PARTY ALL NIGHT

On the subject of godsends, the virtuoso soon found himself broken out of his stagnated nervousness as a poorly stifled noise escaped from the drummer’s mouth. Was she laughing at him? Before he could even begin to contemplate why that would be, the sensation of her fingers guiding his gaze towards her instantly paralyzed him in body and mind. Such an occurrence might have been analogized as a princess soothing her troubadour… were that his imagination contained even a splinter of surrealism.

Regardless, the comparatively realistic notion of Japan’s Biggest Bad Girl soothing the Red Dead Child still offered a certain appeal.

“Ah… ahaha! As you say, I may indeed be something of a fool…”

Goodness, even his late colleagues would have been able to point out his gauche demeanour. This simply would not do. Turning away from Nana as soon as she released her hold on his chin, Kyo cleared his throat as he indulged in a moment of collecting his thoughts. Yoshino’s disembodied voice once again rang in his ears – tired phrases such as make or break moment and now or never. Never did he think he would ever genuinely consider her advice.

Pivoting on his heel to face Nana anew with freshly reconstructed poise in tow, Kyo took a single step forward and threw his arms around her in embrace. In a manner that betrayed the hesitation he previously displayed, he gently pressed his lips to her head before lowering his brow to the spot with a light nudge.

“T...Thank you!”

The guilt that festered in her gut started to gnaw at her. Tetsuo was not easily replaced, no, he was irreplaceable. She was still tied to him in her mind, and everything about seeing someone else in the same light felt wrong. But...the small gestures of affection...she liked it. The drummer started to wonder whether or not she only enjoyed it because it reminded her of him. That would make it wrong to enjoy such a thing..! Though, enjoying it because she genuinely liked him also seemed like it would be wrong. 

Regardless of her inner turmoil, she treasured Kyo’s company and how he treated her. There was no reason to punish him for that. 

Her eyes gazing up into Kyo’s, she gave a small smile.

“You’re sweet. Maybe sometime soon we’ll get out and get a pizza and play strip poker.”

Her smile brightened at the thought of spending time together above sea level; Not just her and Kyo, but with the others as well. They could be like a normal class and do kid stuff... it was amazing that such a thing was too much to ask for right now. 

“Eh?”

Stricken by a fit of dumbfounded confusion that left his mind in a state of emptiness, a single shrivelled syllable was all his vocal chords were able to muster as the gears in his skull whirled in an attempt at comprehension. The girl sat before him had labelled him gross, but why? To say nothing of the skittish giggling banter that shot forth from her mouth like a veritable waterfall and the ardent heat that tinted her cheeks a vibrant red… was it something he said that had rendered her so fretful?

Slowly but surely, his thoughts resurfaced from the void and graced him with a hard truth.

Bedfellow ˈbɛdfɛləʊ/ Noun A person who shares a bed with another. A person or thing allied or closely connected with another.

“EEEEEEEH!?”

At a speed that the naked eye might have failed to notice, the virtuoso’s complexion instantly adopted a shade identical to the drummer’s. He internally cursed himself for his habitually impulsive ways – it was always his inability to hold his tongue and stay his hand that brought him such shame! Had he a remaining sliver of the willpower required to focus in such a distressing situation, he might have imagined Yoshino’s inebriated voice in his ear, squawking about games and tigers. In a manner that some may have deemed slightly too defensive, he began rhythmically slapping the surface of the desk in defiance, not once widening the distance between them.

“Y-YOU FOOL! You impossible, incorrigible fool! That was not what I meant in the least! Although, that is not… to say that I would not… honestly, how insufferably foolish!”

Nana’s face grew a shade darker realizing her error and stared with wide eyes at Kyo’s flustered demeanor. Though he was calling her a fool, she sort of wanted to laugh. His backpedaling was pretty humorous to her, and he looked funny when he was like this.

“P..Pff....Haha!”

Her hand reached out and lifted Kyo’s face by his chin, their eyes meeting again.

“Maybe you’re foolish for puttin’ your foot in your mouth all the time! Take it easy!”

