Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Defy and Comply ❯ Lesson 9: Cold Silence ( Chapter 9 )

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Defy and Comply

By: Revamp/Melissa Norvell

Lesson 9: Cold Silence

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In the library, Tsukimi and Mishio sifted through the large amount of folders. The boy in the wheel chair had a box of files that was placed to his side, and another pile that was haphazardly assembled beside of him. No matter how much he searched, he had still come up empty-handed. Surely, there had to be something that was worthy of evidence about the graduating class. Something had to have been hidden or overlooked. Parchment was strewn about and littered the usually upkept room.

Behind him, his friend stood atop of a stool and extended her arm towards one of the many shelves of books. Standing on her tip-toe, she continued to stretch upwards trying to grab a strange-looking book. It had caught her eye and Tsukimi didn't recall such a drab looking, battered piece of parchment existing in the school's library. She strained a little farther, feeling her muscles extent to their limit, and still only her fingertips could touch it. Just then, her leg gave out, causing her hand to slam against the bookshelf. The jolt made several books tumble from their erect positions and crash down on top of her - including the one that she was so desperately trying to reach. She yelped, causing Mishio to glance up from his research and immediately maneuver his wheel chair around, where he saw his friend, laying in a crumpled heap with several books littered around her.

"Aw, crap!" The girl exclaimed as she slowly pulled herself up off of the floor, rubbing at her injuries. Several books impacted her with their corners, and their blows were painful. She heard her friend inquire if she was alright. Glancing around her, she responded. "Yeah, but I got books and documents everywhere."

"I wished I could help you," Mishio closed his eyes and frowned. He hated lacking complete mobility.

"No, I've got it," Tsukimi chided his worries as she began to pick up the haphazard books as well as a few stray documents that flew from their pages when they made impact. Among the mess, there was something that looked like an aged photograph. The edges turned sephia with age. Turning it over, she looked into the eyes of a class of students, smiling back at her. The girl blinked a couple of times, perplexion crossing her visage. "What is this?"

"Did you find something?" Mishio tried to glance over her shoulder, but he couldn't see anything from his position.

Standing, she walked over to her friend and laid it on the table. "It's the graduating class before us."

Mishio's eyebrows creased. "All of the faces are crossed out, but that guy there," he pointed to a guy with blonde hair, a pointed goatee, blue eyes and piercings. He was dressed in a white, leather jacket with studs around the collar and down the side, a white t-shirt, black, leather pants and three belts on his waist.

Bi-colored eyes glanced over to the lone student as Tsukimi's expression lit up. "I know him! That's Leonardo Sukichi!"

Mishio looked to her, "the rock star, right?"

The girl pumped her fist as her vocal took on a whole new octave. "Yeah! He was world famous at a young age, and he was my favorite rock singer. I even got to spend a day with him." Then, her expression morphed into melancholy and her voice lowered considerably. "I heard that he died, though. He was in a stage accident."

"Does that mean that no one has lived in the graduating class? Does that mean that the rumors are true?" The boy felt his heart drop. If no one had lived, things didn't look good for them. Not only that, but it meant that they had no one to rely on, no one to tell them any information on what could have happened or how they escaped if they did. The walls of hope wore thin and every day, they decayed and were scraped away at even more. Soon, there would be nothing but insanity and darkness.

"I'm going to take this to the student council. We need to know about what's going on." There was no way that Tsukimi was going to let this lie. Someone had to know something.

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The student council assembled in the meeting room. They each took their usual seat at the long table, and Taiga, who had also been summoned, was standing against a nearby wall with his arms crossed and a disgruntled look on his face. Tsukimi stood beside of him and Mishio was sitting in his wheelchair in an open area of the floor. He glanced between the two groups.

"I don't get it. Why am I here?" Taiga grumbled, glaring everyone down with his aqua eyes. He wasn't part of the student council, nor did he really want to be involved in their affairs. He was too busy being obyun to his men and running businesses to get caught up in school affairs.

"That is what I would like to know," Kiyomaru glanced to the group. Mishio, Tsukimi and Taiga weren't members of the student council, so what was their purpose in being at the meeting.

"I called you here," Kraki stood up, the light from the chandelier reflected off of her glasses.

Tsukimi glanced between the two in bewilderment. "I don't get it. What does he know?"

Mishio turned his wheelchair around to face the yakuza leader. "Taiga, you're involved in what happened to the graduating class?"

"You could say that," apparently, he was still unaware.

