VIII (Aoi Kurashiki x Reader)

XV

Every human body in the room froze. The only sound was the muffled rustling of breathing. Eyes darted from face to face. One of those faces was the face of their jailer... But who? Junpei stepped up. "Well, it's possible."

"What?!" (Y/N) tried to shout, but her voice came out in a whisper. Her logical side knew he was right, but... She looked at the people around her, her friends. The only ones she'd had in a while. One of them had trapped them here and killed Snake? She couldn't believe it.

"What are you saying, Jumpy?!" June clung onto his arm. "Didn't you hear what Ace said?!"

Ace furrowed his brows. "Exactly. I said we shouldn't suspect one another for no reason-"

Junpei cut him off, shrugging June off to angrily display his bracelet. "No reason? I've got a great reason."

"And what's that?" Santa was puzzled.

He pointed at his number. "Why are the bombs in our bodies connected to the bracelets? You're all thinking Zero's hiding somewhere watching us, right? If he was doing that, he could just detonate the bombs by remote if someone did something they weren't supposed to." Junpei paused to retract his hand. "It would be a lot more precise, and a lot easier. But... If that's the case, why is the bomb set off by the detonator in the bracelet?"

Santa acknowledged his thinking. "I mean... he's gotta point."

Junpei brushed him off. "I'm not done. Try applying the same ideas to the Nonary Game. All the puzzles here run by themselves. In other words, Zero doesn't have to be controlling them for the game to move forward." The group stared at Junpei, awaiting his next words. "Why's that? Why would Zero bother doing something like that?"

"So let's say you and Clover are right. Zero's one of us. If that's the case, then it'd be really hard for him to keep track of all of us or control anything remotely. That's why all the puzzles run by themselves. That's what you're getting at, right?"

"Yeah," Junpei nodded. "Seven, you said any of us could be Snake's killer, right?"

"Somethin' like that."

"All right then, I've got a question for you, Ace. You said 'Zero must be the one who killed Snake', right?"

"Yes, I can't think of any other explanation."

"And what if we combine both theories? They fit together pretty well, I think. Whoever killed Snake is Zero and Zero has to be one of us. Seven and Ace's theories aren't mutually exclusive. They actually complement each other pretty well. At least they do if Zero is one of us..."

No one spoke, their faces were grim. (Y/N) wasn't sure who to believe anymore. If Zero was one of them, Junpei could very much be him. Then again, if he was Zero, why would he propose this idea? Anyhow, there was still one thing that bothered (Y/N). "What were Zero's motives?"

"His motives?" Junpei reiterated.

"Why would Zero want to hide as one of us?"

"Oh, well... that's because... um..." Junpei choked on his words. Seemed like he hadn't gotten that far. "I don't know."

(Y/N) sighed. "Well, so much for making a persuasive argument." She was lying through her teeth. It had been good enough to shake the core of their group.

Luckily, everyone nodded in agreement with her. "I don't really think that's enough to go on, ya know?" Seven disapproved.

Junpei cowered at the eyes on him and looked around, anywhere but at his friends. Just when he looked as if he couldn't bear it any longer- they heard a bell begin to ring. It was the clock at the central staircase.