He was wound way too tight over this sort of stuff! Or maybe Nana was too lax about it? It was probably a mixture of the two. She would hope that he would learn to relax around her a little more, but maybe he was trying to distance himself for her sake. She hoped that wasn’t the case, but she could understand why he would do that. Even if she had harbored some feelings for him, she wouldn’t feel right acting on them. 

Removing her hand from the boy’s chin, she wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging her knees to her chest. 

“If only I could laugh like this with everyone else...I think you’ll be my only friend for a while. Or maybe for the rest of my life.”

Her smile was dampened a bit by her last statement, leaving her eyes downcast once again.

Listening to her speak in that manner was painful – not due to her tone, but because she spoke the truth. The last time someone thought to seek aid in their ordeals, Tetsuo Shingen paid with his life. What guarantee did she have that he would not have met the same fate? There truly was no other choice to make in her mind. Yet still…

“Yasuda, I–”

Before the virtuoso could even begin to utter whatever sentimental contrivance had come to mind, he found himself hushed by the drummer’s sudden turn towards him. Although he readied himself for yet another round of harsh assertions, much to his surprise, what instead met his ears was anything but. To know that she held him as near and dear as she did the late police chief was certainly a validating revelation to behold… but more importantly, acknowledging the folly of her actions demonstrated that her dignity was yet intact.

It would seem that anything he could hope to state on the matter had been rendered redundant – bearing witness to such pride on her part was more than he could ask for. Satisfied with leaving thoughts of well-intentioned extremism behind for the moment, Kyo pushed himself out of his seat and once again returned to Nana’s side, leaning forward over her desk and bearing down on her with a smile that was almost sickeningly sweet.

“You are absolutely right – nothing would do me any greater pleasure. Still, I was led to believe that I had taught you better… we are anything but business partners. As is the case with any other art form, music and business are to be separated, you see. The two of us united are a cadre, as they say. A troupe of like-minded individuals. Perhaps even bedfellows.”

This conversation was taking turns at an alarming speed! They were no longer on the topic of her wrongdoings and were now on the matter of working together. You would think it would be a bit more comfortable than the conversation before, but...

She had no idea they would have to that in order to work together.

It made sense, though! Yama-sama himself always had one of the receptionists coming through his office at odd hours. Why had she not realized this before? Her face became pink with the realization of what she had agreed to, and her voice began to crack as she stammered her response.

“AaaaaaaaaaAha, shit!”

“You’re gross, Ototo! Hhrka! Ha! Hyak! Haha!”

The virtuoso now leaning over the desk toward her, she felt her heartbeat quicken. Ohhh dear, he was making a move on her. Now of all times. Her hands met with her cheeks, attempting to conceal the growing red beneath them. 

“W..wouldn’t it be hard to do it now? Glass walls....the fish have eyes. HeCKhehehe...Not that I wouldn’t...! With you..! Just!”

Honestly it makes sense; of course it does. Who wouldn’t be scared? Can he be so arrogant as to say he hadn’t had similar thoughts of murder? That was a lie. They’d been there. Always. Was Nana really so much lower for acting on it and failing? She had to be lower though… if she wasn’t then… that would mean such actions could be forgiven, right? That murder was okay because of the situation… but at the same time… there was merit to that, too.

“In other words, you’re admitting you should’ve been executed, right? I’m not… saying Oshiro-chan is innocent, of course that’s – of course she’s guilty. But your intent was there and you– you don’t really regret it. Being scared is… Ito-san and Sister-san, they were probably scared too. It doesn’t excuse anything.”

She already said she wasn’t going to pave things over with sorries but he still can’t help saying that. He wanted to mention how sensitive a subject his gloves were in the first place too but… that really wasn’t the time. And showing weakness no was no good.

He doesn’t really want to hate Aiko even though he had every reason to. He isn’t sure why he clings to the idea she’s a good person; desperation, maybe. She’d never been all that unkind to him. Perhaps that was part of some big manipulation he couldn’t get, sure, but maybe she’d been tricked into all of this or something, blackmailed… at any rate hearing Nana say she didn’t want her to die was somehow a relief… especially when he felt like everyone else would say the opposite.

