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"So you are telling me Osana appeared and saved all of you?"
I wince watching my injuries heal up at a slow pace. "Not really."
"What do you mean?"
"She saved a group of students." my grip on the Imperial Blade tightened. "I asked and showed them her picture and they confirmed she was the one."
"Wow! So she is in the school!"
I nod and let go of the knife.
"Now what?"
"To be honest with you Ms. Fumestsu, I do not know what to do next. I would have recommended we go to the school but after the incident..."
"I know. It looks like we need to wait it out."
Hearing her groan at her end of the line gave me the impression that her patience was reaching its limit and so was mine. Who knew trying to find catch a murderer was going to take a long time?
'Now I see why a mystery takes decades to solve.' I let go of the knife and looked at my arm. 'I have already crossed Taro Yamada out of the list of suspects which leaves that boy, Ayano Aishi, and Ms. Fumestu herself. Speaking of Ayano Aish...'
"Ms. Fumestu? Can you tell me more about Ayano Aishi?" I ask.
There was a moment of silence at the other end. "What do you want to know?"
"Anything is fine." I reach out to grab my notebook and pen.
"Well, where do I start?" she paused for a moment. "They became friends when I joined the Arts' Club and stayed friends until her passing."
"Really?"
"Yes."
I frown at the bleak information. "That's it?"
"Yeah. I didn't know much about their relationship except she broke things off when she started seeing that...that scumbag Kyuji Konagawa."
"Oh," I say tapping my pen on my notebook. "What caused that?"
"Something about them not spending time with each other." came the reply. "I am not sure but she said she had her hands full trying to expose Saikou Corporation."
I wrote something down. "What do you mean?"
"You haven't heard? Ayano Aishi exposed Saikou Corporation."
"Really?"
"Yes! According to Budo, it all started when everyone arrived at school after the weekend to see Megami Saikou who was the president of the Student Council arrive in a helicopter. All the students were called to the auditorium to be addressed by her and she announced that there were going to be some new changes to the school's setting. She installed security cameras, motion sensors, and metal detectors. From now on, students were to be searched before walking going in, no sharp objects allowed in the school, no more club activities and anyone acting weird should be sent to the Guidance Counselor's office immediately. Anyone who failed to oblige by these rules was suspended."
"Wow, it seems everyone had their work cut out."
"She even hired bodyguards to protect the students at all times but they only cared for themselves."
"How did they do that?" I ask scribbling something down.
"From what I heard, they weren't trained bodyguards. Instead of protecting the students, they were smoking, vandalizing the school's property, and harassing the female students. News reached the Guidance Counselor who told Megami they had to go. She was furious and threatened to have the Guidance Counselor fired but she stood her ground. Then during the fifth day of the week, the police arrested the Headmaster and an investigation was launched in the school and what they found was shocking."
"What did they find?"
"Tons and tons of evidence of embezzlement and fraud! All found in the student council room!" she said and I didn't fail to notice the tone of excitement in her voice. "It turns out Saikou Corporation was hiding evidence of investment fraud against other companies in the and Ayano figured it out!"
"How?"
"She noticed none of the equipment Megami had installed in the school was made in Saikou Corp as she claimed they were. Then she overheard the student council members talking about some secret box in the student council room so, she snuck in, found the evidence, and called the police."
I stop writing and looked up. "Seriously? That's how she found it?"
"What's wrong?"
"I am sorry Ms. Fumestsu but your story doesn't add up at all."
"What do you mean 'it doesn't add up?'" she asked angrily.
"Who told you that story?"
"Budo Matsua. He was the leader of the Martial Arts club."
"But where were you when this happened?"
"I...I...I dropped out."
"You what?"
"I...I...I dropped out of school okay?"
I was shocked. "Why did you do that?"
"I couldn't stand being there okay? Every inch of that school reminded me of Osana and I just couldn't stay there anymore! I couldn't!"
Then she began to cry making me feel bad for asking that question. I knew she was mourning her late friend and asking that question surely didn't help her emotional state.
"I...I...I am so sorry Ms..."
