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"Ugh! What are we doing here?" Stan grumbled. "Can't we just go home? I mean she is already dead so..."
I ignore him and stare at the huge building located in the middle of the Eastside of town.
‘A University situated in the middle of the Gambler's Paradise? Whoever built this must be crazy!’ I thought.
Stan on the other hand cringed at the building and stuck his tongue out. “You go on ahead. I will wait here.”
Well, I pretend he didn’t exist and read the sign on it. ‘Sakou’s University. The blooming Lotus in the middle of the Swamp.’ I giggle. ‘Oh well, let’s see if I can find what I am looking for.'
I through the gates and headed to the front door where two guards wearing suits and dark sunglasses stopped me.
“Identification?” one asked.
“Umm,” I search for the right words to say. “Sorry, I'm not a student."
“Then leave.” said the other guard.
“But…”
Then one took out a taser and aimed it at me. “Leave ma’am or I will have to use this on you.”
"But..."
“What's going on here?”
Suddenly the guards stood upright while I looked behind me. A tall grey-haired woman with stern eyes and a beaten-down face looked back at me and she looked angry.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?" she barked. "Be quick about it! I don't have all day!"
Her hostile tone and demeanor made me flinch before I answer. “I…I am a high school student. I want to use your library to…”
“The school’s library is not for outsiders,” she said.
“But…”
She shocked me by taking out a gun and aiming it at my head. “Listen here. I don’t care who you are or what your business is but this school isn't for outsiders AND I will NOT you or anyone entering here without permission. Understand?”
I backed away and run out of the school's premises.
‘Gosh! She didn’t have to be that hostile!’ I look back. ‘It is a college for Pete’s sake! Anyone can come in to use the library right?’
Stan clapped his hands the minute I met him.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Looks like they didn’t let you in.” he jeered walking towards me. “Too bad. Looks like you are not going to find anything on that chick.”
I sigh and he kissed me!
‘What the…’ I push him back and wipe my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt. “What is wrong with you?”
He licked his lips in response, smiled, and tried to kiss me again but I knee him hard on the shin.
“Oww!” he yelped. “I just wanted to taste the cherries! Is that too hard to ask?”
I walk out on him and head to the bus stop.
"Where are you going?" asked the kitsune.
"Anywhere but home," I reply.
“No! You can’t give up!” It cried.
“Why not! They won’t let me in unless I am a student and from the scene back there, it is clear she doesn't want anyone into the school.”
“That's why you have to sneak in.”
I stared at it and then look back at the solid high fence lined with barbed wires on top. The icing on the cake was the guards patrolling the area.
“I wasn’t good at rock climbing,” I say. “Besides, it would be hard to get up there.”
“Don’t worry. I know a way in. Follow me."
It lead the way to a hole in the fence located behind the school. Crouching on all fours, I crawl through the bushes and squeeze myself through the hole.
“Make sure you don’t make so much noise,” it said. “There are cameras and motion sensors here.”
I obey and keep my head down until it told me the coast was clear.
‘Something is off.’ I say looking around. ‘All the students are wearing uniforms with something hanging on their necks. Is this a Law School?’
The kitsune sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?”
I take a whiff and cover my nose. “Cigarettes.”
The smell lead me to one of the students who was smoking behind a building. Thinking long and hard, I go over to her.
“Hello.”
She looked shocked to see me. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”
“That’s not important,” I reply. “Can you show me your school’s library?”
Well, she stared at me still wearing that shocked look on her face until she laughed. “You snuck in here to use our library? Is this some kind of joke?”
I was about to reply but she interrupts me.
“Save it. I would have asked you why but I don’t want to know.”
“Neither I’m interested in knowing your name,” I said smiling at her fake persona for she acted tough but in reality, she was pliable. “I want to enter the library to gather some information for a project.”
“This place ain’t for you.”
“But it has what I need right?”
“Yeah but good luck trying to get in. This place is heavily guarded and you need a Student ID to get through them.” She showed me hers. “Not only that, you have to wear the uniforms. I don’t know how you got in but you're in deep trouble when they catch you walking about like that. Those taser guns aren’t for nothing.”
I take in her words and clap my hands. “Well, you will be in trouble if they caught you smoking but it looks like, asking you for help is a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“You don’t look like a studious student.”