“… People like who…? If I was wrong about you then who knows what else I’m wrong about. Even…  even Ihara-san and Kobayashi-san were planning stuff like that then who can you… I… you know I talked to them both. Ihara-san, she’s not like– she’s not like a lot of us. She seemed genuinely nice and– and Shingen-san trusted her and all but even she ended up doing that– thinking that. And Oshiro-chan… we were friends. Even if she did those things I didn’t want to see her suffer like that. I didn’t want to believe she thought nothing of us all this time…”

Tetsuo’s name was probably a sensitive one but he was in a sensitive mood himself and … well, Tetsuo was one thing he’d been clinging onto a while now. It was always such a missed opportunity in Kiyoyuki’s mind, that he hadn’t got to know him better. Part of him feels he has no right to even mention him to Nana; she’s probably missing him the most but part of him isn’t even listening to those thoughts now.

He pauses. “Do… you really think she was tricked? Do you think she… she hated us? Or that she had… regrets…?”

Really, he wanted to believe Nana had a point with this trust thing. He needed that hope. He needed to believe that there was some way they could all fight this; it’s what he’d wanted from the start. But when she says there are people here we can trust… who is it she means? If Kiyoyuki had to pick anyone as that sort of beacon of trust it would be… well it would’ve been Tetsuo. And he was gone. He’d been gone for a while now… or had he? It was hard to tell how much time had passed when the events began to just pass you by.

“Never mind… forget it… I just don’t… know… I wanted to believe in everyone, you know? I really do. Even now. Even when I keep getting tricked like this over and over again there’s a part of me that’s just… hey, maybe if we band together we can fight this, that sort of thing… believe me, it’d make me feel so much better if I could trust you but it’s not some switch. I… I was genuinely worried you’d lost your life. I thought, ‘what a failure, I couldn’t even help save Shingen-san’s precious person’ but then… this happened. I want it to be a fresh start but– say even if I do believe you, does that mean everyone else will? We’re all– we’re shattered like this… it’s not good… it’s not what…”

“I...I don’t think anyone who crumbles under this place should be executed. I think I’m guilty and should be seen as that, but...”

Nana’s shoulders slouched in sadness as her words trailed off. She was more deserving of an execution than Aiko was, wasn’t she? Sure, she didn’t kill anyone, but would the sukeban even commit murder if she wasn’t set up for it? As Nana weighed their personal sins, her eyes became downcast. Her pupils remained trained on the floor as she answered the boy’s next inquiries.

“Ototo and Iwawa...And Ozu! Oh, Jiang too...Mikey is cool... They all seem really nice... I don’t believe they would ever do something to harm any one of us.”

Maybe she was just being naive, but Nana genuinely believed what was coming out of her mouth. Her class was trustworthy. 

“And I had hope in Itoto, too! And Annie! I still do. I know you probably don’t agree, but we’re just the bullets. Not the one holding the gun.”

Wasn’t the point of this place to break the students down and kill one another? Do you blame a rubber band for snapping when you pull on it too hard? What some of them had done was wrong, and she knew that. The blame was right to be on her, but not solely. 

“I’unno what happened with Oshiro...Maybe she was offered a way out and took it? I don’t think she ever mentioned us getting executed in her stead, so maybe she thought if she came clean, all of us would live! I want to believe that part, kind of badly.”

Everybody has their kryptonite. Maybe Aiko’s was used against her, making her another victim of this nightmarish place. 

Upon hearing Tetsuo’s name erupt from Kiyoyuki’s lips, her heart nearly stopped. It was a blow she wasn’t expecting. It seemed as if Kiyoyuki was looking after her for him. As she tried to do something horrible for him. A half smile spread on her lips, while she kept herself from laughing and crying at the same time. 

A surge of emotions clogged up in Kiyoyuki’s throat and the second his eyes met hers he averted them. It almost felt unfair, to be this obvious about his distaste but… well, it was obvious he’d be apprehensive around her. She was pretty much a confirmed murderer. She hadn’t gone through with her plan, true, but the intent had been there. And in all honesty he wasn’t entirely sure whether she regretted it or not. Maybe the intent was still there.