"So...it is true?"

"Depends on your perception of the truth," Taiga wasn't willing to just give his opinion out as if it were free information for the world to take. They weren't exactly memories that he wanted to relive.

Tsukimi looked over to him. "Is the graduating class all dead?" She had a feeling that if anyone would know, then Taiga would. If he was telling the truth and he really was involved with the last graduation, then he had to know.

Taiga nodded, "they are."

Prasuna shot up from her chair and whirled around. Her short, red dress spun with her movement. "What did you just say?"

"What!?" Kraki was equally shocked. Her eyes widened behind her large, round glasses.

"You heard me. They had to kill each other to get outta here and you all are next." If they hadn't realized that by now, he was going to make them. Above anything else, Taiga was going to give them an ultimatum. The first round of deaths was bad enough. He wasn't going to let them walk around, blissfully unaware of the slaughter that was about to happen.

Mishio's face reflected pure horror. His eyes widened and he grabbed the sides of his head. "No! Then that means..." Staring ahead, his pupils shrunk and trembled.

"Everyone in that picture..." Tsukimi trailed in a whisper as images of the students with red exes through their faces reeled through her mind. All of those people in that picture were dead. Now that she thought about it, looking at it was like looking at a group obituary picture.

"How do you know this?" Before they decided to take the yakuza's story at face value, Prasuna wanted an explanation. Anyone could have claimed to know what happened for the sake of publicity. What made his story hold any type of truth?

"My brother was in the graduating class."

Mishio wheeled over to the tattered photograph and retrieved it from the table. He then handed it to the taller man. "Then you can tell us who these people are." The picture had no names and if Taiga could name everyone in the photo, then it would give his story truth.

Taking the picture, Taiga examined it. He knew very well what this picture was and who were in it. Casting a knowing gaze to the lonely image, he closed his eyes and tilted his head down. "That's them," he then walked over to the table, where the student council and the other two students gathered around as he pointed to his brother's face. "This was a class picture. My brother...is here. His name was Raiga Daifumi. His classmates were..." Taiga's finger ran across the rows of students as he called off their names. "Leonardo Sukichi, Izayoi Ichibana, Osmond Vertelli, Roxy Lisborn, Monica Sosawa, Akagi Sekiya, Persephone Peacock, Kazoo Iefuma, Kasuga Fukimi, Ryuunosuke Kakuji, Kaizerschmarren Karchov, Arata Shiimaru, Liam Orlholdt, Okasana Miisa, and Shiko Minami."

Sunoma blinked. Taiga had pointed to all of the students in the picture, but not once did he mention someone who claimed to be involved. 'Wait a minute...there is no Lamar mentioned in this photo.' If he wasn't in the graduation class, then he had lied to her. Who exactly was Lamar Oosawa?

Kiyomaru looked up from the photo. He had wondered the same thing. "Are you sure that's all of the students?"

"It can't be," Sunoma wanted to believe that Lamar wasn't lying to her. His personal accounts seemed far too real for them to be concocted falsehoods.

"It's not. This is just one class. Why?" What did they know that he didn't? Was there someone they knew who claimed to be a survivor? Did they know someone from the graduating class who could have lived?

"The person I heard the rumor from claimed to have been the only survivor." Maybe that would ring a bell as to who Lamar might be.

"You know him?" No. Surely, it couldn't be the guy that Taiga had thought it to be. He was counting on him to keep his mouth shut and not screw up anything. If Sunoma knew, then who knew how many other students did. This could be potentially bad.

Just then, Tsukimi felt an invisible force slam into her. Her body jolted as a realization sparked in her mind. She turned to the lolita, blinking at her in confusion. "Wait...Sunoma, you know who started the rumors?" Did that mean that the student council had already been involved in this? If so, how long as they known while the rest of the students just walked around blissfully unaware that something was about to happen to them? First Taiga and now them? What in the hell was going on?

"I believe it should be brought up," Sunoma was going to stand her ground on the matter. She had come this far, and she wasn't about to just shut up about it. Now that Taiga was here, she had someone to back her up. Something needed to be done.

Misho's face contorted in anger. He couldn't believe that all of these people knew what was going on, and yet no one would speak up. Just how many people knew about the graduating class of last year? Why was everyone silencing themselves? Was this what they did in the student council meeting room? Did they just sit and round table discuss what was going to happen? Didn't they care about the other students? He didn't understand why no one was being told about the issues at hand. "Why wouldn't you tell all of the student body? What's wrong with all of you? Are you trying to get us killed?"

