ᴅᴇᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ - ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴛʏ ᴠ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ [ONGOING!]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 12 | ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴᴇ

Life carried on as usual in Oletus Manor. Matches were played, diary entries were written, and secret anti-manor resistance meetings were always being held in the underground tunnels after midnight. 

Y/N's fellow resistance members made a very clear point of interrogating them every which way about their brother as soon as they had recovered from passing out. They, as honestly as they could, tried to convince them all of their innocence-- and, though it proved difficult, they were eventually able to stave them all off for the time being. 

Right now, they were all examining what they assumed to be B/N's belongings in excruciating detail. Sifting through journals, assigning potential dates to photographs, and raking their own brains to see if they could draw up and memories of this man they had never met before. To them, his entire existence was a mystery-- and, while they didn't know if it was one that would help them to escape from Oletus Manor, they couldn't just leave it alone. It all connected somehow, and the only way to figure out how was to dissect and pull apart everything they could.

Y/N tried to help to the best of their abilities, though they found themselves even more stumped than the others when trying to remember their brother. And really, who could blame them?
Everything they remembered about their brother's death was being challenged by this irrefutable evidence, and the fact that such evidence was hidden away within the twists and turns of a complex underground labyrinth only made things more confusing-- why did B/N disappear? Where is he now? Why did he go to Oletus Manor in the first place?

"Well, one of those questions I can sort of answer," They thought, sitting up straight. "That journal entry was hard to read, but it did mention him going to Oletus Manor... but he wasn't alone. He was with someone-- me, perhaps?"

Y/N sighed through their teeth. No, he couldn't have been with them-- they had no memories of ever going to Oletus Manor, and, if B/N ever did mention travelling there, they definitely would have wanted to go with him. Besides, whoever this person was, it was mentioned that they were looking for some sort of... inspiration. 

"For what, exactly?" They muttered to themselves, scratching at their head in irritation. "It was something to do with a crime... and I'm certainly no criminal. Not at the moment, anyway." 

As they continued to ponder those troubling details, Naib's sharp sigh snapped them out of their thoughts.

"You know, I'm getting really irritated of seeing myself smiling in photographs next to some man I've never met before." He put a hand to his forehead to hide his fatigue, staring at Y/N from underneath his palm.

To say he looked irritated was definitely not an understatement, though... there was a speck of disbelief in his eyes, almost as if he was more shocked and bewildered than he was angry. As if he couldn't even bring himself to believe what was happening. 

Y/N couldn't blame him for it. They were feeling just as confused as he was, if not more so-- most everyone at the table was baffled by the implications of B/N's belongings.
Even Joseph, who was doing his best to appear unfazed, seemed unsettled by the idea of a survivor existing within the manor that he did not remember tearing his sword through. He suddenly rose to his feet, frustrated and confused, folding his arms and casting a glare towards the O/P.

"I think that it might be about time for you to start explaining all of this to us, O/P." He said cooly. "B/N L/N was your brother, was he not? Surely, then, you would know of his connection to this manor."

Y/N looked down, trying to avoid all of the stares weighing down on their back. "This discovery is just as shocking to me as it is to all of you," They muttered bitterly. "If I could tell you what really happened to my brother, believe me, I would... but I don't."