Honestly Kiyoyuki had already been in a bit of a distant and vague state. He’d come here in the first place to actually do something useful. Maybe, just maybe, if he looked hard enough he’d find something important. Or at the very least he could take his mind off of the chaos and insecurity swirling around his head. Anything to get his mind off of his problems. And yet here was one such problem, milling around with a sort of far-off look in her eyes.

“Hmm… I see…”

Wow, really… was that it? Well, what else was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to just unload a full clip of complaints and accusations? She should know by now how little she was trusted around here. He especially had reason to distrust her given the way she’d even… she’d even implied he’d do that to Kaitaro and Sumiko. It’s a dog eat dog world, he knew that, but at times he didn’t want to believe it was the case. He wanted to hang onto some hope they could all just kinda… get along, trust in each other and beat the bad guy. It was stupid. That’s probably how he ended up trusting Aiko.

There’s a stretch of silence after that and his eyes keep moving from place to place. Should he just leave? No, but, something should be said… but… what was point… all this indecision was killing him. He has to say something!

“I really thought… I could trust you. That we could work together and be honest and stuff–” he pauses and then just shakes his head. No, that’s too sappy and too weak, she’s going to think he’s a pushover. Frustration just boils over and he sighs, putting his head in his hand. He’s still not even close to being like Tetsuo. “Never mind. There’s no point in talking about this, you can continue that computer stuff. I guess I should thank you for opening my eyes, if anything.”

She took everything he said like blows to the gut. It was true, and she deserved it. Nana turned to give him her full attention, swallowing a lump in her throat the size of Jupiter. 

“You’re right...I can’t pave things over with sorries, I know. And I knew what I was doing when I waited for Kobayashi. I can’t say I didn’t mean to...But I really didn’t want to throw you under the bus- I just got scared. I didn’t know what to do...and it was the lowest thing I coulda done.”

She didn’t know what else to say. Knowing that she had burned a bridge, and dampened their outlook on this entire situation...it was something she never thought she’d do. 

“Y...You might have been wrong about me, how easily this place got to me -- but I think there are people here who we can trust. We’re not all hopeless...”

That’s what she wanted to believe. The news about Aiko, that was a little discouraging. Well...”a little” wasn’t very accurate. 

“You knew one of us pressed the button, right? The paranoia of who pushed it would get to anyone..but...now we know. It’s like we’re starting over. I didn’t want Oshishi to die, it sounded like she was tricked! But I think now, we don’t have to worry. If anyone was working behind the scenes here, they’re gone.”

…Or so he would have liked – this place strove to deny even the smallest of joys as a fundamental rule. As if their overseer had been awaiting the perfect moment to strike, Monobear’s piercing squeals broke through the intercom and dragged him back into consciousness with news of yet more controlled freedom. Springing to his feet with a groan unbecoming of his age, Kyo begrudgingly set forth to begin his hunt for information anew, but not before preparing a thermos of honeyed citrus tea for the road. His personal ambrosia would surely prove invaluable while wading through the confusion of yet another floor.

It would be several minutes before Kyo finally arrived at the fourth floor, exiting the elevator to the inexplicable sight of an office space and one weary Nana Yasuda… the latter of which commanded his attention more than anything. Responding to the girl’s battered countenance with as encouraging of a smile as he could think to muster, he made her an offering of his tea-filled lid before seating himself at a neighbouring cubicle. There were a myriad of swimming thoughts he wished to share with her following the trial’s conclusion… perhaps giving them form would not be so daunting a task now that time had passed.

“You saw how well confiding in someone went when it came to Shinshin.”

Her voice dripped with hurt, remembering that sad truth behind that case. She held no resentment towards Jiang-li, because if it had been Nana in that situation, she would have done the exact same thing. Unfortunately, now she knew what happened when you relied on others. 

Her body twisted, swiveling the rolling chair to face the neighboring cubicle the virtuoso retreated to.

“....” 

“I wouldn’t do what I did if I didn’t think you were as important as he was....’Kay? i’m not gonna do the frantic apologizing bit; I was scared, but I knew what I was doing. I am sorry for everything I did after, though....I shouldn’t have tried to lie or cover it up...”

