'm only saying this once, 'kay?

‼️ I'm not the one who framed Takumi ‼️

If you don't believe me, a little video evidence goes a long way.

Confusion washed over me like a wave. Gut instinct urged me to disregard his statement—that it was just another ploy for him to get under my skin. However, curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself clicking onto the video he sent anyway.

I didn't even have to zoom in. It was of my classroom—a snapshot from an outside window. It was eerily empty, except for a single individual hovering over a desk. Takumi's desk. Except, the person suspiciously fiddling with textbooks and notebooks wasn't Takumi. The video captured only a mere outline of the student's back, yet poking through the gaps of a tightly-adorned baseball cap, were unmistakable strands of cherry-red hair.

My stomach lurched, sinking into my gut.

What is this?

What does it look like?

That's a lie.
He wouldn't do that to Takumi.

Now, Anri sweet.
You know better than anyone I would never lie to you.

Why?
This doesn't. . .
This doesn't make any sense.

Why don't you ask him yourself?
You two might actually have a lot more in common than you think ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

HE'S LYING.

Albeit convinced of it, there was no disregarding the surreality of that video he sent. Even for Creeper, faking a video like that was virtually impossible. I could tell in a heartbeat. It wasn't AI-made, and it definitely hadn't been edited over. It was but an ordinary video one would record on an ordinary iPhone device.

And that was what terrified me.

I loved drama. The crazier, the better.

But, this was not what I signed up for.

With the entirety of Kanome High School still in an uprising about the cheating fiasco, I sat through the remainder hours of class until the final bell rang for the day. With Takumi and Naoya long tucked away at home, now was my only chance to get to the bottom of things.

If I were him, where would I hide evidence?

Naoya wasn't the brightest, so it wouldn't be far from the crime scene. That being said, Mr. Fujinaka thoroughly searched both of their desks, pockets, and otherwise. But, perhaps, since Naoya wasn't the main suspect, he overlooked certain areas.

With doubts in my heart, I waited for the classroom to clear after the final bell, busying myself with mindless class rep duties and reorganizing the desks, before finally making my way to the shoe lockers. Based on photographic memory alone, I located his shoe locker with ease, making sure to carry myself with confidence so as to not attract unwanted attention.

I jiggled the knob, which cracked open with minimal effort. From there, I scavenged the tiny cubby. White indoor shoes lay dormant inside. There wasn't anything underneath them, either. Right as I was about to give up, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I dug into one of the shoes, and surfaced a crumpled-up envelope.

Carefully, I unfolded it, only to be doused with more bewilderment.

A love letter? It was definitely the envelope belonging to a love letter. I suppose these sorts of things were a given, given Naoya's looks and personality. Except, why was it all crumpled up and stuffed inside of his shoe? Not to mention. . . the letter inside was missing.

If it didn't include sensitive information, why else deliberately remove the letter, and hide an empty envelope? Did he just forget to discard it? Or, could it be there wasn't a letter inside, but rather, something more—like answer sheets?

By and by, numerous questions tumbled around my head, with no hope for answers. Like Creeper had implied, perhaps I'd have to confront the guy himself to get to the bottom of this. There were too many inconsistencies.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

TAKUMI
So, are you going to fill me in on your plan?

I stilled. Right. We shared contact info.

ANRI
Plan?

TAKUMI
Today, you sounded super confident about finding the culprit who framed me.

Well, that was because back then I was convinced I'd known who they were. While now, I wasn't remotely sure. On the off chance I could trust Creeper's video, then, that meant the culprit was somebody neither of us expected.

ANRI
I just like keeping an optimistic mindset. So, nope. I haven't made any progress. Give me a bit more time to figure things out.
On that note. . . think you can send me Naoya's address?

TAKUMI
. . .Why do you need something like that?

ANRI
No need to be so blatantly jealous. I'll give you my attention another time.

TAKUMI
Huh???
Who's jealous?!
And when did I ask for your attention?? Keep it!
What business do you have with Nao?

ANRI
I'm gathering information about the incident, so I need to speak to him.
There's a lot I don't know.

TAKUMI
That doesn't answer my question.

ANRI
Just trust me.

The pause on his end was painstaking.

TAKUMI
Trust works both ways.
If you need my help, you have to let me know.
We're supposed to be working on this together, remember? As a team?

ANRI
Yuck.
I just lost my appetite.

TAKUMI
Those were your words, not mine.

ANRI
I must've misspoke, then.

TAKUMI
Hinomori.

ANRI
Loosen up, Second Place.
Don't worry about me.

I'll keep you updated.

_____

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