"It's still under investigation," Sunoma tried to chide the seething boy. Even she wasn't sure how to approach it and at this rate, they would lose their battle if no new information popped up.

"We are not going to allow falsehoods into the student body," Kiyomaru needed to cover for everyone. Even he knew that the rumors had done nothing but proven themselves correct. However, telling the whole school would result in something horrible. It would definitely worsen his personal situation in the matter. He had to uphold both sides, but how were they going to get themselves out of this situation? People were starting to figure out that something was definitely afoot.

"We need solid proof that isn't based on opinions. To do anything hasty would create mass hysteria. It's almost graduation, after all," the last part of Inori's sentence was almost ominous, uttered in that velvety tone. It didn't help that he remained calm, seated at the end of the table with that ever-present tranquil visage. His body was placed in the most elegant of ways, one leg over the other and the back of his hand to his chin in thought.

Prasuna turned back to the student council president and shifted her eyes. "A few crossed out faces does look like a pictorial hit list."

That kind of mentioning unsettled Kraki. Worry crossed her face at the thought of someone turning a harmless class photo into a hit list, calmly crossing off each smiling face as they were brutally slaughtered. What kind of heartless animal would do such a thing? "L-let's say it is. Why would be behind such a thing?" Her voice shook with the mere mentioning of something so horrible.

"Could it be a serial killer, or a criminal?" Mishio brought up the most common suspects first.

"I don't think so. Why would they let someone live?" Tsukimi found it hard to believe that a serial killer would just let someone live after knowing something like that. They weren't about to let themselves be turned in, especially for a genocide like that.

"What if the person who lived was the serial killer?" It would make sense, at least to Mishio.

"No!" Sunoma and Kiyomaru called out in stern unison. They wouldn't believe such a thing, nor would they allow him to even let that accusation turn into anything more than a stray theory.

Kiyomaru's face was marred with anger as he held up his fists and shouted dramatically. "I refuse to believe in such blasphemy!"

Tsukimi arched her eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. What was this guy's deal? What exactly did he know? "You're really defensive about that."

"I do not think that he is the killer. I know a lot about my information source. I do not find he would steer us wrong." There was no way that Lamar was involved and this was something Kiyomaru knew for a fact. The fact that the two of them had sex wasn't even a factor. Kiyomaru knew things, more than he was willing to admit and he wanted to keep Lamar as far away from the accusations as he possibly could.

"He would have never told us this was happening if that was the case," Sunoma provided a key piece of evidence that wouldn't damn him any further. Lamar had no reason to lie. Someone who broke down that hard couldn't be a victim. No matter what, she was going to stand by his side.

Mishio felt sick. His body trembled and it was all he could do not to hold himself back from going into another episode. "I'm scared. I don't want to die."

"Then transfer out before graduation," Taiga would offer him the same ultimatum as he had others.

"But-"

That was it. The yakuza was sick of people having some sort of rebuttal to his suggestions. Anger marred his face as he held up a clenched fist. "If you're not smart enough to do that, then just die. I can't worry about everyone. I'm more worried about finding out who is behind this."

"It still may just be a rumor. How can you be so sure that your brother was murdered?" Inori still questioned the yakuza's story. He wanted proof before he could deduce whether or not the situation was even true to begin with. After all, yakuza were rather shady individuals, and this was the leader of the most violent faction in all of Japan. For all he knew, Taiga could be the one orchestrating all of this for the sake of a turf war.

"Because I saw him die," Taiga gritted his teeth as the words poured from his mouth. How dare that prince-boy prick question him.

"You did?" Inori arched an eyebrow.

"Is that a good enough reason for ya? I don't like being called a liar." If Inori kept pushing him, he was going to do something about it. Taiga was getting sick of his inquisitions. It was bad enough the guy acted strange to begin with.

Sunoma walked over in front of Taiga and leveled the student council with a stern expression. "I have seen it as well. He's telling the truth."

"Sunoma?" Kiyomaru was a little surprised that the lolita would defend someone like Taiga. She used to think people like that were the scum of the earth, so what happened to change her mind?

"I saw it on the computer in the library." It was something she would never forget, an image burned into her mind. She still thought about everything she had seen that day, and all of the pain and tears the yakuza had shed over him. It was horrible to relive, not to mention rewatch.

"That computer..." Mishio trailed in a voice barely above a whisper.