She had held her classmates dear to her from the beginning, and had always wanted to make it out together. Why she suddenly wanted to hide the truth and even suggest it was someone she liked...she wasn’t sure. It was a cowardly thing to do. The thought of this place affecting her in such a way was frightening and she didn’t like it one bit. Biting her lip in a fit on uneasiness, she turned and slumped over the keyboard once again. There was nothing useful here, she already realized that, but a sudden twinge of regret and embarrassment prevented her from looking the boy in the eye.

Getting stabbed, admittedly, was a weird experience. A flash of cold then heat, unbearing burning from the point of impact that spread through their entire body and almost caused their legs to give out. Automatically their free hand raised to push against the stab wound as the weapon fell away, squishing damply against the blood which seeped out to stain their clothing and leak through their spread fingers to drip soddenly onto the floor below. Although shock caused everything to go crystal clear in a flash of numbless the haze of pain and tendrils of unconsciousness form the sheer amount of pain nudged at the corners of their vision as they half lunged half stumbled in retaliation at Nana.

It’s a feeble slice that caught across her chest, the blades on their scissors slashing across bare skin in a lucky wave of their arm. Coordination wasn’t something they were capable of with their vision cutting in and out, but a sudden tug of drag at their blade as well as the spray of warm flecks of blood hitting their armed hand told Kaitaro that they’d hit their mark.  Even if Nana was set to kill them, they’d be damned to go down without a fight—this murder was supposed to be theirs.

After all, they’d already decided to give up any pretense of humanity to escape already. How dare she take it from them. 

Her eyes were wide as she stumbled backwards, nearly losing her balance. This was over, it was all over. Just shove them and run! Run to your room and lock the door! She might have done just that if she didn’t feel something against her wound. Against her wounded chest was a chain, a reminder of someone who gave their life to protect someone else. Wasn’t this the only option, then? It was weighing some lives over others, and it felt wrong...but doing nothing felt even worse. 

“Supposed to?”

Nana’s voice was quiet, and still shaky. Though, her hands were much less timid when grabbing a hold of Kaitaro’s hair. No matter how tightly she wound her fingers into the green locks, they didn’t seem to grab tight enough. Her wide eyes stared right into the embroiderer’s as she pulled their head back.

“Supposed to? None....none of us were supposed to b-be here. I wasn’t supposed to do this! I don’t...I don’t even want to leave everyone! You’re the one who gave in, not me!”

As her speech went on, her tone grew louder, but not any less fearful. With her last words, Nana’s hands hurdled her prey towards the nearby wall. The sound of skull meeting with drywall was loud, and then there was nothing. 

She did it, she really did it. She killed someone...

It wasn’t until now that Nana felt the throbbing pain that had come from her stab wound. If she hadn’t have planned ahead, she wouldn’t really know how to cover it up. Now feeling overwhelmed with multiple emotions, the drummer quietly tied her neck tie around her eyes.

It was sort of nice not having to look at Kaitaro’s body.

Their hands wouldn’t stop shaking long enough for them to think. A pile of weapons had taken up occupancy on the normally pristine shelves and table space in their room from knives to meathooks, the fruits of their labor—the first step in a plan to spring their escape. When fear forced their hand, some things weren’t this choice anymore.

Kaitaro Kobayashi had never wanted to be a murderer.

They were under no illusion they were strong, especially not strong enough to resist the lure of a motive so tempting, so generous—one life for three, simple enough. Mike TV would never agree to it, wouldn’t even buy his own freedom with blood on someone else’s hands, but Sumiko Ihara was another story. Three notes, a victim, and any choice of weapon the two of them wanted. That’s all it took.

That’s how Kaitaro found themselves at midnight hitting the elevator button and heading up with one hand stuffed into their pocket and holding a sharpened pair of sewing scissors, just in case one of the monsters that went bump in the dark happened upon them on their journey. 

How strange of Sumiko, to not only push their meeting time to a day earlier but also to summon them out here instead of going directly to their room—of course, subtlety with notes was a safer plan so no one would put clues together in the bloody aftermath but still—and something seemed off. Alright, her note has responded to their invitation to kill. Alright. A sigh, a nervous swallow, and they pushed open the doors to the prep room with trembling hands.

