Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Trapped In Purgatory ❯ Lesson 7: Conviction ( Chapter 7 )

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Trapped in Purgatory

By: Revamp

Lesson 7: Conviction

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Leonardo's widened eyes stared back at the corpse of the girl he had been talking to only moments ago. Her void eyes stared back, glazed over as the hand of death gripped tightly to her body. Blood coated his weapon, thick and sticky as it ran to the carpet of the room as a maelstrom of thoughts assaulted the blonde's mind.

`What do I do? I-I've never killed anyone in my life. Oh god! What have I done? What have I done? What if someone comes in here? I have to get rid of this somehow.' Quickly, Leonardo dashed to the bathroom and threw his weapon inside of the shower, turning the water on full blast as he tried to rid it of any evidence. `Now, the blood and the body.'

More than anything, he must cover up what happened. There was more than likely going to be a trial, and not only that, his friends were going to grow suspicious as well. He had to think quickly if he was going to pull this off. That's exactly what he planned on using the rest of the night to think about.

XxXxXx

As per usual, the students showed up in their usual meeting place. All of them managed to make it - except Okasana. They all seemed as if they got at least a few hours of sleep, and most of them were in a somber mood. Leonardo hung in the back of the group, his skin pale and bags held tightly to his eyes from his lack of sleep. The mindset of the musician was fragile, and flashbacks of his misdeeds haunted him. He tried not to show it but he was on edge, nervous, and scared out of his mind. He didn't mean for it to happen. He didn't want to die.

“Are you alright?” Raiga's voice cut into his thoughts and he turned to the yakuza member.

“It's alright,” Leo dismissed. “I just couldn't sleep very well.”

“Are you sure?” Raiga arched an eyebrow. He wasn't completely convinced that Leo lack of sleep was the only reason that the blonde looked so shaken.

“Yeah,” even now, Leo could feel tingles lunge up his spine. The sin on his shoulders was a great burden and even so, he couldn't let someone like Raiga find him out. He had to keep up a façade, no matter how weak it was.

“Where is everyone?” Kazoo glanced around at the members of the group that had shown up.

“I see everyone but Okasana,” Izayoi pointed out the girl's absence. “Does anyone know where she is?” She glanced around to see if anyone had any kind of answer of idea. She was supposed to come right down to meet them. It was odd that she hadn't.

“You know, I haven't seen her at all. She didn't eat breakfast, either,” Liam found that kind of odd. Okasana usually did at least that much for herself. If she didn't eat, she must have felt really bad or something happened.

“She's been really upset lately and withdrawn. I think she might be contemplating killing someone,” Roxy was suspicious. There was just something about her that put the heavyset female on edge. She had been keeping her eye on Okasana in particular since her little freak out. Someone with such an unstable mind was not to be trusted.

“You think she'd really do that?” Osmond wasn't so sure that someone like Okasana would make the first move. It wasn't like it wasn't a possibility, but the model didn't want to think of her like that.

“She's a psychologist. She understands the mind better than we all do,” Raiga pointed out her talent. Someone like Okasana could be really dangerous if they wanted to be. It would be easy for her to play mind tricks on them unbeknownst to them.

“That doesn't mean that her mind is immune. You can understand the mind all you want, but it doesn't mean that you can control your emotions,” Leo defended her. He knew first hand that she wouldn't do anything like that. Okasana's mind was far too gone to think about manipulating anyone else. “You just know how to control your emotions better in times like these.”

“That's what you'd think,” Persephone didn't believe an excuse like that. Psychologists were supposed to learn about the human mind and how it worked. No doubt Okasana would use it against them if she could.

“She's probably dead,” Kaizer noted. Did they not think to even consider that? No one there was above death, especially not any of them.

“I hope not,” Persephone didn't want to wish anything like that one her.

“You know, it's always nice to know you're that one dark cloud in my clear skies,” Osmond folded his arms over his chest. Nothing like Kaizer's negativity to kick off his nightmare fueled day.

“We'll wait for a while, and if she doesn't show up then we'll look for her.” It was the best Raiga could offer. They couldn't wait there all day, they'd be sitting ducks. They also did have to consider the fact that Kaizer might have been right. Okasana might have died, and if she did that meant there would surely be a trial.

“Maybe I should go knock on her dorm door,” Ryuunosuke offered. It was better than just staying complacent and doing nothing. If she was just in her dorm, then they could go about their day and try to find a way out of the school without her. It would waste less time.

“I'm really worried. It's not like her to show up late,” Izayoi's eyebrows creased and a frown adorned her face. Out of everyone, Okasana had always been punctual. Even when she felt bad, she still showed up when she was called upon to do so.

“That's usually my job,” Raiga tried to lighten up the situation by telling the truth. He was usually the last one down.

