Chapter 3 Part 2- The Knowing, and the Keeping

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Yamazaki leaned up against the wall, and glared at me. He seemed to be deep and thought, as he looked at my face. I didn't know what to say, so I just stood in silence. What did he want to talk about anyway?

"You have to stop making yourself look suspicious." He said. My eyes went wide.

"W- what?" I replied. He rolled his eyes.

"Taguchi is onto the fact that we're keeping secrets from everyone else. If this gets out, then everyone is going to panic." Yamazaki explained. "I really wouldn't like to be in a room full of screaming delinquents who can't tell the difference between a red flag and basic human mistakes." He said. I looked at the ground, almost slightly offended. He wasn't referring to me... but it feels like he had just tried to insult my entire existence. "Oh, and by the way, if you tell anyone about that note, I will not hesitate to make your life a living nightmare, got it?" He said. I paused for a moment, thinking for a moment.

"But... doesn't e- everyone know there's a traitor?" I replied. He rolled his eyes.

"They don't have concrete proof of it. It's just an idea that's been planted into all of their heads." Yamazaki responded. He glared at me again. "I'll meet you back in the cafeteria..." he said, before wandering down the hallway.

I sighed, taking a moment to myself. What was I going to do? Taguchi could read me like a children's picture book. Easy and quick. I've never really been an actor. So how am I supposed to make myself less suspicious!?

I walked back to the cafeteria, everyone waiting for my return. Taguchi seemed to be glancing over at me as I wandered back over to the seat. I avoided eye contact with him, staring off into space as an alternative.

"So... what did you need us for Kawata?" Naito said, with an awkward laugh at the end.

"So, I'd like to discuss some rules I want to establish with the group." He replied.

"What? Are you trying to be a dictator and take away our rights?" Imamura responded, glaring at him. Kawata put his hands up.

"N- no! Of course not! I just want to make sure that we have a couple of rules so we can all be safe!" Kawata replied. Imamura rolled her eyes.

"Dictator..." she mumbled under her breath. Kawata took a small sigh, placing his hand on the table.

"Okay, whatever. You can do whatever you want. I just have a suggestion." He began. "I want to make sure that no one sets up anymore parties, and if we do then there has to be a thorough examination and I will have to guard the entire thing."

"So... someone actually listened to me..." Yamazaki mumbled.

"I'm taking it upon myself. It is my responsibility to make sure that everyone stays alive from this point on. That doesn't mean that there will be any extreme rules, it just means that I will be doing my very best to protect this group." Kawata explained.

"But Kawata, wouldn't that just make it harder for you? You'd have to work so hard to make sure that no one gets... you know..." Naito said, struggling to get the words out.

"I know, but I can't forgive myself. I'm a police officer, and this entire time I've just been standing by watching as people die and get hurt, and each time I could've done something about it. I'm going to start taking responsibility, like I should've when we first heard about this killing game." Kawata replied.

"Chatter chatter chatter, all I hear is chatter!" Ressa appeared, expressing his feelings to us. Miyazaki backed up over to the door, fear in her eyes. "Policeman Kawata is trying to regain some sympathy so he can be forgiven for not doing his job! Or maybe he's pulling everyone into a false sense of security? Mr. Police officer is so suspicious he's gotta have a redemption ark!" Ressa chuckled. Kawata's eyes went wide, as tears began to slowly fall down his cheeks.

"What's this about?" Tengan asked, staring at Ressa blankly.

"Well, we have another building for you guys to investigate, duuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh! But, this time we put a little spin on it!" Ressa said, chuckling to himself.

"W- what?" I replied.

"Basically, since you guys never use the ABSOLUTELY AWESOME special weapons that we give you for each of the buildings, we decided to change it up a bit! You can either investigate the new building, or you can go around the hotel, hospital, or ultimate labs to find secrets that we've hidden. You cannot investigate both the new building and find the secrets. You have to choose between the twoOoOoOoOoOoOo! And you may be wondering, 'what's making it so we can't do both!?' Well, if you used both sides of that peanut brain of yours, and actually manage to process 100% power, maybe with some sort of brain enhancer, you can probably tell what will happen if you try to do both, right?" Ressa said. Miyazaki's eyes widened, as her face went pale. Ressa pointed to her, striking a pose. "See, she did it! So now you guys gotta figure it out! Gooooooooooooood luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" He yelled happily, before disappearing. Everyone remained silent, no one able to speak above the long pause. Suddenly, Yamazaki got up from his chair and walked to the door.

