Reticent | Nakahara Chūya; AU [✔]

t w e n t y - o n e | t r u t h

The school corridors were now empty. Classes have ended yesterday and the only people coming back and forth to the campus were the people who needed to pass their incomplete requirements. Orianna was one of those people who have to go back so that she will be able to get her grades completed and to know if she really was qualified for the honor.

However, unlike the other students who would go straight to the faculty room in order to find their designated professor, Orianna would have to go towards the headmaster's office. Mr. Kodama, her History professor, was still suspended and will not be eligible to teach for the next school year. As she was told, the headmaster will be the one to grade her work.

Ignoring everyone's confusing glare towards her, she went all the way up to the third floor where the office was located. Other students were wondering why she was going for the stairs when the faculty room was just on the first floor; they have no idea and they shouldn't know about it, anyway.

Softly knocking on the black-tainted door, she grabbed the door knob and twisted it open, welcoming herself in. "Good morning, madam."

"Good morning, Nakahara," the headmaster greeted back. She was applying on her make-up so she'd look a little younger to conceal how old she really was. "You are two days early from the due date I gave, and two days late if you followed Kodama's deadline."

Orianna gave out a small laugh. "I took a break last Saturday and Sunday, madam."

Just giving a nod in response, the headmaster reached her hand out in an open palm, indicating Orianna that she should give her the research paper that the student made. Orianna obediently followed and placed one end of the folder-compiled paper on top of her hand, the headmaster grabbing it as Orianna let it go from her grip.

"Did you find out who the killer is?" The headmaster looked at the compact pieces of paper in front of her, reading the front page with the research title and the name of the submitter.

Orianna shook her head negative.

"It's a twenty-year old mystery, don't fret it," the higher-up assured her, smiling in order to add the sincerity to her words. "Being unable to figure out the killer won't lower your grades down, I'll guarantee you that."

"Thank you." The student bowed down weakly, suddenly remembering the whole conversation with her and Chuuya. She tried her best not to show the change in her mood, though; she promised to keep it a secret.

"Grades will be released on Saturday. Please do come back to get yours, okay?"

Orianna nodded and took note of the reminder, bowing down one more time before heading out of the office. She now felt relieved and satisfied now that she has nothing to stress about; all she has to do now is wait for Saturday for the release of their final grades.

Even with the research done, she was still curious on who the killer might be. The government files written about The 0619 Case felt too weird, and the ending of it seemed unclear. Although she found out that Dazai and her dad tried to kill off each other after being blamed, it was mentioned that none of the people from Batch Twenty-nine was the killer, and that it was an enigma wearing a hood.

Dazai was taken off first, followed by Sakagami who died the very last from the tragedy. Although it was not mentioned in the files on why the artist got caught even if they were running away from the killer, Orianna had thought of the most reasonable why Sakagami tripped along the staircase.

Basing it off of what Chuuya has told her, Sakagami may have been caught because her legs were sore from their intercourse.

"I wonder how beautiful or handsome their child would be if they were the ones who dated and got married." Orianna mumbled to herself, suddenly feeling a pang of insecurity. She was complimented a lot, however would often times get dissed because she inherited none of Chuuya's singing talent.

All she was good for was being ambidextrous, smart, and a hacker. What's so special about that?

But then if she thought of it in a positive way, she may have ended in the orphanage if it wasn't for Chuuya taking all of the responsibility as the parent. Thinking of that way made Orianna ignore all of those negative words that were labeled upon her, and was lucky to have Chuuya as her father.

She couldn't ask for more.

∞

Just because they write it down and call it history doesn't make it the truth.

No one in the world knew the truth.

And no one shall know the truth.

Those government files that have been kept and documented for important references only? Those answers that were provided by Nakahara from the one-on-one interview by the investigators?

They were all lies and sugar-coatings.

The only truth that were recorded in those files were the deaths, how they were killed, the picture of the corpses, and the murder weapon -- the Arsenic-covered knife that the perpetrator reused over and over again.

Sakagami's fingerprints were enough to prove all of what they have to suffer, but she was not the killer. She simply tried to defend herself from the killer who has gone insane during the outbreak.

Everyone died the same way; all but the artist. The eleven other people were wiped off of this world to release all the grudges that the killer had towards them. How about Sakagami? Her death was an accident -- the killer never had the intention to kill her anyway.

Who is the killer?

In modern days, people of the current century think that maybe the murderer had already committed suicide because of how heavy the crime that he had done. They thought, maybe if the killer had ended his own life afterwards, he wouldn't have to suffer being punished by the police.

That theory is false.

The killer is still alive, living a normal life, pretending that The 0619 Case never happened. He was trying to forget it as much as he could, but the mistake that he made has bound to haunt him for the rest of his life.

His grudges may have been relieved, but his guilt will never leave him at peace.