“Did anyone manage to find any new clues?” Monica spoke up. She figured that she would at least ask while they were waiting.

“I managed to find something interesting,” Roxy dug in the pocket of her vest and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and adjusted her glasses, reading the contents. “The letter states that this school was scheduled to be demolished five years ago.”

“Five years ago?” Izayoi was shocked to find that out.

“That's when Shinjinku was built,” Kazoo pointed out the date. “Why would they condemn it afterwards?”

“Does that mean that the staff here isn't really the real staff?” Ryuunosuke began to wonder. If the school was supposed to be closed down, then that meant everyone who worked there must have left and a new group moved in, assuming the position of staff.

“Does Mr. Mandio even really own the school?” Shiko had even more questions regarding the state of the Academy.

“He's the one who signed it, so I imagine so,” Roxy turned the note over, showing them all her evidence.

“He does,” Kazoo confirmed. “I helped him make the floor plans for this school, so I know he owns it.” It was something he could swear by.

“Something is really wrong here.” The more Leo thought about it, the more mystery the school submerged itself into. What was going on? Why did the school have a demolition schedule? What happened to make it that way? Why did Mr. Mandio want it destroyed? What was he trying to hide? Was he trying to hide anything? None of this made any sense.

“Let's say there is a serial killer,” Kasuga brought up one of the prior theories everyone proposed, “They could be holding Mr. Mandio hostage.” It was a possibility that they should consider. The serial killer could have even forced Mr. Mandio to get the school demolished or set it up like he was going to so they would have an alibi.

“If the staff were only posing as staff that sounds more like the work of a syndicate,” Raiga looked thoughtful on the possibility. Syndicates were powerful, multi-branch organizations that had very powerful leaders. If someone like that had control of Shinjinku then he hated to think about what nefarious things they planned to use the building for.

“Are you sure you're not getting us wrapped up in your yakuza shit?” Monica frowned and cast him a suspicious look. The yakuza was a syndicate, after all. If syndicates were involved, chances are that the yakuza was involved as well.

“I'm tellin' ya, the answer is no. Even if they did, it wouldn't be anything like this. We of the yakuza don't like getting innocent people involved in our affairs.” It was something that Raiga could swear on. If the yakuza was involved, then he would know…not only that, he wouldn't be trapped in that school unless they planned to usurp him.

“She's still not here,” Izayoi noted, her face taking on more of a worried expression. “Guys, I'm starting to think something really bad happened to her.”

“Let's check the dorms and see if she's there.” Raiga decided that they had waited long enough. Okasana should have joined the group, and the fact that she didn't pretty much insured that the result of their hunt for her would be grim.

“If she's dead, then how can we get in her room?” Izayoi posed a good question. It wasn't like a corpse was going to answer the door.

“We'll have to pick the lock or find the key,” Arata answered the question simply. Even if it wasn't right to do so, they had to find some way to get in her dorm. They needed answers.

Izayoi instructed that they split up, and the group agreed. They broke off and headed out in separate directions. They checked around the school for any signs of their missing friend. Ultimately, they ended up in the dorm hall. Several doors lined it, and each person looked through several dorm rooms, questioning those who answered their doors.

Akagi walked past Leo's dorm room door, then stopped a few paces after and backed up. His dark eyes were directed to an odd-looking spoke in front of him. The floor was lighter in front of the blonde's door, and it looked as if it had been washed with some type of cleaner that discolored it.

“That's weird,” the baseball player muttered to himself in suspicion.

“What's up?” Monica stopped behind him and noticed the look on his visage.

“The carpet is clean coming out of Leo's dorm,” Akagi noted as he bent down and ran a finger over the discolored threads. It felt damp, as if it had been cleaned recently. “It's still wet, too.”

“Why would he need to clean his carpet in the middle of the night?” Monica was suspicious now. He had to have cleaned it then. It was very early in the morning and she doubted that he cleaned it then. Judging from the way he looked in the meeting room, the blonde hadn't gotten any sleep.

“Don't you think Leo's been weird today?” Akagi rose up and turned to her. “He cleaned his carpet in the middle of the night and got no sleep. He looked like a zombie at the meeting.”

“What are you trying to say?” Monica wondered if they were coming to the same conclusion at this rate.

“I'm suspicious,” Akagi's answer confirmed it. “Let's go check the dorm…more specifically hers.”

If something happened, he was going to find out what. The last thing Akagi wanted to do was put false blame on the musician, but if something nefarious truly did happen then he was going to investigate. There could be a killer among them, and that was something he wasn't going to dismiss.

XxXxXx

By the time the two of them reached Okasana's dorm, Kazoo, Izayoi and Osmond were all present, searching around. The model turned as he watched the two of them walk into the room. It was a quaint, tidy-looking dorm. Okasana liked to keep things in an orderly fashion most of the time.

