Chapter 3 Part 3: The Knowing, and the Keeping

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I stared away from the letter. This felt... wrong... for some reason. Was it really okay if I checked out this letter? I took a big gulp, sucking up the fear that I was facing. I had to look at it. It didn't matter if Yamazaki had been on my side before. If this revealed anything about a way out, then he'd have to get hurt in the process.

I began to open the envelope. Had Yamazaki ever been on my side in the first place? I shook my head, losing the thought, as I pulled the note out from inside. I adjusted my glasses, placing the envelope down on the table. I began scanning the page, ready to reveal as much as I could.

Discussion: Yamazaki Kazuki Examination
To [redacted do to confidential information],

After doing a scan over medical records, we have found that Yamazaki Kazuki may have a rare disease that will not be mentioned in this letter. We will do a deeper dive into personal history, but if found to be true, and found to be a disease that is hard to manage, we may have to find a replacement. Having an extremely diseased participant in a killing game could be an interesting concept, but that decision will have to come down to you. Expecting your decision within the week.

Deliver response to [redacted do to confidential information]

I stared at the letter for another moment, running the information back in my head. Yamazaki was sick? With what? Does this mean that there really is a mastermind? Who sent the letter? And... what did this reveal about how we got here?

I sighed, placing the letter back inside of the envelope, and turned to the file I had left on the desk. I took a deep breath, picking the file up off of the table. I opened it up, a coin falling out of the file. I paused, before picking up up and putting it into a small pocket on the side of my skirt, that could probably only hold coins anyway. I looked back to the file. Something immediately caught my eye, as I stared at the paper. Part of it had been ripped out, specifically where you'd expect a photo of the suspect. I tried not to think of it, as I began to search through the words on the page.

Hano Yoshiko: Court Case File 1

Hano Yoshiko has been found guilty of taking the lives of 217 people, with about 59 having been implied to have been done by Hano Yoshiko. This mass genocide doesn't seem to be pointed towards any sort of group, only being found to have the victims be over the age of 13 and under the age of 35. The only link to some of the murder is a bloody star drawn somewhere in the room with the body, usually done with the blood of the victim.

Sentence was described at the trial was a decision. Either the death penalty, or go through the rehabilitation program Yuutsumi Academy wanted to test out. If the program failed, then Hano Yoshiko would be placed in solitary confinement for the rest of her life. Hano Yoshiko took the rehabilitation program route, and will be starting at the beginning of the next semester.

I stopped to think for a moment. How did this information relate to our current situation? I knew that the letter about Yamazaki would definitely be something that could connect to the killing game, but what does Hano Yoshiko's court case have to do with anything in this killing game?

I looked up to the clock, my eyes going wide. It was already 1:56. Quickly, I picked up the letter along with the file, and raced out of the room. I wandered back over to the cafeteria, placing my hand on the door.

"I guess we're not so different after all." Someone said, stopping me from opening the door. I looked over to see Yamazaki next to me, a smirk on his face. My eyes went wide, as he pulled a file out of his pocket, and slightly shook it in his hand. I felt my heart begin to pound rapidly, as I left my eyes on the file.

"You... won't... tell anyone... right?" I asked. Yamazaki smirked, stuffing it back into his pocket. He walked into the room, ignoring my question. I took a small sigh, and followed him into the room.

"Hirano!" Taguchi said happily, nearly scaring the life out of me. He stood next to the door, in a position that made it impossible for someone entering the room to notice he was there.

"Alright everyone! Since we've finished the investigation, let's discuss what we found." Kawata announced.

"We discovered that the supermarket requires you pay with coins you can find around the hotel, hospital, and courtyard before you can actually take any of the goods." Tengan explained.

"Arima and I searched around the supermarket, and all we found is that there aren't any weapons that can be purchased there." Miyazaki continued.

"Actually, if you consider a rope a weapon, then there are some..." Arima explained.