"There is a computer in the library with proof of these incidents?" Uncrossing his legs, the blue-haired male leaned in and placed his hands on the table top. He nearly looked as if fear overtook him. The fact that such information was even rumored to exist made him feel sick to his stomach.

Kiyomaru glanced to the side, furrowing his eyebrows and frowning deeply at the bad news behind that claim. "Yes and no, as it deletes the evidence."

"How can that be?" Prasuna doubted the truth behind this accusation. Why bring up proof if you cannot provide it? It sounded like he was just lying.

"Someone in the network must be handing it out and taking it back...but why?" Kraki had seen what they were talking about. She had been a part of the viewing party and recalled the strange incidents of the computer first hand. It was strange that something like that occurred. Even she wondered what was behind it and why she had been shown what she had.

"They're fucking with you all, trying to instill paranoia in you so they can start their game early," Taiga knew what it was all about. This wasn't foreign to him and it would only continue until someone killed someone. Planting the videos in the computer was a way to make someone go insane with fear and act on their emotions. So far, no one had but it was only a matter of time before someone slipped up and threw them into a nightmare.

"Game?" Mishio was confused. What did the yakuza mean by that?

"Are you daft, man? They're trying to get us to kill each other?" It was unbelievable that these kids were just now coming around to the realization when they had been talking about the rumors from point one of the meeting.

Worry crossed Tsukimi's face as she glanced around the room, fright and unease painted onto her visage. "What do we do?"

"Transfer out," were they really going to go into this train of conversation again? Taiga felt like a broken record at this point.

"I don't have that option," Inori of all people couldn't just leave, not when his father owned the very school he attended. Even if everyone were to kill everyone, he doubted there would be any escape in that situation and he would be forced to stick it out. Not to mention telling his father would just be sheer idiocy on his behalf.

"Neither do I," Sunoma was sticking by her story as well. She could not defy her parents' wishes, and being disowned was a horrible fate, much more than death in her opinion.

"I am staying as well," Kiyomaru was certain on that. He couldn't afford to leave, not only because of Lamar but because he had a few personal endeavors.

Taiga scowled at them. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They all had ample opportunity to leave. The door was right there, and they could walk out and forget that any of this had ever happened but they wouldn't. They would just stay there and sacrifice their lives. What in the hell was wrong with them? "Idiots, you'll all die."

"I can't go either," Tsukimi shook her head with a frown.

"N...No...N-no...This can't be happening. Why could do such a horrible thing?" Mishio's whole body trembled as the situation weighed down on him, crushing his psyche. Graduation was eminent, and there was no way for anyone to escape it, unless they chose to leave the school. This couldn't be real! It was like a nightmare that he was so desperately hoping to wake up from.

Maybe it's a serial killer," the more she thought about it, the more the serial killer theory seemed plausible. Trapping everyone in the school and making them kill each other, and having their only be one graduate, Tsukimi was certain that sounded like the plans of a murderer.

Raising his head, Mishio stared at Taiga with pupils that quaked with fear. "It could be the yakuza. If Taiga is a victim, then maybe it's an opposing faction." That had to be it. It only made sense that they would be caught up in some sort of gang dispute. That all made sense, why Taiga's brother's class was targeted, and why Taiga is now a target. The opposing faction probably wanted to trap him in the school and kill him off to win a turf war. They more than likely seized the academy and were going to use it to their advantage.

The yakuza clenched his fist. The very thought that someone would dare accuse him of something so nefarious sent his blood boiling in his veins. "I have no business with the other factions. No one has shit with me either."

Inori's eyes traveled around the room. His voice remained calm as his blue hues landed on the boy in the wheel chair and the yakuza. "So, you all have no idea who it is?" They had again proven no one theory correct. It was insufficient evidence.

"We need to find out right away," Prasuna's tone held urgency. More than anything, the safety of the students was key.

"But, we've been researching-" Kraki tried to explain, but was cut off.

"What did you find?" If there were any new leads, then the short-haired girl wanted answers, and she wanted them at that instant. No one should have been keeping things under wraps as it was. It was bad enough Prasuna had to sneak around on Sunoma and Kiyomaru, was Kraki hiding things as well?

Green eyes hit the table top as the bookworm sighed, "nothing so far."

"That is, nothing we have solid evidence on," Sunoma spoke up on her behalf. Besides the evidence that existed on the computer, and that which was sealed within the pages of Lamar's books, nothing new had cropped up before the picture that was taken to them by Tsukimi and Mishio.