It was almost time, and Nana stood beside the entrance with her icy weapon clutched tightly in her hand. She had been lucky that Kyo didn’t take a peek into the ice chest during her little diversion. He would have known what she was planning; he would have seen her for what she didn’t want to be seen as. A murderer.

She gulped as she started to reconsider this entire plan. This wasn’t her... No, she had to do this. There was no doubt in her mind that if Kaitaro was going to kill somebody, it was going to be Kyo or herself. Her eyes fell on the shining badge that hung from her neck. Tetsuo might not approve of this -- she knew for a fact that he wouldn’t -- but she couldn’t go through that again. Keeping everyone she cared about safe was all that mattered at this point. 

When the door opened, Nana’s breath caught in her throat. 

“Yasu-san...?” Oh god, this was a human being. She couldn’t do this. No, she had to. Her hands were shaking, and the ice was starting to burn. Her arms quickly rose and fell again, leading the weapon into Kaitaro’s abdomen.

“I’m sorry! Die quickly!”

“Nananan! You okay~?” She greeted as she entered the infirmary, suddenly slowing her stride now that she was in the presence of other people. All things considered the drummer seemed to be surprisingly… conscious, but she was still covered in blood. Miya gave Kyo a small nod, acknowledging his presence before turning back to Nana with an encouraging smile. “Tell me if Kyototo tried anything weird, I’ll straighten him out~!” Surely he’d appreciate the humor. Surely.

Remembering why she came, Miya approached the infirmary bed and held up the small pink key daintily between two fingers, displaying it almost proudly.

He snapped out of his damning stupor as soon as Nana spoke up, only to once again fall back into mental disarray upon digesting her statement. Not only did he now have to live with the fact that he failed to safeguard the girl while she was within arm’s reach, but his efforts to right this wrong would likely result in the death of her benefactor… it was nothing short of infuriating. It was clear to him that their confinement was meant to bring out their worst, but never before had he felt so powerless.

It was at the height of his self-deprecation that Miya sauntered into the infirmary. While her offering of the key to Nana’s binds was readily appreciated, he could personally do without her wisecracks at his expense. Still, throwing heat behind his words at a time like this would accomplish little…

“AAH—?! Were that I could have been capable of doing something—”

His breath immediately caught in his throat as soon as he registered his own outburst, seeping out in a low sigh as he turned away from the two girls. Perhaps it was due to the shock of registering his own wrath, but within seconds he found himself returning to his usual mellow facade.

“Ah, that is to say… I have done nothing beyond carrying Yasuda here in an attempt to treat her wounds. Rest assured that I would not dare sully her sanctity or my good name by attempting any sort of vulgarity.”

Having taken the opportunity to gather whatever implements he could use onto a nearby tray as he spoke, Kyo promptly sat himself down on the bed opposite Nana’s and began sterilizing his hands in preparation.

“I’m okay, yeah! I’m just---”

“Hahawhat!”

Was now the time to be making these sort of jokes? And how exactly did Miya know about Kyo? Jeez, was she the last one to figure it out or something? Still, she couldn’t help but let out a snicker. 

That was, until he made a remark about her removing her shirt. The request was fine and she probably wouldn’t have any trouble with it...if it were anyone else asking. 

But when they went in…

Where did it all go was right!

Poor Akihito, huh, knowing the area and all those tools well wasn’t going to help him much if everything was well, gone.

He stares around the area, eyes widening, unsure of whether his brain is glitching on him or if everything’s really been taken out. It just seems so surreal for everything to have been there only to just disappear in … well who knows how long it would’ve taken but something like that would’ve surely taken a while, right? Maybe it seemed more daunting than it was. Kiyoyuki folds his arms and considers both what he knows of the case and what the emptiness of this room could imply.

“Huh… all that stuff it just… disappeared… weird…”

That’s not much of a smart observation. He taps at his chin and attempts to kick his brain into gear for a quick next course of action.

“It might still be on this floor somewhere… I don’t know why or where but… you could really risk getting caught hauling this stuff too far, right? I just can’t figure out why, though… a security measure or something…? I don’t know… I just… I just think it’d be useful if we could find the stuff… maybe we could find out why it’s been moved ‘cause it’s got to be relevant somehow, right?”

