"And also.. for the murder of your mother."

The crowd thickened to gasp and whisper. Everyone was loitering around, jaws hanging loose after they heard it all. No one ever knew that Seiichiro would be capable of killing, when he so happened to be the charming, charismatic person who is always the talk of the school. Good grades, good looks, good personality.... Surely, they couldn't be hearing this right.

He was shoved along and through the shrouded mass of onlookers, pleading in desperation towards you. This was not any coincidence. The bullying, the timing of Kirigiri's death, everything... There is no way anyone would have known about his secret... Except of course, if you were Shiro.

"Listen to me!! I'm no killer, I'm telling you!!" Seiichiro screamed out, but to his dismay no one heeded his warning. He whipped his head around and spared you a look; one of fear, as well as betrayal. He wanted to plead his innocence... However as his gaze fell into the eerie eyes of his brother, his voice refused to project itself.

The demon he tried to keep under control... Is now inching his way into society. Right under everyone's noses.

"Get a move on, you psychopath." An officer grabbed him by the shoulder and then pushed him forward, causing him to stagger up front. Seiichiro clenched both of his fists, attempting to maintain a strong focus... But he kept thinking about it; how his life is quickly falling apart...

'Why did I do it? God... Oh god.. why did I kill her? My... own mom ... I.. I didn't want this .. no one will believe me!' His golden eyes are brought into darkness. A lack of hope. 'Kirigiri.. is the only one who could possibly prove my innocence!!'

But she's dead now.

And now, he's truly alone.

So, he had to hope and pray. Not for himself... But for you. As he knew it, Shiro is keeping you on a tight thread, and you didn't realize it yet .. but you were wrapped around his little pinky. He pushes his head downward from the guilt of being weak and powerless -- a mere pawn in Shiro's stupid manipulations. And once he was forced into the police vehicle, he just kept staring at his lap.

I mean, what more is there to say..? It's all over for him, after all he should've been expecting this. What was he running from, anyway? He did kill her. He murdered her in cold blood. It felt so good during the moment... and even now. '[L/N].. I'm... I'm sorry...' He thought, shuddering upon the slam of the door. He'd scrunch up his red nose and suck in his lower lip, releasing a subtle hiccup as he quietly whimpers alone. 'I've done all that I could...'

'You'll have to see it for yourself. Who the real monster is.'

"Over here." A forensic scientist waved over to a few officials, and the detective was one of them. Sasori walked over and grips the young scientists' shoulder as he tends to the corpse of Kirigiri, inspecting his recent findings. "What is it?" She asked.

The forensic scientist pushed up his glasses, touching her cold and unresponsive hand. From there he shines a flashlight upon her pale skin. "See here? She's holding something. I want to remove it before the rigor mortis kicks in and it'll be hard to budge her fingertips."

Overhearing this, you watched Shiro's attention snapped towards them in an instant. He shifts a foot forward, stepping in and shadowing behind a random student who was also looking in on the situation. He unintentionally releases your hand, so it made you wonder: what's so important..? His lips are pursed and he witnessed the officials exchanging glances. They were obviously invested in a new clue.

Without hesitation they sent each other attentive nods, cueing the forensic scientist to continue. He reached over with his blue latex glove and carefully drew apart Kirigiri's digits which were wrapped around something. From the looks of it .. it was a note, and so he read it aloud;

"I'm going out in my way, not yours.
You sick bastard."

Shiro appeared to have stiffened a bit. He recalled the scissors he left as a gift for her .. which is what made him tempted to let out a laugh. He snatched his mouth with his hand and tilted his head away, hiding his amused expression from you. How thrilling...! That girl was just full of many surprises... It was short lasted, but an exciting game to play with her nonetheless.

More.

He wanted to have more fun.

Sasori touched her chin. Sure, she arrested their suspect... Although, something didn't sit right with her. She couldn't put her finger on it. "I see... So she really was coaxed into killing herself. I was correct on that front." She tapped it contemplatively, "Hm.. after receiving an anonymous tip stating Seiichiro planned for her to end her life, I want to say this just about confirms it."

They were too late to save her... But fortunately, they have their unsub.

