Ryoma sat on the bench that rested against the wall in the club room, leaning back against the cool surface. A large, bloodied knife dangled from his left hand, and a pool of blood coiled around his feet, staining his white sneakers.
Drip...drip...drip...
Tezuka laid on a narrow, low lying table not far from Ryoma, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling, glasses missing. The same red liquid that now pooled at the freshman's feet seeped slowly out of the wounds across the captain's neck. His shirt, and the skin beneath, had been sliced open in the shape of a cross, more red ebbing from the wounds on his chest. The blood gathered at the edges of the table before flowing over and to the floor, adding to the pool already there.
Drip...drip...drip...
Oishi had arrived to club later than usual, though it was still earlier than anyone else. He reached for the doorknob, key in hand, to find it unlocked already. Odd. Frowning, he turned the knob and pushed open the door.
Drip...drip...drip...
"Tezuka!"
Oishi froze in the door way, bag falling from his shoulder to the floor with a thud he didn't even hear. Ryoma turned his head to look at Oishi, smiling when he finally made out the fukubuchou's fuzzy shape from behind Tezuka's glasses.
"Oishi-sempai! I didn't hear you come in."
The look of shock didn't fade from Oishi's face as he turned to look at Ryoma. The sight of Tezuka's glasses on the other's face almost broke him.
"Echi---"
"Ne, Oishi-sempai, did you know Tezuka-buchou's eyes were really bad?"
Silence.
"He had them off when I came in. It's no wonder he didn't see me. Do you think he'll need them where he's at now?"
"Echizen, what are you---"
Ryoma stood from the bench and moved over to the table, gazing down at the bloody mess he'd made. He tilted his head curiously and leaned forward, putting his ear against Tezuka's chest, near to where the cuts on his chest crossed. "Hmm...it's not beating anymore. I wanted to hear it stop. Oi, Oishi-sempai, do you think you'd let me hear yours? ...Oishi-sempai?"
Oishi had fled before Ryoma even finished speaking.
Shrugging slightly, Ryoma turned his attention back to the body on the table. Well, the police would be there soon. He may as well have fun with the body in the mean time. He wondered just how warm the inside really was...