"I tried everything to bring her back! I even joined the Occult Club to ask Oka Ruto to help me but she fell victim to the school's curse and disappeared! No one knows where she disappeared to so the club disbanded and I was left alone. No one grieved with me! No one talked to me! Not even Taro! Not even that spineless scumbag called Kyuji Konagawa. He and Taro became friends two weeks after her death despite the fact he left her when the rumors started and..."
This caught my attention. "Rumors? What rumors?"
But she started bawling again making me feel guilty all over again so I stayed on the phone comforting her until she dozed off. Finally ending the call, I read the time on the clock in my room and saw it was 3 AM.
'If I don't sleep now, I won't ....' suddenly a thought struck me and I looked at the clock. 'I don't remember having a clock in my room!'
Unsure if the clock was real or it was me losing my sanity, I crawl out of my futon and walk towards it but the minute my hand reached for it, my phone rang.
'I don't remember adding that ringing tone to my phone.' fear crept into me. 'But I know whose voice that is.'
I grabbed the clock, rushed out of the apartment, and smashed it to the ground. When that didn't work, I tried stamping it with my foot. When that didn't work, I searched for the heaviest thing I could find, grabbed it, and smashed the clock to pieces. I didn't care if the sound woke up the residents of my apartment block, I didn't care if my grunting made me look like I was insane to the nosey neighbors who had a knack for not minding their business. I wanted to smash the whole thing to oblivion.
Panting and out of breath I staggered back to my room and was shocked to see Julia dressed in her bathrobe in my kitchen holding my phone in one hand and a cup of water in another.
"Oh morning," she said giving me a cheerful smile. "I heard some commotion in your room so I decided to check it out. I hope you don't mind."
"Yes, I do mind," I say through clenched teeth for she was one of my ninety-nine problems. "What are you doing with my phone?"
"Oh! I heard a man's voice in your room so I rushed to see who it was. Alas, it was your ringing tone and..."
Suddenly I had a message and she dared to open it.
"'Good evening Beloved. Do you know that staring at your phone immediately when you wake up is bad for your eyes?'" she looked at me and smiled. "Oh! The humor in there."
I rush to take the device from her but she moves out of the way, her bathrobe opening up to show me what I wasn't interested to see.
"'So, I decided to be a good boyfriend and put a clock in your room so that you don't have to stare at your phone all the time. So why, oh why did you destroy it? It was in your favorite color and I designed it to match what you liked.' Oh, how romantic. 'Don't worry about changing your locks Beloved because I changed them for you. You are using the spare key to open our little love nest. I will see you next week. Sleep well my little butterfly."
She turned off my phone and dropped it into the cup of water.
"So, you have a stalker eh?" she asked nursing the cup of water like it was a cup of wine. "That's great!"
My right eye twitched and I am not sure if it was the message, the fact that she dropped my phone into the water, the fact she was happily flashing her bare chest in front of me, or the fact she was happy I had a stalker.
"What is he like?" she asks walking towards me. "Is he...smarter than me? Cuter than me? Daring than me? Prettier than me?"
I don't answer.
"Or is he some old man who has wandering eyes." she dropped the glass of water on the floor and lunged at me. I move out of the way and watched her fall to the floor. Grabbing her by her ears, I drag her out of the kitchen.
"Who is he huh? He couldn't find some old hag to get laid but he choose you huh? He can't satisfy you as I did back in high school! Stop it you b!tch! You are hurting me! Stop it!" she screamed and I waste no time tossing her out of my room and locking the door behind me.
She continued to scream and bang on my door while I clean up the mess, pull apart my phone, and put the parts inside a plate of raw rice.
'That will dry by the early hours of the morning.' I thought ignoring the racket outside and crawling back into my futon.
'You know, you should be doing that every time before you sleep.'
I nod and shut my eyes.
Two days later...
"Let's see here,... 'Hero of Akademi High'..."
My hands type furiously on the keyboard and the results show within seconds.
SCHOOL GIRL UNCOVERS INVESTMENTS SCAM IN JAPAN'S BIGGEST CORPORATIONS.
Residents of Barusa town were shocked to discover one of the biggest corporations, 'Saikou Corp was part of an investment scam robbing companies of millions of yen. This discovery was made by a girl named Ayano Aishi daughter of... and Ryoba Aishi who is a student of Akademi High, a school built and founded by Siakou Corporation.... ... ... Evidence of the alleged scam was found in the Student Council room and the laptop belonging to his daughter, Megami Saikou. The police conclude she must have been helping her father hide her crimes inside the school officially making her an accomplice but she denied the claim. The Headmaster of Akademi High is also arrested on the suspicion of aiding Mr. Sailkou but he too was acquitted of the crimes held against him...'