She laughed scornfully. “My parents sent me here because I did not want to go to college. Besides, everything is so stressful! They make us study and work like dogs but fail an exam and you will be severely punished.”
“What kind of punishment do they give?”
She took a puff of smoke and blew it in the air. “If you fail the first time, they will never let you live it down. Fail the second time and you will be forced to work until your hands bleed and your knees are red. Fail the third time and it is the dungeon for you.”
I shivered while she sighed. “I know smoking is bad but it is the only way I can relieve stress. Once the school finds out, they will withdraw me for sure but if they lay a hand on my sister...”
Then she went quiet for a while.
“Gosh! I am a coward. Now I have to make sure to get good grades or I will end up like her but this means sitting in a boring class, taking boring notes... gosh I hate that!”
I had a light bulb and it was a stupid one. Stupid but worth it. “How about I help you with that?”
“Hmm?”
“I will impersonate you in exchange for getting the information I need on the Girls’ Cult.”
She threw her head back in laughter. “Yeah right.”
I fold my arms and stare at her until she stopped.
“Wait, are you serious?”
“Is the sky brown?” I ask back.
She looked away in hesitation while I silently prayed she will accept my offer.
“How about I enter the library, get what you want while you are impersonating me? That way you won’t be doing all the hard work.”
I nod.
“Okay Toots, you got yourself a deal. Follow me.”
She snuck me into her room in the girls’ dormitories and gestured to the bed. “Have a seat. I will get out the Uniform and the wig.”
Within minutes, I was wearing her uniform and tying my hair up in a ponytail while she sprayed herself with perfume and popped a mint in her mouth.
“If I don’t do this, they would suspect I was smoking again.” then she looked at me. “You need some make-up if you want to look like me.”
I shrug. “I am already too tall to look like you.”
She hummed. “How about I make you look like someone else?”
It did not take long for her to do her magic on me and when she was done, I couldn’t recognize myself in the mirror.
“Wow!”
She grinned. “I’m I a pro or what? Oh, I almost forgot,” she gave me a student ID Card. “I was lucky she was alone when I swiped it from her pockets.”
I glance at the ID and feel my blood run cold. ‘It says Megami Sakou but the picture is different!’
“Right!” the girl said snapping me out of my trance. “Let’s get this over with. Here are my schedules…”
Some hours later...
I look at the building which served as the lecture hall and gulped. ‘Good thing I am wearing their uniform.’
Walking into the building and heading to one of the classrooms, I sit in the middle and the Professor walks in and starts the lesson.
'The security is high at the entrance and the exists but none of them checked my ID when I walked inside the building.' I thought while taking notes.
Soon the bell rang and I start walking around the corridor to the next class. “Wow this place is huge but why are the students looking...depressed?”
Then I remembered what the girl told me earlier and my suspicions were confirmed when I spot a group of tired-looking students studying in a classroom.
“Ugh! I would never let you enroll here. The environment is too depressing.”
I turn and see the kitsune beside me. “Is this going to be a regular thing with you?”
The Kitsune used its hind legs to scratch itself. “At least you are used to it.”
I go to the next class and start taking notes.
“You could just tell Jake to help you with this.” It said. “That way, things would be a lot easier for you.”
‘Nope.’
“Why?”
‘I don’t need him. I can do this myself.’
It gave a smile. “Strong and Independent. Just like your father.”
I smile at the compliment. An hour later, the lecture was over and I notice something at the end of the hall.
‘What is that door doing here?’
“Why don’t we find out?” asked the kitsune. It ran towards the door and disappeared.
“Hey!” I quickly cover my mouth, look around and take out the girl's schedule.
'This is her last class.' I thought about putting it back in the bag. ‘A quick peek wouldn’t be that bad.’
‘Remember, curiosity kills the cat.’ warned my inner voice.
I ignore it and use the ID card to open the door revealing a dark tunnel. Confused, I walked down the tunnel using a flickering lightbulb above me as my source of light. Soon the putrid smell of urine filled the air and rooms which looked like prison cells appeared.
‘Is this place a dungeon or something?’ I ask.
“Hey are you there?” someone yelled. “I know you are here! Let me go!”
I follow the sound and find a girl clutching the bars of the cell. Her hair was a mess and her knuckles were bleeding but she looked eerily similar to the girl I met earlier.
“Hey.”
She gawked at me. “Who the hell…”
“Shh!” I use the card to open her cell door and the minute it opened, she hugged me.
