Symphony

Chapter 4: It's Okay to Cry

Shuichi Saihara's P.O.V

"Hey, Saihara. Is it okay if we go to the library a bit later? I'm kinda tired right now, so I want to take a short nap." She smiled at me, but her smile was fake once again.

Now that I think about it, she hasn't had a genuine smile in a while.

"Of course, Akamatsu. I don't mind," I told her reassuringly.

She then stood up and left. I also left and went to my dorm to read a few books that I had wanted to catch up on.

Kaede Akamatsu's P.O.V.

I headed to my room, making sure to lock the door behind me. Once I did, I removed the fake smile on my face. I started to tear up, and dropped to my bed, crying. I had bottled up most of my emotions up to this point, so I just let it all out. I was sad, angry, frustrated, and had many other emotions all at the same time.

What did any of us do to be put in such a terrible situation?! Why? why..? I cried for what seemed like half an hour. My crying started to die down into sniffles when I heard a ring from my door.

Shoot! Someone's here! I ran to the bathroom, washing my face to make it seem like I wasn't crying. I then went back and opened the door. It was Shuichi.

"Akamatsu, are you alright? You've been in here for two hours already."

Two hours?! I didn't think I was crying for THAT long. He then noticed how my eyes were still slightly red from all the crying.

"...Have you been crying?"

"N-No! Of course not! I'm completely fine! I promise." I plastered a smile on my face to show that I was fine.

Shuichi Saihara's P.O.V.

I didn't believe that she wasn't crying. She sounded less energetic and her eyes were slightly red and watery.

"Akamatsu, please be honest with me."

"..."

Kaede stood there, completely silent. A similar situation like this had happened the first time, but I didn't mention to her that I noticed she was crying.

"...It's okay to cry sometimes. You can't keep all your emotions bottled up, it's unhealthy. Besides, given the situation we're in, it's completely normal to feel sad about it. None of this is your fault."

Tears started to stream down her face. I quickly went up to her and embraced her. She hugged me back and we stayed this way for around five minutes.

"S-Saihara, do you think I'm forceful? Do you think I'm annoying?"

"Not really. I think you're just...too selfless. You want to help everyone, so you try to think of what everyone wants. But in reality, you try to focus on getting the thing everyone wants, and you forget to think that not everyone might actually want it. It ironically turns you selfish in a way. W-Well, not intentionally selfish!"

"...Thank you."

"F-For what?"

"For comforting me."

I blushed a slight pink at that comment. We finally let go of each other after what seemed like a few minutes. I didn't mind how long the moment lasted. In fact, I wished the moment lasted a little longer.

"We should probably start heading to the library. You said you wanted to show me something, right?"

Her smile was a genuine one this time, a smile I had not seen in a long time.

"Yes, I did say that."

We arrived at the library. "Okay, before I mention anything else, promise me that you'll keep this a secret," Kaede made eye contact with me as I said that.

Usually, if someone tried to make eye contact with me, I would look away immediately. But, I felt comfortable with Kaede looking into my eyes. I think it might be because I know she would never look at me in a hostile way.

"I promise."

In detail, I began explaining the hidden door, how I found it, and what it could mean.

"This could mean that one of us is possibly behind this whole killing game, the mastermind. This is just my hypothesis, though."

Kaede looked completely shocked as I told her this, unable to believe that one of us could do such a thing.

"If we catch the mastermind behind it all, will we be able to stop this killing game?" I confirmed Kaede's question with a nod.

"I also thought that this might not be the only door the mastermind goes through. There could be several doors."

This was a possibility that I overlooked, which caused everyone, including me and Kaede, to believe that Kaede was Rantaro's murder. I know now that I need to find that hidden door before the killing game starts so that the killing game will never start.

"Maybe we should look around the school again. If there's a possibility that there are more hidden doors, we should try to find them!" Kaede responded.

We then exited out of the library, looking for the other hidden door. I knew where the door was, but it was a place I absolutely would not go in if I had a choice. We checked everything except the restrooms, so we went there next.

"I'll check the girl's restroom while you check the boy's." Kaede went into the girl's restroom while I went into the boy's.

The restroom had a storage room, so I checked it. It didn't have a hidden door like I previously thought. I guess the girl's restroom was the only one that had the hidden door. I mean, it makes sense. Tsumugi is a female. I went back outside into the hallway to see Kaede waiting for me.

"Did you find anything, Akamatsu?"

Author's Note: I decided that I will update on Tuesdays and Fridays since it gives me enough time to write each chapter. Anyway, sorry for the long wait!