She stared at Kirigiri's face, which is finally covered by a draping white sheet. The last glimpse of her expression led her to be rather uncertain, though. "I have a feeling we're missing something... But what? Anyone would want to silence the person who knows their secret."

"Shiro.." You whispered, tugging at his arm, "I.. I don't want to be here anymore. I'm getting goosebumps." You'd tug again while he just kept his glowing gaze trained on the adults.

Just like a moment ago, he'd forgotten you were there. Or more accurately, he was quick to dismiss you. "One second. I'm not done watching yet." His voice is low and straight to the point. There's suddenly a discreet change in him.

"Pardon,"

"..'Scuse me, coming through!"

Someone else probed through the crowd, someone new and who you thought about least. Leo, the enthusiastic second year.

"Geez... What an absolute mess we have here..." He admitted, looming over to what everyone's eyes were fixed on; mainly the corpse that laid there idle, sheeted for discretion. Generally, he didn't look that surprised to see this...

What was even more surprising, however, is the fact that the police didn't neglect his curiosity. In fact, right after he pushed through the swarm of students-- they acknowledged him in a heartbeat as he shifted through the line of police tape that's already being set up as we speak. You displayed an instant show of interest, and so did Shiro... Who is invested from the start.

"What the..? Why is he going over there?" You muttered aloud. Shiro clearly had no idea, either .. so the two of you continued staring.

The detective glances over upon their latest arrival, her chocolate hues slightly piqued to see a nostalgic face. In the meantime Leo perked up, happily approaching her while pointing at himself. "Hey, hey! Want me to help? You know you want to..!" He chuckled. This looked like it was the happiest you've ever seen the guy; he is glowing radiantly right now.

"Well would you look at that," Her arms fold around each other, "The child is here." A smirk is controlling her lips, to which she allowed him to take the reign. "Given your expertise, I'd like to know something; what do you see here, Leo?"

Like a puppy, stars twinkle in his eyes, wasting not a second to intrude on the investigation. He reached for the uniform tie that he wore and narrowed it down a little with a simple tug. Now with breathable comfort.. he could do what he loved best;

And that's cracking a case.

Suddenly, Leo's expression hardened and became serious. He touched his chin, also tapping it as he let out a soft hum. "This looks like plain old suicide." Then there's a long silence, "But, things aren't often as they appear.. so lets try thinking outside the box for a moment." As a random young team member passes him holding a box of latex gloves, Leo grabs a few effortlessly-- also using a careless hand, at that. He slips them on his hands before crouching, examining Kirigiri closely.

"Of course this note must've been towards Seiichiro, right? I mean if she did take her life because she was pushed to.. then it makes sense why she'd say this." Leo stated, being watched by the detective who in turn nods her head. It's basically what they were all here to do; to prevent Kirigiri from committing suicide.

"Although, that anonymous tip you mentioned is making it suspicious. Why are all of you ignoring it? Seiichiro wouldn't rat himself out, it'd be he dumbest thing to do."

"Because we assumed it was Kirigiri. She's the one who threw she herself and Seiichiro under the bus." Butted in an inspector, rubbing the gruff under his chin. Every officer in the surrounding vicinity quickly changed their postures; stiffening their shoulders and bowing as if it were on demand.

The man was about middle aged, but judging from the way his peers were treating him, it gave you the impression that he was the superior figure here.

Leo never turned his head to acknowledge him for a second. He's so fixated on continuing, that there's a lull to his speech. He sounds so confident, so sure of himself and his gut feeling. "That might be true..."

"But the more I think like a psychopath, the more I can resonate with their game plan."

Detective Sasori's demeanor turned even more smug; she's always so impressed by Leo and his mentality. She knew by looking at his focused expression that he was in his own element, too. Everyone is well acquainted with it; it's the face of a person committed to commitment.. a remarkable prodigy. This is the young man who will break the law and field department, making way for a breakthrough in his destined career.

Shiro kept a mental note of such. He severely underestimated the people around him... And now, suddenly a new threat is rushing to the surface the second he deals with the last of his troubles.

The brune stretched his fingers, nearly on the verge of touching Kirigiri's cold cheekbones to scan for any abrasions. However the officers stop him, because if he so lays a finger on that corpse it'd be viewed as tampering with evidence. "Oh, yikes," He apologized, pulling his hand back. They looked so tense and on guard. "Sorry-- i can't help it..."