Prasuna slammed her fists on the table. The structure shook as a loud bang echoed through the room. Her flawless teeth clenched, bearing themselves from beneath bright red lipstick. "Then let's get to looking! This is a potentially highly dangerous matter that requires immediate action. I want no stone unturned. We have to find out who is behind this horrendous plot."

Inori smiled awkward, attempting to keep his posture and calm exterior. "Right, of course, the care if the student body is our primary concern," the student council president then stood, erect and cleared his throat. "Please, report any findings to me."

"Right," the student council said in unison.

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In her dorm room, Mishio and Tsukimi were present. Mishio had managed to move himself to the bed, where he was patiently working on something, braiding intricate threads of bright pink, lavender and black into braids. A short distance from him, his best friend was seated, cross-legged and weaving her own project with threads of dark blue, midnight purple and black. Many supplies were scattered about as the two of them concentrated of the work before them. Finally, when they were finished, they laid the now constructed items before them. They were two bracelets.

"Are you alright?" Bi-colored eyes filled with concern glanced to her friend. Ever since he had gotten the news at the student council meeting, there was something about him that was unnerving her.

Mishio had always been frail and his illness only shortened his life. To see him worrying away like that disheartened her. She had hoped that doing something like making bracelets would help take his mind off of the horror they were facing, but it seemed that he only concentrated on the threat more and more.

"Aren't you worried?" Mishio inquired, leveling her with a stern expression.

The girl's eyebrows creased. "Of course I am. I just don't know what to think, you know? It's just...so unbelievable that someone would try to make us kill each other. I mean, this is some kind of graduation prank, right?" She had to admit, making friendship bracelets was also a way to help get her mind off of things as well. The more that she concentrated on graduation, the more she dreaded the unknown, the more that she felt illness rising from her stomach, sickeningly churning its way up her throat. Tsukimi was going to make herself physically ill if she kept thinking about it.

"Taiga really was mad. His anger was real." That only meant that the yakuza was right about graduation. Mishio was sure that this was far more than a prank.

Toying with a few threads, Tsukimi's face morphed into a sympathetic expression and her voice lowered. "I know his brother died, but I thought it was because of something yakuza-related." The fact that Raiga was murdered in graduation only made the truth all the more prevalent, and more of a fact and less of a theory or a rumor.

Clutching the bed covers tightly in his hand, the boy's body shook a little. His breathing escalated and fear dripped from his tone, "I'm really scared. I don't want to die."

Just then, warm, long arms wrapped around him as his friend embraced him. It was as if her mere touch deteriorated all of his walls of defense. Tears cascaded from his eyes. Wrapping his arms around her thin frame, he sobbed into her breast, releasing everything he had kept inside for so long. "I want out of here."

Cuddling him closely, Tsukimi allowed her friend to cry, occasionally trying to chide him as she ran her fingers through his long, pulled-back hair. She could feel the tears soak into her clothes as her grip tightened. "It'll be okay. It's just some messed up hoax. I mean, it's gotta be, right?"

That is what she wanted to believe. Tsukimi just wanted to wake up from the nightmare.

Pulling himself away, Mishio's sobs were still as prominent as they ever were. The tears still flowed down his cheeks as his face became sticky and wet. His hands clutched her biceps as he spoke to her. Mishio just couldn't believe any of what she said. He couldn't allow the wool of falsehood to be pulled over his eyes, no matter who it was from. "How can that be? Inori...Did you see how nervous he was? It's like he knows what's going on. He knows and he won't save it. He's the son of the guy who built the school...and Karaya killed herself. Don't you think that's odd? She was really smart and level-headed. Why would she do that? There's got to be a reason."

A reason was what he was so desperately searching for. All Mishio wanted was an answer, an end to all of this madness. Who was worth trusting anymore? What was going on? Why was it going on, and who was behind it?

Gazing into her friend's tear-stricken face, Tsukimi tried to think of something to say to help him, to ease his mind, but nothing came. "I thought Inori was just scared and trying not to act it. Do you really think Karaya's suicide is linked to everything? I thought she killed herself for different reasons."

Could the two events truly be linked? Was this the beginning of the end?

"How do you know?"

That question pressed into her mind.

"Huh?"

"How do you know that?"

It pierced her thoughts again.