I gag for she stank.
“Sorry. I am not smelling my best. There are no bathrooms here.” She said backing away.
I scrunch up my nose and hold down the little food in my stomach. “So I have noticed. What are you doing here?”
“Megami Sakou put me here.”
“Megami?”
“Yeah. I failed an exam.”
“Megami Sakou? The daughter of the owner of Sakou Cooperation?”
“Yep. Until Akademi High sank its reputation.”
I put my hand on my chin. “Wha…what happened?”
The girl sighed and rubbed her shoulders. “Got a light?”
I shake my head. “We have to get you out of here.”
Leading the way back to the entrance, I tried the door but it didn't have a handle or an electronic lock.
“Shoot! There’s got to be a way out of here.”
“Megami normally goes down in this direction." the girl said pointing to where we just came from. "Maybe it leads to the way out?”
I let her lead the way. “So why are you here?”
She rolled her eyes. “I told you, I failed an exam.”
“Yeah but that can’t be the only reason why you are locked up in a cell like a prisoner.”
She stops and looks at me with disbelief. “Who are you?”
‘Oh no! Busted!’ I take a step back and stare at her sunken eyes. ‘Should I tell her or not?’
“I asked you a question," she said.
“Okay, okay you got me. I am an imposter.”
Her face pales up.
“But I am not going to hurt you. I mean it.”
Silence filled the room and I could see the suspicion in her eyes. “How did you find me?”
“I didn’t. I just saw the door and opened it.”
She folded her arms and made it clear that she didn't buy my story.
“Fine. She said after a few minutes. "But so help me if this is a trick to torture me…”
I raise my eyebrows. “To torture you?”
She huffed and we continued on our journey which involved corners and a fleet of stairs until we see a door. Upon closer inspection, I see it was an ordinary door and take out a lockpick from my bag.
“This might take a while,” I said and she nodded.
It took a few minutes but I manage to open the door revealing an office. Then I hear something and shut the door.
The girl was appalled. “What the…”
“Shh. Someone is coming.”
We hear a door open and followed in footsteps. I was hoping to see who it was but the person hid from our vision.
“What do you mean you haven’t seen it?” asked a hostile female voice.
“I am sorry ma’am but we searched everywhere and...” said a male voice but she interrupts him.
“I did not ask you to speak.”
The hair on my skin stood on end when a gunshot was heard.
“Take him away and you, you are in charge. Make sure you find that card. I want you to report back to me by nightfall or else…”
“Yes ma’am.” the voice sounded like a female's.
We heard the door slam shut and see someone walk towards that was in our view
It was the woman I saw earlier.
“That’s Megami Sakou, the owner of the school." whispered the girl.
"I know," I replied.
“Idiots. All of them!” he opened a bottle of pills, poured some into the palm of her hand, and chucked them in her mouth. “She could enter this school and ruin everything I worked hard for!”
We watched her pace around the room. “I built this school from scratch and I won’t have her ruin it! I will defend this school, build back my father’s legacy, and expose that woman. I won’t fail! She may be living happily but it won't be long. I have enough dirt to expose her! I won’t lose. Akademi High must be avenged!”
We wait patiently until she leaves the office and opens the door.
“What the…”
The room is fit for a private investigator with way too many issues. Pictures were pinned on a board with strings connecting them, documents with students’ information were scattered on the table, cigarette butts were littered around the room, and bottles of whisky were on the floor.
“So the rumors about her were right." the girl said. "She is obsessed with Akademi High.”
“But…but why?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Rumor has it that she was the Student Council President but her father never let her attend the school because of some personal issues. The minute she attends the school, a nasty scandal was revealed plummeting the school’s reputation and that of Sakou Corp to the ground. Some say she was the one who revealed it. Others suggest it was the urban legend Info Chan who did it."
I take in this information and look at the pictures on the board. ‘The Detective did say she suspected the murders had something to do with a male student but why did she say ‘that woman’?"
I look at one of the pictures and see a boy who looks like the younger version of Taro Yamada and he was with a brown-haired girl wearing an apron and holding a tray of cupcakes.
'Is she obsessed with Taro Yamada? If so, why?'
Then I heard a squeak and thrashed my head to the right. The girl had opened a cabinet full of drugs.