“Hey, we thought we'd check around in Okasana's dorm to see what happened to her,” Osmond pointed out the obvious. If anything had any clues leading up to her disappearance then this room would provide them with clues.

“Did you find anything?” Monica wondered how long they had been in there. Upon glancing around, she noticed that they had managed to go through a few of the psychologist's belongings.

“There were a few things we found,” Osmond noted.

“We found a note that's really off,” Izayoi's face was twisted in worry. Even after reading those haunting words, she was left emotionally disturbed. “She left her weapon in here, which means she went out unarmed.” Considering the situation, it was highly unlike her…It was highly unlike anyone to do something like that. In fact, it was very stupid.

“But…Why would she do that? Someone could have killed her.” It made no sense to Akagi. No one there would have left their room without their weapon, especially not someone who was as scared as Okasana.

“Not necessarily,” Kazoo contradicted his statement. “We had curfew. Not saying everyone listens, but it's probably safer.” Maybe Okasana went out on the chance that she wouldn't get killed.

“Take a look at her note, though,” Izayoi handed the piece of paper to Monica, who glanced over it.

Tonight, I'm going to end it. I've finally convinced myself to seek immediate remedy. Recently, I've been showing signs of paranoia. I've been having vivid hallucinations and my anxiety over the footage on that video has disturbed me far more than I am willing to admit.

Even if I escape, I live with the guilt knowing I inadvertently killed those who meant the most to me. I can't go on living like this, and I want whoever finds this to know that I'm sorry. I failed you all. I hope you can graduate and I wish you all luck. I'm sorry I didn't get to know you all better.

Okasana.

“Is this a suicide letter?” Monica glanced up from the unnerving content. Maybe this was a suicide and not a murder. Maybe she walked outside into the arms of a killer on purpose. Even so, that could still warrant a trial considering if she was killed, it was done at night. That was in direct violation of the rules.

“It looks like it,” Izayoi looked down with a frown on her face. She didn't want to accept that her friend would do something like that but she couldn't deny the grim truth scrawled out before her.

“Do you get in trouble if someone kills themselves?” Osmond was curious. The bag-headed figures never did mention anything about suicides and what the rules were for those.

“Do you think she did that?” Izayoi had been denying it deep down, but she knew more than ever it was a heavy possibility.

“She's not here and there's that letter. What else could there be to state otherwise?” Akagi asked. That was all the proof he needed to realize the nature of the situation.

“Even so, she had to have died at night.” The fact still stood that Okasana was dead. It didn't matter if she killed herself or not in Kazoo's eyes. Someone was no doubt going to pay for this incident.

“It's only against the rules if you're killed at night. If you kill yourself then you can't trial anyone, right?” Izayoi's voice was shaky at the realization that they could probably have a trial regardless. If that was going to happen then one of them was going to get killed for circumstances beyond their control.

She prayed that wasn't the case.

“How can they trial someone when there's no answer? I mean, to have a trial you have to have witnesses, someone who died and a killer.” If a few of those factors were missing, then Kazoo didn't know it was even possible.

Osmond sighed. “Too bad Kasuga isn't around. She's a criminologist. She'd know what to do.”

Just then, they all heard the words that none of them wanted to hear. A deep voice cut through their conversation like a harsh knife as it delivered the news that answered all of their questions. Each high schooler turned their head towards the source of the sound as dread permeated from their bodies.

“Court is now in session. Will the following please report to the courtroom, located in the gymnasium?” The voice continued with a list of names.

Kazoo felt his body tense up as each name was read off. “That better not be for Okasana's death.”

“How do we even have a trial for that?” Osmond was worried. He felt his psyche fall apart as his fists clenched and his eyes grew wide. Someone was going to be set up for murder and he didn't know who. As selfish as it sounded, he just hoped that it wasn't him.

“It could be another scheme to get us to kill each other,” Monica brought up another point. “Remember, they can hold trials where we wrongly accuse someone and send them to their execution.” No doubt whoever was behind this was angry that no killings had been taking place. A forced trial was the best plan to get the ball rolling at this point. It's what they needed to push them in the right direction.

“I bet that's what they want. They want us to blindly accuse each other,” Osmond was sure of it.

XxXxXxXx

The jumbotron that was on the school lit up with vivid color. One of the monitors flickered on, followed by others that were located across the location. Students flocked around each one with different expressions written on their faces. Some of them were tired, others angry and some were even splattered in the blood of their slaughtered school mates. All eyes were glued to the sight before them, unable to tear themselves away.

Among all of the students was Taiga. `What the hell is this shit?' The younger yakuza was more than confused at the incident. His eyes darted around wildly through the crowd. “Does anyone know what's going on?”

“It looks like some sort of courtroom,” one of the boys pointed out the obvious.

“Are they having a trial?” Another girl asked.

