Reticent | Nakahara Chūya; AU [✔]

e i g h t |

At that very moment, nobody knew who were the ones to be worthy of their trust. Anyone could be the killer, everyone can betray them, and they can be the next dead victim in just a blink of an eye.

Thus, they all thought to themselves that no one in that room can be trusted.

Everyone is neither an ally nor an enemy.

Kunikida couldn't take for a fact that it was not 'him' who killed Poe. Rushing towards Akutagawa in fury, he gripped the chef's collar and pulled him closer. At that point, he didn't care whether Sakagami had explained that it wasn't Akutagawa who killed Poe.

It's just that Kunikida couldn't stand his presence; even during college.

"Admit it, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke," Kunikida furiously said in between gritted teeth. "You planned all of this, didn't you?"

Akutagawa's gray eyes stared blankly at Kunikida's yellow ones. "What evidence do you have to prove that correct, Kunikida Doppo?"

"Good Lord, may you give me enough strength to punch men in their balls," Sakagami whispered rather too loudly, enough to be heard by the people who were near to her at that time. "A man told me, we don't have time for personal grudges, but look what we have here right now!"

Sakagami Orianna was not an honor of the batch -- she would frequently be the one to be at the very bottom list of the rankings, but she wasn't an idiot. She tried her best to catch up with the other people in her class. However, even if she would be a laughing stock of batch twenty-nine, Sakagami is also one of the most feared and respected people.

Aside from the four superior men, that is.

Being one of the people with the highest respects for their 'goddess', Kunikida let go of the grip, with the words "Pardon me, Orianna." escaping his authorial lips.

"Still, no one can be trusted at this time anymore," Dazai pinpointed, understanding why Kunikida had acted hostile. "Although we have to continue the search as two groups of fives, and please keep a better eye on the killer."

"Orianna, you're coming with us," Nakahara declared, not wasting any chances of getting the goddess away from their sight. "Akutagawa, go with your best friend."

"Best friend?" Akutagawa asked in confusion, despising the use of the word.

"Chuuya meant Atsushi~!" Dazai smiled, earning a disgusted look from Akutagawa.

Each group decided not to split up when stationed to their places, thinking that they may see the killer in wide range thus the killer will have no escape. They have come to the conclusion that the killer must be lurking around the same floors wherein Edogawa, Yosano, and Poe were killed -- either the second or third floor.

∞

A Research Paper about the Sequence of Events of The 0619 Case, written and submitted by Nakahara Orianna of Class 4-B. It is already Thursday and she only has three days left before the submission date. Only three days left, and she had gathered until Poe's death so far and there is still more events bound to happen.

And more words to be read.

She misses having to sleep early and completing her eight to ten hours of sleep every night, but because of the research task given to her, she's obliged to sacrifice some of her sleep time. If only she could skip school for the whole week just so that she can focus on this, she would have done it right away.