He couldn’t help feeling like perhaps someone else would know more but… just because someone else could do a better job of it didn’t mean he wouldn’t try for himself. He had to, anyway. He owed it to Kaitaro, Sumiko and even Nana. Her survival was heartening and important but it didn’t take away what had happened and what could’ve happened at that. She deserved justice and to know the truth of it all just like everyone else did. Regardless of who that was bad for…

He found himself zoning out staring at his gloves before snapping his head back up.

“W-what th’ hell!? Who th’ fuck could cart out all th’ tools?!” He looks to Kiyoyuki.. disappeared? No that was impossible. “Things don’t just disappear, man! ‘Specially not a shit ton of tools!”

He paused to thing.. where could they have gone… “I don’t understand why they’d move ‘em, like, they couldn’t all be th’ murder weapon or some shit, what’s th’ point?” Whoever the killer was, they seemed to be making them do a whole lot of unnecessary work. Where could someone take all the tools anyway..?

“I mean....it looks like they took all the dangerous stuff. Maybe they built some sorta trap with it all.”

“Uh, on second thought, maybe we shouldn’t find them.”

One narrow escape from death was enough for today, in fact, it was enough for good. Poking around inside for any other details they might have missed, Nana frowned.

“We can still look, though. If we don’t find them, we might find something else.”

“T....The club sounds like it would have a lot of clues, right? The club? And music would probably help us focus, right? Riiiiiight?”

“Of course we wouldn’t— well. T-that was a joke but yeah, me and Ozu-kun could handle anything like that.” he shoots the other a look and a nod to say like ‘we could, right’ and also ‘we’re cool now’ at the same time. Well a gesture was a gesture. He had to get moving. He had to find out what happened and … they had to make sure the responsible party got their due, no matter their intentions. That thought made him a little queasy. Antoinette had killed but she’d killed someone else… still, she had meant to kill, and even she felt like a victim. Even she didn’t deserve it.

Enough. Game face. He puts his head in his hand, thinking on it a bit before piping up with his idea.

“Ah yeah, if I may? I think, maybe, we should try looking around the garage? I mean, I think… there would be a lot of dangerous things in there, right? It’s worth looking around, at the very least.”

“It’s cool, Yasu-tan, ‘s no wonder too. Ya kinda went through hell fer a minute there. No one blames ya fer bein’ a lil’ scatterbrained fer a bit.” He saw Kiyoyuki’s nod and glance in his direction, making Akihito grin and nod back, “Hell yeah, we got yer back if ya need it!”

He liked knowing Kiyoyuki was more comfortable around him. And he was digging the new do! But this wasn’t the time to be digging a guys new haircut. This was a time for action.

It definitely was strange and took Nana aback, but...

What did it have to do with the case?

“Woah, what!? Where did it all go?”

There wasn’t any sort of tool at the crime scene, was there? She was attacked with scissors, which were probably Kaitaro’s to begin with and didn’t belong in the garage. 

She took a step into the near empty room, in a small state of shock. Heisting all of this stuff must have been a big job. Who did this and when?

“Y-Yasuda-chan! Should you be up and about…? I mean…”

Oh god, wait, what if… survivor’s guilt? Or maybe she just wanted to help out or something… it wasn’t right to try and send someone back to bed, was it? Especially when they could really use all the help they could get. He shakes his head and those thoughts away and then faces Nana with a more serious look.

“Erm… no, there’s… no use talking like that, right. As for what I found, uh… only a little. There were some um, wood chips but… I’m not sure. What to make of them. I-I’m gonna investigate more of course, we’ll found out what happened. I want to check out more of the area though, of course…”

He rubs the back of his neck. Somehow this is a bit more awkward than he’d like, he wished he had more to share. Or was somehow more of a comforting awesome presence right now. Like… Tetsuo… or Kyo… or no, no, he couldn’t think like this.

“Um, I know you’ve been through a lot Yasuda-chan so just don’t overdo anything… I think… I think you’re innocent if it helps. So um, I’ll try to help if I can… so you can relax! I mean probably not but you can try to!”