“A trial?” Taiga's eyes widened at the horror of those words. “Does that mean someone actually broke the rule? What stupid shits would do that kinda thing?” As he spoke those words, an image of his brother standing behind one of the podiums assaulted his eyes. “Raiga…”

The students were assembled in the courtroom. All around them hung images of the faculty of the school, followed by elaborate, silken drapes. Several podiums were placed in a circle, so they would all be facing each other. Behind them was a tall-backed chair and in it sat a hooded figure, watching them silently as they discussed their situation among themselves.

“Oh god! Why are we here?” Shiko was more than scared. A courtroom was the last place she wanted to end up.

“This is…the courtroom,” Arata's voice shook, not only with the anxiety he felt being around people but at the horror of the concept that was about to befall them. It was never good when anyone ended up here.

“Look! In the center!” Izayoi's face lit up in shock as she pointed to a picture of Okasana, smiling back at them with a red ex through her face. It was at the top of a stand that stood at eye level. It forced them all to gaze the life that had been taken away so swiftly. “This must be a trial over who killed Okasana.”

“What? But, we already found out that it was a suicide.” Fear and apprehension coursed through Kazoo's body. He could feel himself sweating as he gripped the sides of his podium. She did kill herself, right? Surely, no one had done anything despite their rules. He wasn't so sure now.

“What? That makes no sense. I mean…did she really kill herself?” Raiga wasn't entirely shocked that someone would do such a thing, but to have a trial over it seemed odd.

“Maybe she didn't,” Persephone's words brought everyone's attention to her. “I mean, why would we be here if that was the case?”

“I don't like this,” Ryuunosuke's eyes shut and he tilted his head down. The martial artist knew the consequences that were about to befall someone.

“It's unnerving,” Arata didn't like being responsible for someone's death. The trial put him in that predicament.

“Why am I even here?” Roxy was confused. She had nothing to do with any of this.

“This is like implying that one of us killed her,” Shiko didn't want to think that any of them would, but there wasn't a single person behind one of the podiums that she didn't know. It was disheartening.

“As you all know, there has been an unlawful murder that has taken place last night. This was the murder of Okasana Miisa. The culprit of her murder lies in this room.” The hooded figure spoke from his position, perched on the chair. He could hear the students stir up a commotion among each other as they began talking among themselves.

`What the hell did you do, brother?' Taiga's fist clenched as the words sounded in his ears.

`As a result, we are holding a trial. The first stage of the trial will be a nonstop debate. You will all talk freely and hand out any information that is important to the murder. If someone says something you feel is wrong, then you can contradict their statements. Feel free to present any evidence that you have gathered in order to solidify your claim. The second and final stage is a compiled story and conviction of the culprit. Everyone in the courtroom must be in agreement of who the killer is.” The figure held up his hand matter-of-factly. If they were to proceed with this trial, he would give them proper rules to abide by. Most of them looked bewildered, but everything would soon come to light. Someone was responsible, and they must be punished.

“Are we really wrong about that? I mean, did one of you really kill her?” Kazoo glanced around at everyone. He really didn't think that someone would lie to him about it, but at the same time they would have a reason to lie to him if they were hiding something. People would do anything in order to live. He knew that much.

“There are a lot of options. What if our compiled evidence is wrong?” Roxy knew that it very well could be. They didn't have enough time to gather what they should have. They also had very little leads on what happened.

“Punishment will be given to the convicted, regardless of the ruling. You all will deal with the ramifications of your actions. Let the nonstop discussion begin!” The figure sounded off the beginning of the trial.

“Which one of you low lives did it?” Kaizer was the first to deliver a question. He knew it wasn't going to be outright answered. No, that would be stupid.

“Maybe no one did,” Kazoo wanted to hold fast to his beliefs. He wanted to trust that his friends wouldn't think of something so dastardly.

“If no one did, we wouldn't have a trial, now would we?” Kaizer asked, folding his arms across his broad chest. “Let's all get alone now,” he taunted them with a twisted smirk on his features.

“Stop trying to mindfuck us,” Monica glared from across the room. She was tired of that guy's shit.

“Only murders are trialed,” Kaizer wasn't backing down on his claim.

“This is stupid, but you should admit it if you did it.” Monica was convinced that someone did, and they needed to speak up and save them all the trouble. She was growing irritated, not only at the fact that someone could potentially die without reason but also because someone was stupid enough to pull it off and let them think it was a suicide. Maybe someone even set it up.

“Jesus Christ! Why would any of us be this stupid?” Kazoo leaned over his podium and looked around at everyone. They were smart enough to get into the school. He knew they had brains in their heads, capable of more than most. What the hell was wrong with these people?

“This is wrong,” Ryuunosuke's eyes screwed shut as confliction assaulted him like a firing squad's cruel bullets. “I don't want to convict anyone.”