Looking solemn, the girl glanced to the side, her voice wrapped in sorrow. "I don't..." it then transformed into a more upbeat tune, accompanied by a smile, "but don't worry! I'll protect you. If people start killing each other then I'll kill them, so they can't touch you." Determination shone in her eyes. It was her solemn promise as his best friend. No one was going to hurt him, and she would make sure of that.

Eye filled with uncertainty bore into hers. It was clear that he was reaching out for some shred of hope, something to keep him from falling into complete darkness. "Can you do that?"

Her smile widened as she held up a fist and leveled him with a confident wink. "You bet!"

In turn, his features softened, and Mishio smiled a little, wiping away the remnants of tears. "Thank you, Tsukimi. You're my best friend."

Tsukimi lifted the boy and moved his body into his wheel chair. She made sure to sit him down carefully. "I'll always be there for you, Mishio." Her words were gentle as she held up her wrist, adorning the bracelet that he had made for her, showing off the precious symbol of their bond, "best friends forever."

Mishio smiled back at her and held up his wrist, pulling back the frills of his sleeve to show the bracelet that she had made for him, the intricate colors braided together, all bleeding into one another - a symbol of their eternal bond. "Yeah, I feel a little better now. I'm going to go back to my dorm and I'll see you tomorrow."

Placing his hands on the wheels of his chair, Mishio began to wheel himself towards the door. His friend pivoted and glanced over her shoulder. Worry crossed her face. For some reason, Tsukimi didn't feel safe letting him go to his room by himself. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Mishio gave her a reassuring smile. It was true that he was ill and had disabilities, but it had never stopped him from traveling down the halls. "I can do it. It's just down the hall."

Really, there was no reason to worry.

Tsukimi looked unnerved, but she decided not to pursue the subject. She didn't want her friend to think that she was treating him like an invalid, "if you're sure."

He nodded, and told her thank you in a kind tone before exiting the room.

The halls were dark, only the faint glimmer of white light from the moon gave him any sense of where he was going. Slowly, he pushed himself along as he was consumed in thought. 'I think I'm going to tell as many people as I can about what I heard. They need to know, and it's not right that the student council hide it from everyone. If I don't, then someone else could end up like Karaya.' It was a big step, and he would need all of the rest that he could get. Someone had to put an end to this madness, and it was going to be him. If everyone left the school before anything could happen, then they would all be saved. Determination grew on his features. This was the right thing to do, and if no one was going to be brave enough to do it, he was. Mishio had to stand for something. He couldn't just let them all die so senselessly when it was much easier to stop it. Tsukimi might be mad at him, but surely she would understand his intentions. They were best friends, after all. Closing his eyes, Mishio could feel a wave of stress hitting him once more. 'Sorry, Tsukimi, the students have a right to be informed.'

Just then, he saw a figure standing in the hallway. He could barely make out the silhouette, due to the fact that they were standing in the shadows. Mishio stopped in his tracks, grabbing the wheels and pulling them backwards as shock crossed his face. "Huh? Who are you?"

Shadows reeled over him, consuming him in darkness as frightened, lavender eyes lost focus.

XxXxXxXx

The morning light shone through the windows lining the halls of the dormitories. As usual, Kiyomaru was the first one up. After getting ready, he began to walk down the halls and make sure that all of the students were awake and going through their normal procedures in order to ready themselves for morning classes.

Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. His body shook with fear and he felt himself overcome with sickness. It was the same feelings that made his stomach churn when he saw Karaya's corpse hanging in her closet. The student council vice president could only stand there, shaking in his boots as he tried desperately to utter a word that made sense. However, all that came out was mindless whining and stuttering.

Before him, sprawled out on the floor was Mishio's body. He was face down, lying in a pool of blood beside of his wheel chair.

"M-Mishio..." Kiyomaru stuttered as he continued to stare at the boy, taking in the sight of his blood-stained clothes, the soaked carpet and the splattering on his wheel chair. Whoever did this clearly had intent. This was no suicide, this was a murder. "Dear god!" He called out, and then screamed at the top of his lungs. He felt himself become weightless and then everything turned black.

He opened his eyes as a fogginess left his brain and his blurred vision clarified. Leaned over him was Sunoma, wearing a white, button-up shirt with a black bowtie and a black lolita shirt with white frills. His head was nestled in the poofy fabric as his green eyes met ice blue. "W-what happened?" Kiyomaru inquired groggily as he rubbed the back of his head. Pain shot through his body. When he fainted, his head had probably hit the ground first.