“I SLEPT IN BUT I’M HERE!!” Akihito hollered, sliding out of the elevator and into the main hall with the others. He had heard in passing about the bodies and the one not-so-body that was Nana Yasuda! He felt bad for sleeping through such a important moment, but maybe it would have been best. Seeing Nana in such dire straights might not have been best for him. She was really close to the Chief, if she had died, he’d never forgive himself for letting that happen. He could at least make sure she was okay. 

In the room, though, he also say Kiyoyuki. The last they talked was before the Chief died… it had been a while. How were things going to be between them..? ..That didn’t matter right now, though. What mattered was justice!

“Yer gonna be fine, Yasu-tan! Ya got th’ Chief lookin’ out fer ya! Careful movin’ around, ya don’t wanna keel over or somethin’!” There was no doubt in his mind she was innocent. She was Chief’s gal, she wouldn’t hurt anyone. He figured she had the same resolve he had. Don’t kill.. the Chief wouldn’t like that. And hearing that Nana had almost been killed was messing him up even more, she was really important to the chief, he had to keep her safe! He had to do everything he could in the Chiefs place! Starting right now! He spoke up again, speaking to both of them now.

“I’ll be okay, just don’t ask me to bench press anything. I just want to see if we can find anything that might bring me a little more clarity...”

It was reassuring that the two boys were willing to help her search. Neither of them seemed to suspect her of any sort of deceit, which had lightened the weight on her shoulders. 

“I don’t really know where to start! I just figured that there might be something on this floor...I’m just super confused.”

Jolting back to the situation at hand as she began her frantic questioning, Kyo hastily pulled apart her makeshift blindfold, pocketing the resulting tie as he gripped her shoulder in a gesture both calming and firm.

“Please, try your best not to move. Struggling with those wounds of yours will no doubt make matters worse. As you can see… both Ihara and Kobayashi are unfortunately no longer with us. You, on the other hand, are very fortunate.”

Unsure of what else he could say without further undermining the loss of Kaitaro and Sumiko, Kyo instead paused to peer back at their bodies. In the short span of time he had spent by Nana’s side, others had already begun occupying themselves with investigating the bona fide murders. An ideal turnout. This way, there would be no wasted time in tending to Nana’s wounds — their collective wisdom would serve as his ammunition in the inevitable trial.

As carefully as he could manage, the virtuoso took hold of the drummer’s legs and back before hoisting her up to his chest and exiting the prep room. A brazen act, perhaps, but he did not wish for her to overexert herself in such a state.

"My apologies for any discomfort this is causing you… those handcuffs are quite the nuisance. Should you so desire, I will gladly assist in splitting them once your wounds are treated."

It was only upon boarding the elevator down that he came to a rather striking realization. Goodness… the rollercoaster of emotions washing over him must have clouded his judgement; was he not carrying a trove of potential leads in his hands? He would save his inquiries for when they were in a more suitable position, however.

Within minutes, he had set his self-imposed charge down on one of the infirmary’s beds and taken to rifling through the medical supplies.

Right?

It didn’t even phase her how deep it might have been. Everything had gone so fast it just seemed like a scratch or something. Upon having the blindfold lifted from her eyes, she intended to check her chest, but she had noticed something else first. 

“W...what? Wait that’s not....Oh god...”

Kaitaro....and Sumiko? No no no, how could this have happened? As she felt herself being lifted, she went to reach out for them. Once again, she had forgotten about her restraints. 

Everything started to come together as she recalled last night...sort of. She tried her best to make sense of it all as she was carried away, but couldn’t get the entire picture. 

Upon being set on one of the infirmary beds, she felt a twinge of pain. Her heart ached, knowing that she would be treated and alive on one of the infirmary beds Tetsuo had passed on...Oh, or perhaps it was coming from the deep gash in her flesh. 

“Ack...yeah, I stuck around the prep room after you left. I was putting away the towels and stuff we sat on. But Kobayashi and Ihara, they ambushed me! Kobayashi stabbed me with those scissors as Ihara restrained me...But after the blindfold was on, like, I heard someone come in and some sort of struggle...then it got real quiet. I...I played dead just in case but ended up fainting.”