“What do we know about the case?” Roxy would be the first one to ask a serious question. Who knew if they were timed on how long they could have a discussion. She didn't want to waste time talking about how much she didn't want to condemn someone to death.

“That Okasana is dead but we could never find the body,” Liam pointed out the most obvious detail.

“You couldn't? Isn't that a shame?” Kasuga spoke with a small smirk. It really was too bad. Without a body, no one could figure out the exact cause of death.

“What do you mean?” Persephone glared at the white-haired Lolita. There was something unsettling with how amused she sounded at all of this. Criminologist or not, that girl was suspicious.

“Don't you know that the body holds all of the evidence?” Kasuga held out her hand, as if it was the simplest piece of knowledge anyone could have. “You would know if she killed herself or if someone else did by the placement and angle of the wounds.”

Certain inflictions signified certain injuries and even the fact that certain wounds at certain angles would be impossible to inflict on yourself. Since they couldn't find the body, all of the damning evidence was gone. It could have saved or broken this case entirely. Whoever hid the body did a good job. They definitely didn't want to get caught.

“Why couldn't we find the body? I mean…everyone looked around for her…didn't they?” Green eyes scanned her classmates for some look of affirmation. If someone didn't look, then who could it have been…and why?

“I couldn't find her anywhere,” Liam was the first to speak up.

“I checked outside and she wasn't there, either. A girl was drowned in the fountain that looked similar to her, but when I pulled her out she looked different. They merely had the same long, platinum, spiral hair and they were both fair complected,” Roxy reported her findings. She wanted everyone to know that she wasn't lying. Like hell she was going to let them grow suspicious of her.

“Do we even have any evidence that might lead up to what might have happened?” Liam questioned his peers.

“I have this,” Izayoi pulled the note out of her pants pocket and held it up for everyone to see.

“A note,” Kasuga pointed out the obvious.

“I found it in her dorm,” the singer released that little piece of information.

“It's a suicide note,” Osmond put further confirmation on the girl's finding.

“Or is it?” Akagi wondered aloud.

“What do you mean?” The model turned to the baseball player. He was really confused. Did Akagi not read the note? Wasn't he there when Monica read it aloud? Surely, he knew it was a suicide note from that alone.

“There's one line in it that said, `I can't go on living like this, and I want whoever finds it to know that this is no one's fault. The decision was mine and mine alone.'” Akagi was suspicious just by looking at it from that angle. Why would she say something like that if she was going to kill herself? Why would she think anyone would blame anyone if that was the case? Did she think they were that paranoid, or did she honestly go out and get killed by one of them? It made him think.

“Sounds like a cover up. Is it even in her hand writing?” Kaizer didn't know if he could trust any of what they were saying. He didn't really know if Izayoi was even telling him the truth. For all he knew, she wrote that letter herself.

“It is,” the blue-haired girl confirmed,” she even signed it.” If he wanted to get some kind of handwriting test, then she would gladly submit her own signature for analysis. She wasn't going to get falsely accused.

“The fact still stands. Why would he have to verify that it was no one's fault?” Kaizer was still suspicious.

“Because she wouldn't want a trial like this one,” Liam figured that was a pretty good reason.

“The only plausible answer to this trial would be to convict Okasana of killing herself.” Roxy didn't see any other way of getting out of it. In fact, the answer should be simple. They would also avoid an execution if they all voted in favor of her.

“You cannot convict the deceased,” the bag-headed figured wasn't going to let them get away with that. Someone was going to get executed for their crime.

“So, even if it's a suicide, we still have to trial someone?” Liam was outraged that the cruel man would make them senselessly kill someone for something someone did to themselves.

“That's unfair!” Shiko shouted. She didn't want to kill anyone for no reason, or at all.

“Wait a minute…” Raiga placed a hand to his chin and looked thoughtful. “I just thought of another option. What if her suicide was assisted?”

“You mean, like someone helped her?” Osmond hadn't thought of that option before. It made a lot of sense as to why they were having a trial now.

“Or someone killed her because she asked them to,” Raiga noted further.

“She didn't care about dying, that's for sure,” the model knew that if she wrote that note, she had it in the game plan.

“What makes you say that?” Shiko wanted to know how he came to that conclusion.

“She didn't take any weapons with her. She left the one she got in the gym in her dorm room.” When Osmond and the others looked in her room, they had found her weapon. It's why he thought that she might have just walked out and got killed.

“But, did she take a small weapon with her? None of you can tell me that none of you haven't picked up things alone the way and hide them so no one else would get them.” Kaizer himself was even guilty of such actions. Surely, by now, everyone had a small army of knives and other objects they could use as weapons stashed away. Okasana must have done the same.