"Where are you going!?" Imamura said, angrily standing up and slamming her hands down on the table. Yamazaki paused, looking back and glaring at her.

"I'm going to find the secrets before anyone else does." He replied.

"We're a team! You can't just take all of the clues! If we want to get out of here, we have to work together!" Imamura responded.

"Since when did you treat me like we were on a team?" Tengan asked, almost seeming genuinely curious but side eyeing her all the same.

"UGH I'm really not in the mood for this Tengan..." Imamura replied, looking away.

"No, I'm curious. Why am I treated differently?" Tengan asked.

"BECAUSE YOU DON'T RESPECT, SPEAK, OR ACT ON ANY SORT OF CONSIDERATION FOR MORALS!!!" She yelled, angrily glaring at her. She took a long sigh, her face in her hand only being held up by her other arm supporting her elbow. "Do you know what? Do whatever you like. I need a moment to think." Imamura said, walking out of the room angrily. Suddenly, Taguchi stood up, happily following her out of the room.

"What's with him?" Miyazaki asked, glaring as he wandered out. Sugai shrugged his shoulders, Yamazaki soon following the two out of the room.

"So, shall we go in groups again? I can divide us up again." Kajiwara replied. Everyone looked to Kawata, who remained silent. His eyes went wide, realizing that everyone had shifted their gaze to him.

"Y- you're asking me?" He asked, almost surprised.

"You're... basically the leader now..." Arima replied. Kawata stared at everyone, before he slightly smiled.

"You guys... see me like that?" Kawata asked.

"Yeah, of course!" Naito said, a bright smile on her face. Kawata grinned.

"I'm glad." He responded. He paused, thinking for a moment. "Well, there are eight people here, so it'd be hard to put everyone into teams of three, so should we-"

"It's actually nine. Otani's in the kitchen." Miyazaki replied.

"Oh crap! He's been in there this whole time! How will he know about everything!?" Kawata blurted out.

"I'll go check on him!" Naito said, standing up and walking over to the kitchen.

"Okay, so does teams of two sound good?" Kawata asked. Everyone who was still left in the room nodded.

"Alright. Arima and Miyazaki shall go together." Kajiwara said. Arima seemed as if he was going to speak up, but stopped himself at the last moment, backing down as if he'd just been scolded by his parents.

"Sugai and I will be a pair-" Kajiwara began.

"Tee hee! You really want us to hang out my guy!" Sugai chuckled.

"No, I need to keep you in check you childish nuisance." Kajiwara responded. Sugai's eyes went wide, as he folded his arms and angrily pouted to himself. "Anyways, Tengan and Kawata is the next group."

"Intrigued." Tengan said, glancing over at Kawata who nervously smiled. Kajiwara paused, staring at me for a moment.

"It seems that there's no one left. Would you like to join one of the other groups?" Kajiwara asked. I sat frozen for a moment.

"Yeah! We'd gladly take you into our group!" Kawata said happily, pausing before looking to Tengan, who didn't seem to react.

What was the best choice here? Should I join another group? If I didn't, it could mean bad news. It would be nice to have some people to talk to as well...

"N- no, I'm okay." I replied.

"Is that your conclusion? I'm sure you could help me with this tiny rascal." Kajiwara said. I thought through my options for a moment.

"N- no, really, I'm good! B- but thank you for the o- offer!" I responded.

"Oh... okay! Just, stay safe! I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you..." Kawata replied nervously.

"I- I'll see you guys s- soon..." I said, getting up and walking out of the room, waving to everyone as I left.

"Remember! 2:00 pm is the meeting time!" Arima called out, the doors shutting, blocking everyone inside. I sighed, looking to the ground in shame. I had to do this alone this time. Quickly, in a panic, I began walking around the hotel.

Clues and secrets. It may be some sort of way to get out of here. If so, I had to make sure I found it. And that it wouldn't fall into the hands of some certain people here, like Taguchi and Yamazaki. Would Yamazaki betray me? Well, he, definitely hates me, but we've been working together. Would he give up on me and everyone else? I shook my head. That wasn't even what I was worried about.