"You fainted after you saw Mishio's body," Sunoma's voice was calming to his senses, although he could sense the distress from it as well.

Shock lit up his features as his eyes snapped open. He shot up quickly as memories of that morning flashed through his head, "his body..." The blood spray, the pools, his corpse that was laying there as stiff and cold as an inanimate object. The life had been savagely ripped from him, but for what reason. "That was real. He's really..."

Crying pierced his senses as he looked over to Tsukimi, who was sobbing hysterically as she clutched her friend's stiff body close to her. His blood leaked out all over her uniform, staining the front of it in a horrific shade of deep crimson. She nuzzled his face and sobbed as her tears washed over his still features. "He's my best friend. Why would someone kill him? I don't understand."

Mishio had never done anything to anyone. He pretty much minded his own business, and from what she knew, Mishio didn't have any enemies. It was just cruel for someone to murder him. It wasn't like he even had a chance to run of fight back. At that point, Tsukimi regretted everything. She could have walked with him to his dorm and maybe it wouldn't have happened. Maybe, she could have protected him like she swore that she was going to do.

Tsukimi felt so guilty,

Taiga's eyes narrowed as he looked on at the murder scene before him. "This wasn't a suicide. This was murder," he then looked to the student council president. "What are you gonna do about this, Mister President? Do you still think this is a game?"

Inori looked as if he had been shattered. His elegant hands were held up to his face and his body visibly shook. Detachment and fear coursed through him and the amount of anxiety he felt made him want to puke. "This...this can't be happening..." he uttered in shock. "This has to be a set-up to ruin the school's good name. What's going on? I-I don't know what to do?"

It was maddening, crushing and it overtook him in a giant wave, ripping him asunder and slamming him into the ground. It beat against him, holding his body there and leaving him to struggle violently with no hope of escape. Everything was wearing thin and Inori felt as though his respect as a student council member and integrity as a person was stripped from him. Soon, everyone would begin to leave the school his father worked so hard to build. The thought of the school's reputation being violently ripped away scared him more than anything else.

Taiga crossed his arms. "There's nothing you can do but face the fucking music. What I said is true. How long are we gonna wait for you to open your damned eyes?" There was no way that Inori couldn't at this rate. It was all laid out before him. Nothing could blind him now.

Sunoma stood and eavesdropped and he and Taiga's conversation. Something about the president unnerved her. 'Strange...Why is Inori still playing ignorant? Something isn't right. He should know more about what's going on than we do. I have this feeling he might be involved.' In fact, he should be one of the more key suspects, since his father held such a high position. It was Mr. Mandio's school, so his son should be aware of any and all activities that took place at it. That was the job of the student council president.

"You're an ignorant fool! Stop fucking around!" Taiga's shouting jolted her out of her thoughts.

"It won't be long before everyone finds out. How do we explain this?" Kraki tried to assess the problem at hand. At this point, there would be no way that they could keep the paranoia down. People were going to want to leave for sure.

"You don't! You're all fools!" The yakuza shouted. Why didn't people want to just suck it up and accept the truth? He was sick of being treated like some sort of mad man for speaking out about his brother's death and he was sick of being subjected to the eyes of skeptics when the evidence was right in front of their faces.

Kiyomaru walked between Taiga and the student council and waved his arms in dismissal. "Let's all calm down and try to think rationally."

Tsukimi arose, tears streaming down her face and blood plastered on her white and black uniform. Bi-colored eyes looked at the corpse before her. "My best friend was murdered. I can't think rationally when I know someone in this school is walking around a murderer."

"Someone's trying to get the ball rolling. That means someone in the school is affiliated with both incidents." That was exactly how it worked before, Taiga was certain that this was merely going to be a reenactment of the last ordeal. If that was true, then Mishio was a sacrifice to instill paranoia into the student population.

Kiyomaru expressed concern, "but, how can that be?"

"Mishio...I'm so sorry. I should have protected you." Tsukimi looked down at her friend's body through her long, shaggy bangs. Her frown was stern as she bent down and took the friendship bracelet off of his blood-covered wrist. She tied the blood-stained accessory around her wrist. "I'll never forgive who did this!"

"I'm going to call the police. This killer must be stopped at once," Inori gave the others a stern look after he had gotten over his shock. Now was the time to take responsibility. He couldn't let himself show any more weakness towards this situation. 'Now I realize that this threat is very real. I cannot let another student fall victim to this sick killer.'

...To Be Continued