“Not gonna lie, my room is full of random shit,” Kazoo looked like a deer in the headlights. He knew that it was something everyone knew in hindsight, but still. He didn't like it being said out loud so he could have the upper hand if any of them decided to come after him.

“Even still, why would she leave her big weapon for a small one knowing there could be people out there with big weapons? That doesn't make any sense,” Liam was going to argue the point. It was just stupid to make a decision like that, knowing that she had no chance at all.

“There was something else strange that I noticed,” Akagi pointed it out.

“What was it?” Roxy asked.

“The carpet in front of and underneath of Leonardo's door was cleaned. It was recently, too,” Akagi decided to bring that little clue to light. It was the only piece of evidence that he could present before everyone.

Roxy placed a chubby finger to her chin. “It's odd to clean your floor at such a strange hour at night.”

Raiga looked towards the musician, who had been remarkably silent for the entire day. He felt a tightness in his stomach that told him there was something wrong about all of this. “Leo, man, that's really weird. You looked tired this morning, too. Why were y'up all night?”

“I couldn't sleep,” Leo tried to defend himself. “You guys can't judge me based on that. Don't you hear the screaming and stuff at night? People come up to your door, begging you to let them in. Then, they get murdered outside. You gotta hear `em die. It drives ya crazy.” It wasn't a good excuse, but it still was one nonetheless. It wasn't as if it wasn't true, regardless. The screams and gurgles of the murder victims did keep him up. The thought of death and realization that someone could die at any time clawed at his psyche. The promise of death at every turn wore him down and he wanted nothing more than to wake up from this infernal nightmare.

“Crazy enough to kill someone,” Shiko found him suspicious.

“No!” Leo shouted in defense.

“That doesn't convince us that you cleaning the carpet is a normal occurrence. What did y-you spill, Sukichi?” Arata really wanted to know why he did that. If Leo couldn't give him some kind of answer, he was going to assume he killed her at this rate.

“I spilled-“

“Blood,” Roxy interrupted him.

“No! I didn't!” Leo protested again.

“Y'r acting really guilty, man. Y'should know better than t'do that shit, Leo.” Damn. Raiga had a feeling that he was more than guilty at this point. He was disappointed that someone like him lost his mind so quickly and went to end that girl's life. Why did he have to do something like that?

“You're caught,” Roxy's cold eyes glared him down, firing daggers into his soul. “Tell us what happened, Leonardo.” She demanded to know.

He owed them all an explanation.

“What makes you think it was me?” Leo wasn't going to go down without a fight. Even if he felt his foundation crumbling beneath him, he was going to try and stand up no matter how much of it gave way. It was life or death, and he wasn't going to give into defeat and allow his life to be ripped from him.

“What did you do with her body?” That was what Kaizer wanted to know.

“I…”

“Why can't you answer any of our questions?” The white-haired teen continued to drill Leo for answers. If he was so innocent, then he would have immediate answers for what they had to say. Just looking at him, Kaizer could tell how pathetic he was. Leonardo was practically sweating bullets. His widened eyes and nervous expression was all he needed to know that the singer was guilty of his crime.

“It's not what ya think. I'm tellin' you!” Leo wished they would understand, but he didn't want to explain himself, either. He was as good as damned if he had to face the music.

“When she said not to blame anyone,” Kasuga shifted her eyes to the blonde and smiled quaintly, “she meant you…Didn't she?”

The jig was up. She had her man.

The fact that he said nothing was a further admission of his guilt.

“It's obvious what happened. She went to your room, thinking she could trust you. She then asked if you would kill her because she wanted out, so…you did.” Kasuga's last words were ominous, like a gavel coming down upon him. It sent a wave of horror through the teen's body.

“It was either that, or you murdered her and wrote the suicide note yourself. Then, you drug her body out but noticed the blood made a mess, so you cleaned it up.” Kaizer knew there was another, more morose and stupid scenario behind it.

“No!” Leo protested loudly again. He would never kill anyone on purpose. He never wanted to kill her at all.

“No to which story? Be specific,” Kaizer pressured him into cracking more.

“I…don't want to die. I…didn't…I didn't kill her…” Leo hunched over the podium, scared out of his mind. He couldn't bear to look at his peers, to see their visages, condemning him to death for a crime he never intended to commit. His voice shook, as did his body.

“You're lying,” Kasuga's words cut him down.

“I'm not,” Leo sobbed loudly, “I swear, I'm not.” He was losing it. Leonardo was going to die in this court room.

“Why would y'do that, Leo?” Raiga's voice was subdued. His expression solemn as he turned to his friend. It pained him to know that he was going to have to watch Leo die, and more importantly, that he would be one of the ones to condemn him to death.

“You don't understand.” Tears continued to run down his face as he choked back his words.

“We understand you killed her. It doesn't matter if she wanted it or not. This isn't about right or wrong, either you did it or you didn't.” Kaizer's words were cold and cutting. In the end, some sob story wasn't going to save him. No one here was going to have pathos on him. Such a thing was useless to try and mine.