If these secrets were about certain people, I had to find mine. If they found out I'd be shunned. I hadn't even forgiven myself. What would everyone think? They'd hate me. I'd be a disgrace. I'd become an outcast. I wouldn't let that happen. My survival depended on others. And making sure that I got that secret out of their reaches was priority number-

"Are you following me!?" Someone said. I stepped back in surprise, not even realizing what I had been doing. But, I was even more shocked that they weren't talking to me. I peaked around a corner, making sure not to be seen.

"You got me! I'm the guilty party! Lock me up! Throw away the key! Better yet melt it until it can't even be used anymore!" Taguchi replied, chuckling to himself.

"Are you going to do something to me? I can hold my own you know. And when they find out, I'll make sure you're sorry for the rest of your life." Imamura replied, her arms folded as she stood proudly. Taguchi laughed a bit, lowering his hands into his pockets.

"Of course not shell! I just had something I wanted to discuss with you!" He said, laughing all the same.

"Then why were you stalking me!?" She yelled. He paused for a moment, taking a deep sigh.

"Alright, I'll cut to the chase. I'm really good at reading people. I can see every emotion, every thought process, every fear, every desire, and every next movement. It's kind of my job. Well, along with theft, trickery, forgery-" he began.

"Get to the point!" She yelled back. He leaned on the wall next to her, almost as if he was going to swoon her into becoming his lover.

"I don't understand you." Taguchi said. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's obvious that I'm just really good at controlling my feelings-" she began.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant." He replied. "I don't understand how you can be such a bitch!" He said. She almost seemed taken aback, before stepping forwards, about to speak in an angry tone before being cut off. "You call yourself an activist, but you treat everyone with such disrespect and disregard for their feelings! I don't know if you're just trying to push back others, if you've got some deep dark backstory, or if you're just a freak of nature trying to justify your horrible actions and treatment of others with small victories of peace, but it's really fucking stupid. I think you should reconsider your whole career, especially with your equality sash, because you definitely don't treat others as if they were your 'equals', but hey! Maybe that's just my opinion, and you're saving all the cows or whatever, so maybe I'm in the wrong. But hey! If you changed, maybe we could be friends, which I would gladly take that request! Especially since it seems like you need some. Just something for you to think about!" Taguchi ranted, smiling as he walked away from Imamura, who stood motionless. Her face filled with shock and seemed unable to comprehend what she'd been told. "Oh, hello Hirano! Were you doing a bit of stalking of your own? Well, it doesn't matter to much. I'll see you guys later!" Taguchi said, wandering away.

I stood frozen, unable to move. I hadn't expected to listen to a one sided mental beat down using words. I wasn't even the person he was talking to, and I feel like I'd just been stabbed with the truth. I got back to my senses, realizing that Imamura had walked right past me.

"H- hey! Are you okay?" I asked. Imamura stopped walking for a moment, as if hesitating, before wandering away.

I couldn't help but stare as she moved away. It was just such a surprising situation, that I couldn't help but watch as she tried to leave. My eyes went wide, as I quickly stood up straight. I ran down one of the hallways, stopping by each room and searching through them thoroughly.

I couldn't believe I got so distracted from my goal. Someone could've found the secret by now! And I was busy eavesdropping on someone else's conversation. I continued searching, looking for the secrets and clues hidden around the place. I burst into a room, my eyes going wide. Why hadn't I seen this room before?

It almost seemed like a break room, with a sink, microwave and a refrigerator. A monitor sat in the corner, with the other corner housing a closet. But... this room almost seemed... abandoned. The blinds were closed, making the room even darker than it already was. Part of the wallpaper had been ripped up, and papers were flocked out across the entire ground. Bits of glass pieces from the broken light bulb perturbed the carpets, making it easy to stab yourself with any of them. But... my eyes drifted to the table in front of the blinds.

Slowly, I wandered over to the desk, a sense of surprise filling my face. I picked up a file, wiping the dust off of the front of it. On the front, it said "Hano Yoshiko: Court Case File 1". Hano Yoshiko... was the serial killer I'd heard about. The one who started the restoration program at this school. Suddenly, something caught my eye. I picked up a letter off of the table, which had been sitting right next to the one about Hano. Slowly, I opened it, and scanned the first words mentioned inside, immediately closing it out of surprise.

It was about... Yamazaki Kazuki?

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