"Well, yeah, everything there could be used as a weapon, but nothing is outwardly used as a weapon." Miyazaki replied.

"I'm sorry, Otani and I ended up staying in the kitchen chatting..." Naito said nervously.

"That is quite alright." Kajiwara said. "Anyway, Sugai and I found a couple of those clues and secrets Ressa was speaking of in the hospital." Kajiwara explained.

"Oh! What did it say?" Kawata asked.

"There is indeed a traitor! And it's one of you here..." Sugai announced, pointing a banana around at everyone in the room.

"A... traitor!?" Arima replied, his eyes going wide.

"Oh come on!" Taguchi laughed. "You really didn't think there was a traitor in our group!?"

"W- well... it was more of a- an idea..." Arima responded, looking at the floor in shame. Taguchi chuckled to himself, shaking his head back and forth with his eyes closed.

"Anyways..." Kajiwara said, snatching the banana out of Arima's hand. "We also found this." Kajiwara placed a file down onto the table. My eyes went wide as soon as I saw the title.

Yuutsumi Killing Game Number 4

"Wait, another killing game?" Miyazaki blurted out. Kajiwara opened it up, and began to read the contents.

"Yuutsumi Academy killing game number four ended very quickly, with the participant [redacted info] getting away with murder in the first trial. The killing game, with such a quick ending, had to have its assets reused for the next killing game." Kajiwara read aloud, sending shock into everyone's faces.

"But... we just got to Yuutsumi academy. There's no way a killing game could've been orchestrated before ours!" Naito reasoned.

"Well... we don't know that..." Otani said. Everyone immediately looked to him, eyes wide. "W- well... our memories end when we walked through the entrance of Yuutsumi, right? Maybe we... you know..."

"Had our memories taken?" Yamazaki continued, cutting Otani off. "No, we were put into comas. That's obvious." He said, taking a file from his pocket and placing it on the table. "This file discusses cryogenic sleep. If we ever went to Yuutsumi academy, I don't think there'd be any use for cryogenic sleep."

"Nuh-uh-uh!" Taguchi said, wagging his finger back and forth, approaching the table. "That doesn't necessarily mean that we didn't have our memories taken away! It just means that they must've put us into cryogenic sleep." He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket, holding it up with two fingers. He shook it back and forth, almost tauntingly. Yamazaki glared at him angrily.

"Alright, then let me read it." He said, reaching for the slip of paper. Taguchi pulled it away, stopping him from grabbing the paper.

"Nope! This isn't for you!" He laughed, placing it back into his pocket.

"So... did anyone else find any of the secrets?" Kawata asked. Kawata's eyes were on me, most likely because of the info I was carrying in my arm.

"U- um, yeah. I- I found two." I responded, holding the letter up. I paused, before putting it back down.

"What about that note? Why did you hide it?" Tengan asked.

"W- well... I..." I began, glancing over at Yamazaki who glared at me. I took a small sigh. "W- well, I- I don't want to show it. I- it's info that can b- be used to murder someone... a- and I don't want anyone to d- die so..."

"Yep! That's the motive!" Ressa yelled, appearing out of nowhere. Miyazaki moved back reflexively.

"H- huh?" I replied. Ressa got up onto the table, standing there proudly.

"The motive is information you can use to kill someone! So if you were lucky enough to find it, then you've got a motive on your hands!" Ressa responded happily.

"So, there's information about each of us that could be used to kill someone?" Imamura asked. "Kind of like the last motive?" Ressa chuckled a bit.

"Yep! Oh, and by the way, you've been cured of those hallucinations! If it means anything, the cause of it was in your fooooooooooooooooooooood! Do with that information what you will!" Ressa laughed, before disappearing.

"I- I'm so sorry everyone... I didn't know that the horrible substance was in the food..." Otani said, staring at the ground sadly.

"It's okay Otani! You didn't know!" Naito said. "Anyway, so whatever Hirano got is about someone in this room?" Naito asked.