“You don't understand…” Leo repeated the sentence, his words more upset than before.

“Then make us understand. What happened, Leo?” Kazoo still wanted to know. Even though he knew this guy was as good as guilty, but even he wanted validation behind it all. Kazoo wanted to know if he was making the right decision. In a sense, he wanted his own peace.

“She asked me to kill her,” Leo admitted through his sobs. “She came to my room and practically begged me to. She said I could handle killing someone from a psychological viewpoint. He handed me my scythe. I kept telling her no, but she didn't listen to me. After a while of talking to her, I thought I calmed her down and I let my guard down. She grabbed my hands and forced my weapon into her body. Man, I was freaked out. I knew I'd get blamed. Ya don't even know.”

“She made you force your own hands into killing her,” Kazoo looked down. Even if Leo did it, this was wrong. It was wrong to convict him, and he truly was innocent.

“Why didn't you she just kill herself?” Izayoi didn't understand why she even got someone like the blonde involved. There was no need to do any of that if she just went through it alone. She was so intent on doing it, so why did she need help?

“You guys don't remember?” Leo asked, sniffling. “She has Thanatophobia.”

“Thana-what now?” Shiko had no idea what that was.

“Thanatophobia is the fear of death. It's the fear of dying or being dead. It also roots in the fear of the unknown. I've taken a bit of psychology and from what I know; it's in the human condition to want to understand the world around us. However, death and what happens after it can't be unequivocally proven while we're alive. High intellects are affected by it more, as well as those who question their beliefs,” Kazoo shed some light on Okasana's condition and what it entailed. He wanted everyone to be aware of her state of mind and how much it had deteriorated.

“If she has Thanatophobia, how can she be suicidal? Wouldn't she be afraid to die?” It didn't make any sense to Roxy. It sounded like an oxymoron.

“That's probably why she wanted me to kill her. She'd be too afraid to kill herself,” Leo admitted. He didn't see her condition like others did. Okasana probably felt that her only release from this place would be to face her biggest fear and let herself succumb to it.

“Maybe she had a philosophical desire to overcome her fears of dying. From a-analysis of her letter she r-reasoned with herself that little hope or r-reprieve existed. She wasn't psychotic, maudlin, or crying out for help. She was trying to t-take control of her own destiny and a-alleviate her suffering. Y-You see, if we kill her she dies with that fear, but if she can trick herself into thinking that facing her fear is b-better than her current situation. She would become desperate or scared enough to want to end it. I-In a way she helped get over it by telling herself that death isn't like the p-pain she was experiencing. She also had to c-come to terms with the fact that she w-wouldn't be forgotten once she was gone,” Arata cleared the fog around how someone with her condition could get around it enough to think about dying, or want to die in general.

“She probably made a split second decision so that no matter how scared she was, she'd do it while she had the will and didn't give into her fears,” Kazoo added. If he had a condition like that, and he was sure about dying, then he was going to kill himself while he had the strength. Okasana was no different. “After she died, Leo probably decided that the only think he could have done was clean up what happened.”

“I took her body and threw it into the incinerator. I knew the body had all of the evidence. I wasn't gonna go down without a fight.” No one could blame the blonde for his actions. They all would have done the same if they were in his position.

“This isn't right,” Raiga closed his eyes. His fists clenched tightly at his sides until his knuckles were white. “Why should we convict him?”

“If we don't, we have to convict someone who isn't even guilty,” Akagi looked conflicted. He didn't want to convict Leo, either…however; he was guilty by evidence alone.

“In a real courtroom this would be considered suicide. But…I'm sorry, Leo. You're guilty,” Kazoo looked pained even saying those words. His voice dropped an octave and he looked away. It was a painful decision to make, more so than anything he had ever decided in his life.

“I didn't do it!” Leo shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice was wild in fright. “You all would have done the same thing if you were me!” He felt caged, like the walls of the courtroom were closing in around him. Leo's chest tightened and panic washed over him. It was hard to breathe and he felt extremely hot. Sweat drenched his palms as his breathing escalated.

“I won't let this happen!” Raiga slammed his fist down on the top of his podium; a loud bang echoed through the room and caused the others to turn their heads towards him. “It's dishonorable and we would be throwing him under the bus. I refuse to convict him. This is hardly fair.” No matter what, Raiga wasn't going to go against his friend. Even if everyone else decided on it, the yakuza couldn't bring himself to do it.

“Leonardo Sukichi is found guilty for the murder of Okasana Miisa,” the voice sounded the final verdict.

“What?! No!” Leo shouted in dismay.

“Commence the desired punishment,” the figure commanded as he held his hand up.