“This woman is insane.” She takes a bottle and inspected it. “Most of these are pain killers and some kind of drug that keeps you on high alert. Sorry. Can’t pronounce the name.”
We leave the office and discover we were on the third floor of the building so we sneak our way towards the ground floor to the exit but we see three guards guarding the exit and having a smoke.
“I wish I could work for someone else. Then I would not have to worry about my life being on the line.” one said.
“Well you are working for her with no way out.” the other tossed his cigarette butt away. “Poor Mike.”
“That woman is getting crazier by the minute. Who knows what she would do next?”
“I don’t want to know but the way she is treating those students is awful. I mean my dad would get mad when I fail but what she is doing is brutal.”
“Thank God I am not studying here.”
I have an idea and tell the girl to get into a crouching position.
“I heard she wants us to send our kids here.”
We sneak to another pillar.
The first one coughed and put the cigarette in his mouth. “Why?”
“I am not sure but..."
We continue this until we get a too dark area in the room. Hiding the girl behind a pillar, I break-a ceramic vase and hide.
"What was that?" one asked taking out his stun gun.
"Beats me. Go have a look."
One of the guards walked toward us and I pick up another one and toss it to the other end of the room.
"What the..."
I spring out and grab him by the neck. He put up a good fight and I was finding it difficult to pin him down until the girl broke another vase on his face knocking him out.
"What the..."
We quickly hide leaving the body behind for the rest to see.
"Rick! Rick are you alright?" his colleague crouched down to check his pulse and I spring out and electrocute him with the stun gun.
"Hey, you stop!"
I freeze.
"Stand up and put your hands in the..."
Crash!
I look behind me and see the girl had broken another vase on his head and he fell to the ground.
"Quick let's leave," she said.
I nod, take the stun gun with me, and rush out the door. Taking the same route my ally showed me to the dorms, enter her room, and find her sitting on the bed.
“You!”
I shut the door behind me and sigh with relief.
“What happened? I thought they caught you."
“I am sorry but there was a bit of a delay.” I point to the girl who followed me. "I guess you guys are related right?"
Indeed they were for they hugged the minute they clapped eyes on each other.
"You should go to the bathroom. You smell like sh!t." my ally said.
Her sister giggled and walked into the bathroom. I take off my uniform and squeeze into my trousers.
"How did you do it? How did you save her?" she asks.
"Well," I take off the wig. "It's a long..."
Suddenly we hear a loud noise. I look out the window and see spotlights shining around the school and students running everywhere.
The girl’s sister gets out of the bathroom hair wet and a towel around her waist. “Sis, we to leave NOW!”
“Quick dress up!” she tossed some clothes to her and turned to me. "Mind showing us how you sneaked into this school?”
Security guards were running straight to the lecture hall while some were leading the students out of the dormitories. I had to be quick and careful since I was not in uniform and if one of the spotlights see me well...
After some crouching, crawling, and running, we get to the hole located at the far end of the school, crawl out and run until we reached the Masturbates Hotel.
“I think we would be safe here,” I said trying to catch my breath.
The girl’s sister shakes her head. “Nuh-uh. We aren’t staying here.”
I stand up and stretch. “Now what?”
“I am going to the press to tell them about the harsh treatment we faced in that school.” Her sister said.
My ally shook her head. “That won’t work. No one is going to believe you. Let’s run away.”
I was shocked. “What about your parents?”
“They will look for us when they are ready.” she hands me a bunch of newspapers. “Here. This was all they had in there.”
I thank her and put the papers in my bag as her sister flags a taxi to take us to the Northside of town. There, the sisters take the subway to an unknown destination and I wave them goodbye as the train chugged out of the station.
"I never got to know her name, I am glad I made a friend," I said sitting down on the bench.
“Yep!” The kitsune says. “Sitting on my lap”
After eating something from the vending machine, I take out the newspapers and start to read.
Back in the College…
Amid the commotion caused by Emma, someone was in Megami's office smiling at the computer.
“You have underestimated me Megami.” she took out a flash drive and inserted it into the computer and copied all the valuable documents. When she was done, used the tunnels and snuck out of the school.
Later she was in her house reviewing, deleting, and editing the documents she stole.
“Oh Megami. I am glad you haven’t forgotten me because I haven’t forgotten you.” she opened Detective Walsh’s, Private Investigation Portal. “Let’s see how you feel when everything you have built comes crumbling down.”
She clicked the send button.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