"Yep!" Taguchi said, snatching the letter from my hand before I could react. Quickly, I went after the letter, trying to grab it out of his hand as he pulled it from the envelope, whistling as he scanned the page.

"H- hey! Y- you can't do that!" I yelled, trying to reach the letter being held out of my grasp. Taguchi's face went from happy to skeptical. He stared at the note for a moments his eyes narrowing as he looked to Yamazaki, glaring at him. He looked back to the paper, completely unimpressed.

"I don't believe it." He said.

"Believe what?" Otani asked. Taguchi took a small sigh, handing the note back to me. I grabbed it, a defeated feeling coming over me.

"Yamazaki is apparently got some sort of disease." Taguchi announced. Yamazaki's eyes went wide, as he looked away in anger. Taguchi wandered over to him, glaring at him. "Personally... I don't believe that."

"But why? Aren't the notes always supposed to be right?" Miyazaki asked. Taguchi rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but there's no way he's sick." Taguchi said.

"It's a very discreet disease. I've just been hiding it from you guys, and I had planned to continue doing that. And I will. Because I don't need trivial information to get what I want." Yamazaki replied, looking at Taguchi. He replied by glaring at him angrily.

"But how would you know if he were sick or not? It's possible in certain circumstances, but I just don't see how you could come to that conclusion." Tengan asked. Taguchi smiled.

"You see, I'm basically a psychic!" He said.

"A... psychic? So you can read my palm? What about tea leaves?" Sugai asked, giving a smile filled with glee. Taguchi glared at him for a moment.

"No... I'm just really good at reading people. I know basically everything about you guys! The mastermind is a pretty good actor though..." he chuckled.

"W- well, you can't know everything about-" Arima began.

"No? Then how do I know that your arm wounds have always been self inflicted?" Taguchi said, glaring at Arima. His eyes went wide, as tears began to fall down his face. "Or that Kajiwara used to be a little prick like Sugai? And let's say the reason he changed is a little bit... ugly..." he said, a smirk coming across his face. Kajiwara remained silent, his eyes closed as his expression remained calm. Suddenly, the room was filled with manic laughter. "Oh my god! I honestly don't know how you don't know this! I've known almost every secret you've guys have hidden! It's honestly sad! The fact I know so much!" He laughed. Without warning, Arima ran out of the room.

"Arima! Wait!" Miyazaki said, trying to stop him. The room went silent, as everyone turned to Taguchi, who stared at the door.

"Man... did I go a bit too far?" He asked, seeming genuinely sad. No one responded. "Oh well... doesn't matter now~ good luck on your investigation..." he said, walking out of the room. Everyone remained silent.

"Hey... so... how about we continue this in a couple of days?" Kawata suggested. Most people nodded, standing up and walking out.

"Yamazaki, are you alright? This is a very bad development. If you need help with medication or treatment, I can always-" Kajiwara asked.

"I'm fucking fine. I've dealt with it up until now. And I'm not going to die of a stupid fucking disease before the killing game ends. I'll get treatment as soon as I get the fuck out of this hell hole." He paused, glaring at me. "Maybe you guys should be more fucking aware of your surroundings. Because sometimes... people can easily plot their revenge..." That comment was mostly directed for me. I could tell. He headed for the door, and I quickly got up and chased after him.

"H- hey, I'm sorry, I didn't m- mean to-" I began.

"It doesn't matter if you meant to or not. Either way, I'm still gonna be someone's fucking target." He replied, glaring at me.

"B- but, there wasn't anything I- I could've done-" I replied.

"No, you could've just not said anything about the letter." He said. My eyes went wide. It suddenly clicked in my head what he meant by revenge.

"Y- you're... n- not going to share m- my secret... right?" I asked. There was no response for a long moment.

"We'll have to see." He replied, before walking away.

I stood, frozen. What had happened in the cafeteria was horrible. I hadn't... even realized that this would happen. Maybe I should've known. Because now... everything was going to get a lot worse.

Words: 2368


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