Suddenly, a steel collar snapped itself around Leo's neck. He could feel the bite of the cold metal and brought his hands up in a futile attempt to pry it off. The collar felt suffocating against his hot skin. Panic shot through him in waves, and his heart pounded so quickly that he thought he was going to be ill.

“What? What is this shit? Get it offa me!” Leo protested as chains wrapped themselves around his body, constricting his flesh and digging into him. It bruised and the links pinched his skin and he struggled and undulated in its grasp.

A look of resolve crossed the yakuza's face as he jumped over his podium, knocking it over from the force of his arms propelling him. Raiga ran over to his friend and grabbed his wrists. Leo was being pulled back, so he put up resisting force as he tried to keep him inside of the room with disparity.

“I won't let them!” Raiga protested as he continued to pull on the other male's arms. He didn't care if he broke them or pulled them out of socket. He strained his muscles to the limit just so he could keep him from the cruel fate that was about to befall him.

Raiga could never live with himself if he just let him get sucked out of the room and into whatever hell he was about to be sent into.

“R-Raiga…”Leo's voice strained as tears clung to his eyes. Pain shot through his body as he felt his arms being stretched to their limit. The chains dug into him, threatening to tear his flesh if his friend continued to put up a resistance.

“You're not a killer. Y'don't deserve t'die,” Raiga gritted his teeth before his words took on an odd kindness. “Leo…I…”

Before he could get the rest of his sentence out, Leo's hands slipped from his. The yakuza fell backwards as his friend was ripped savagely from his grasp. Leo was yanked backwards, screaming as his form skidded along the floor on his back. The entire wall of the courtroom rotated around to reveal a giant wheel.

Leo's body was slammed against the hard surface with great force as cuffs arose from the device and clamped tightly around his arms and ankles. It kept him strapped to it. Blue eyes darted around as he noticed what was about to happen to him. His body hurt and the blonde breathed sharply, struggling against his bonds. Hoping in some desperate attempt that they would falter and he would be free of this hell.

“What the hell is this? I want offa here!” Leo protested in horror and agony. He thrashed around again, trying to pry himself off of the wheel.

“I…I don't know what to do,” Raiga's body was frozen in place. All he could do was stare at whatever was about to befall Leonardo. His eyes widened as the wheel began to spin.

The loud noises of gears sounded, echoing throughout the room as Leo spun around and around. The bag-headed figure pulled a lever beside of his throne which caused the wheel to speed up. Leo felt ill from the motions and his growing anxiety. He closed his eyes to try and clam his bubbling stomach. Then again, when facing death was there a way that he could truly calm down?

Suddenly, his body jerked violently to a stop as his eyes popped open. Just as that happened, a sword flew through the air and pierced his chest. Leo coughed up blood as he heard a pop and felt the blade dig into him. It was jammed in with such force that he felt the tip hit the back of the wheel that he was strapped to.

Tears streamed down Raiga's face as he wept for his friend's demise. He couldn't get the sight of his friend's death out of his mind, and in that moment the void stare of those blue eyes were going to haunt him from this moment on.

He swore on all that he was, Raiga was going to get revenge on what happened today.

“What a shame. I didn't kill him. That was supposed to be an execution. What rebellious youth. He must be a tough kid to crack,” the bag-headed man sounded dejected over the fact that the blonde was still alive. He had not anticipated this. These kids were tougher than he had previously thought.

No worries, the next execution was sure to knock someone dead. That he was going to count on.

Everyone stared at the sight before them with looks of terror and widened eyes. They could hardly believe that the execution didn't kill Leo. Shiko sobbed as Arata hugged her protectively. The poor girl had been traumatized from the event as the others looked on at the musician clinging to life.

“That's it? What do we do not?” Roxy questioned. The overweight woman was unsure of if she should leave her position and help or stay back. Would something happen to her if she tried go to the wheel?

Suddenly, Leo felt the shackles come undone and release him from the wheel. Pain surged through his body and the familiar dizziness flooded back as he slowly fell from the death trap he was once suspended in. It felt as if his body was weightless and he had exhausted all of his strength trying to get out.

If the fall didn't jam the blade the rest of the way into his body, the impact alone might finish him off. He closed his eyes and awaited contact before Raiga caught him in his arms. The yakuza was going to prevent his death if he could. He held the other male tightly in his arms.

Raiga reached up the grab the sword and pull it out of Leo, but a shaky, weak grip held his wrist.

“Don't,” Leo begged in a whisper.

“He's all yours. If you can fix him without any medical technology, using the devices at your disposal that you currently have, that's up to you. If you can keep him from dying of infection or blood loss, have fun with that.” The figure waved to them. “Also, if he does die while he's in your care than you will be prosecuted in a trial and sent to execution regardless of the time of day that he dies.”

Then the grim words reached their ears.

“Make your choice.”

…To Be Continued