He wringed his hands together, blinking his wide pale blue eyes curiously getting bigger. "With all that being said.." Leo continues on from there softly, "What do you think a psychopath's biggest tell is?"

The investigators are all silent, as if hesitant to answer. But one of them were quick to open their mouth, confidently expressing his opinion. "Their charm. Or more accurately, their manipulative habits?"

The others followed suit by affirming that by nodding their heads in general unison. Yet it caused Leo to bend his brows, suggesting his disappointment. "Well, yeah. Duh." He stood up, and just like Sasori, he also had pulled a notepad and pencil from his back pocket, drawing his analysis against paper. "But, no. That's only scratching the surface."

The student scrunched up his nose. "They like using their assets. They don't do things without any benefit towards them... Which makes it easy to pick them apart from the crowd."

For a minute there, he crossed the soul-piercing face of the other twin sibling, merely watching him without any emotion on his face. And despite the two of them countering each other's watch, Shiro feigns ignorance and looked to have started conversating with you casually about something.

Unfortunately he couldn't exactly hear what he is saying.. but, above all else, he had an immediate interest in him.

He looked away before continuing once more, "They know better than to leave a trail themselves, so they rely on other people to do it for them. Almost like a classic game of chess.. You'll be moving your pieces along the board meticulously... all to defend the king." Putting it like that, it was basically common math. However, his words inspired the suspicion that something else truly could be at play. "In other words, all we have to do is search for any links beyond what we see here."

The detective on the other hand, responds accordingly by clicking her pen in her hand, mouthing what she also wrote quietly. "I'm going to have a few officers investigate further. Eye witnesses, or anyone directly involved in this.. bullying matter."

Just like that, the momentum of the investigation took a turn that Shiro didn't expect. And here he thought his plan, and the evidence provided-- has been nothing short of perfect. He looked at you, who still seemed pale by the trauma... Which is why he figured now would be the best time to leave before he is pulled aside to be questioned.

"Let's get going." Shiro stated suddenly. He's grown bored of watching now that he's seen enough. They may be capable of catching on, but having a solid brain is not enough. He erased the likelihood of any inconvenience...

Such as that pair of scissors.

The note he left in Kirigiri's locker.

And those second-year girls who 'suddenly attacked her out on the field.' Being the facilitator, Shiro didn't hesitate to approach a teacher and place the blame on them, appearing as an innocent bystander who so happened to represent a good, heroic deed.

You concurred and made your way out of the crowd, scuffling beside Shiro who clenched your shoulder and held you close as you two pushed between your peers. Understandably, school is closed today and won't be back in session until further notice.. and the amount of lawsuits that are bound to pile up in front of the headmaster is very unavoidable.

During the rest of the walk back home, the two of you are uncharacteristically silent. It's obvious that you're thinking about everything that's, again; occurred in no less than a day.

As for the male next to you, he doesn't seem quite right either .. he's a little more stoic than what you're used to.

You headed up the brief flight of steps, clenching your school bag tightly. Now, as the sun is beginning to set, you approach your door quietly and listened to Shiro also doing the same.

It didn't feel right anymore.

Seiichiro is no longer apart of your daily routine.

You listened to him as he fiddled with the keys and unlocked the door, although, he was moving slowly as if he were waiting for something. You glanced over, and so did he--... it was at that moment where you two realized that neither of you wanted to be left alone.

"Um," You mumbled.

Shiro unlocked his door successfully, however you already had his full attention. He scratched his cheek and twisted the doorknob, slowly forwarding his eyes up front. "...You can come in, if you want.."

He said it so invitingly.. how could you refuse that gentle offer?

"Okay." You gave a quick reply, shuffling your feet over and behind him. Instead of staring, you kept looking down at the floor with a bit of a dejected gaze. Shiro figured that you were in your head again; thinking about his clueless brother in more ways than one.

But if anything, it's the complete opposite for you. Sure, you thought about him a little... though while you waited at the doorway-- you were simply nervous.

All things considering,
You had a feeling that you wouldn't be getting much rest tonight.

[Chapter END]