'So what Ms. Fumestu was telling me is the truth.' I hum and scroll down. 'But found in a box? Isn't that story a bunch of baloney?'
'Not to mention it isn't mentioned here.' said my inner voice.
'Or is it?'
I keep scrolling until something catches my eyes.
'Ayano discovered this secrete when she uncovered the truth about Megami Saikou's bodyguards and her attempt to fire the school's Guidance Counselor...for denying them access to the school. She says the school's body guards were nothing more than criminals hired to pose as body gaurds for the girl explaining their actions against the students. She also discovered most of the equipment placed to catch the murderer wasn't created in Saikou Corporation as Megami claimed for most of them were bought from other thriving companies such as the Madison's&Son's electrical company and the Johnson's Corporation. The police confirmed all of this to be true and further discovered Ichigo Saikou had planned on selling his company to his rival thus ending his father's legacy. Most of the money he stole was used to spend on his lavish lifestyle and...'
I stop reading and take down some notes. 'Don't get me wrong but, this is a truckload of information that no ordinary person would discover on their own. How did she figure this out? Maybe she had an accomplice working behind the scenes?'
'If she did, then why isn't she mentioned here? Not only that, who on earth would be foolish enough to hide evidence of his embezzlement and fraud in a school?'
'If they did that, why would they hide it in a box?'
'It said it was hidden in a computer.'
'Found in the student council room?'
I hummed in thought and groaned. 'If this thing is a manga, then the storyline is filled with plot holes.'
'And you hate that don't you?'
I create a new tab and type, 'Names of the girls who were found dead in Akademi High' and a list comes out.
'Osana Najimi- found dead in the school's auditorium.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFeVuf6LUE
Cause of death: Suicide.
Amai Odayaka-found dead in the Cooking Club room.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwVAoxQwIW
Cause of death: Burned to death. Accidental due to a gas explosion in the oven.'
'Wait a minute, Mr. Yamada said she 'disappeared.' I frown. 'That guy is back on my suspect list.'
'Oka Ruto-Disappeared.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebYhQa4ca8
This is a missing person's case. If you have any information, please call +234*************. Thank you.'
'How lackadaisical.' I thought.
Asu Rito-found dead in the school's garden412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUETF0e1AJO
Cause of death- Poisoned. Accidental due to eating an unidentified poisonous substance in her lunch.
Kizana Sunobu-found dead in the school's auditorium.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4AT4bjU86
Cause of death-Crushed by a heavy-duty spotlight bulb. Accidental due to faulty equipment.
I had reached the end of the list and humming in thought, I decide to type something on the computer.
'The detective said something similar like this happened back in 1980.' I hit the enter key. 'Let's see shall we?'
Meoko Rakuyona-found dead next to the school's maintenance room in the pool.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zegCweR1I
Cause of death-Burned to death. Accidental due to her engaging in an illegal activity in the school.
'Illegal activity? What illegal activity?'
'Honami Hodoshima-found dead in the school's library.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOom2SbFc3O
Cause of death-crushed by a huge bookshelf.
Sumiko Tachibana-Found dead in the school's garden.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97wL5DLbND
Cause of death-poisoned by an unknown substance.
Ritsuko Chikanari-found dead in the school's pool.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMLs1FGNPt
Cause of death-Drowning. Accidental due to falling into the water while asleep.
'Umm, quick question, if someone who is asleep falls into the water, won't they wake up?'
'Doesn't water wake up a sleeping person?'
'Good point.' I scroll down.
Ai Doruyashi-found dead in the school's auditorium.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSvBVWIjXa
Cause of death-Electrocution. Accidental due to faulty equipment.
With a bemused expression on my face, I ask the owner of the cyber cafe to help me print out the list. Armed with this in my bag, I walk out of the building heading homeward.
'I was right. They are the same.'
'Yet you were inspired by that weren't you?'
This made me stop in my tracks but I shake my head furiously and I walk on.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
