"Now we fall."

He smiled, and she fell in love with him all over again. But, the taste of his lips made her cringe, as she realized his words were not a loving taunt, but a cruel promise.

8

Try again.

3 – 5 – 12 – 16

Try again.

6 – 2 – 7 – 13 – 17

Try again.

11 – 4 – 10 – 14

Try again.

1 – 9 – 15

Time's up.

Timeless Injustice

Fire burns and time kills.

Perhaps, you shouldn't play with either.

But, we are curious children vying for love, and power, and the thrill of feeling needed—of feeling important. All of which for just a taste, we'd sell our own souls.

Play with fire, and you're going to get burned.

Play with time, and you will die.

Fall, 2013

Oreki Houtarou noticed several notable things simultaneously about Ibara Mayaka as she stood before him, blocking his route of escape. Firstly, she was out of breath, and the perspiration on an otherwise cool September day seemed out of place, beading on her brow. Secondly, there were small splotches of pink under each of her strangely frantic eyes, indicating that she had been crying, or at least, quite upset rather recently. Thirdly, her Kamiyama High School uniform skirt was ripped slightly, a large tear running vertically, approximately four inches in length near her left knee. And finally, she wore on her right hand ring finger, a modest, but beautiful golden ring, set with three tiny amethysts, an accessory that he couldn't recall her wearing before.

Now, Oreki was not the type to constantly survey Ibara Mayaka's every action, nor did he care much for her day-to-day change in appearance. However, he noted rather significantly that he had seen the usually bold girl not less than ten minutes ago when he had left the Classics clubroom, and she had not been sporting any of these oddities back then. Unfortunately, Oreki was somewhat intrigued, though it was his worry and natural concern for a fellow club member that pushed him to stay and listen rather than continue walking far, far away from a world of complex mysteries and the enigma that Ibara Mayaka had just recently become.

"Ibara—" he began, though his voice seemed to stir something within Mayaka, and instantly she snapped to attention, lurching forward slightly with the weight of heavy words housed somewhere deep in her belly just itching to get out. The suddenness of her movement startled him, and he had to pause to collect his thoughts.

He noticed her right fist clenched tightly around an object as her lips followed suit, clamping down around a truth too terrible to speak.

Oreki took a breath.

"What's wrong?" he asked, her frantic eyes boring into his own. At the intensity of her gaze, he took a step back and for a moment, a tinge of fear tingled in his spine, a distinct urge to run suddenly flowing in his blood, though he could not place why.

"Oreki," Mayaka's voice was barely a whisper when she finally spoke—a terrible, frightened whisper, and Oreki had to strain to hear her words. "I know who did it."

It took a moment for the message to register in Oreki's mind as being a complete thought given he had no idea to whom or what Mayaka was referring. He was sure his face was completely blank, and in any normal situation, the usually feisty Mayaka would have called him out on it. But, she did no such thing, and very quickly, and almost horrifically, Oreki began to realize this was not a normal situation.

"Who did what?" he finally asked slowly, trying to piece together the broken fragments Mayaka was giving him.

This was probably why their teamwork was subpar at best.

Mayaka inhaled sharply, and Oreki deduced that she was scared. He imagined a frightened Mayaka suddenly bursting with an explanation for the mystery, clutching to him without touching him, as she so often managed to do, with her wide eyes filled to the brim with curiosity and a burning passion for comprehension. He imagined her pout when he denied her his help, her taunting, her annoying jabs, following him all the way to the street corner where they parted ways for their respective homes.

But, instead of using her breath as fuel for a barrage of assault, Mayaka exhaled slowly, her very being seemingly leaking from her parted lips. Slowly, her eyes dropped from Oreki's, and stare dejectedly at the ground.

"I know who killed her," she answered plainly, her voice uncharacteristically devoid of emotion.

Too many things were wrong, not only what Mayaka was saying, but also how she was saying it. Oreki wanted to take her to the nurse, to walk her home, to ask her to sit down while he got her some water—anything to bring Mayaka back to a state of sense. He was sure she was crazy, overworked, overstressed, overheated. He made to step towards her to somehow assure her that no one had been killed and that everything was fine when she spoke again, causing him to freeze in his tracks.

"The girl who dies at four pm," she continued lifelessly. In that moment, a fit of regret seemed to seize her and her whole body shook with a silent sob born of the truth housed in her bones. Staring at the ground, clutching right fist tighter and tighter around what Oreki now realized was a watch, she let a few tears run down her face and onto the sidewalk below them.

Oreki was suddenly finding it hard to find his voice as he watched Mayaka break down before him, and for once, his mind capable of deducing the answers to so many riddles, was blank. He swallowed hard, and took a small breath, focusing on Mayaka's crumpling figure. She clearly had not had enough sleep. He needed to get her home, or to a doctor. He would calm her down, and then take her there, and everything would sort itself out. Everything would be fine.

"Ibara, you're stressed out and need to calm down," Oreki advised, though his own anxiety was only thinly veiled.

In that moment, Mayaka seemed to snap, and all her usual energy came rushing forward as she screamed with tears still rushing down her face, "She dies! She dies at four pm! She jumps off the roof, and she dies! And it's not an accident!"

Oreki froze. Half-startled by Mayaka's sudden outburst, half-shocked by the words she had said, he could do nothing but stare as she whispered, "please."

Please what? Please help me? Please believe me? He wanted to ask, but his throat had gone dry.

"Come with me. Come this way."

And then suddenly, in the distance, a scream tore through the lonely schoolyard, as bone chilling and horrifying as the truth of Mayaka's words.

A/N: So, here we are at my Hyouka fanfiction (finally!). I'm putting the author's note at the bottom this time, since I didn't want to take away from the importance of that initial introduction and the formatting up there. So a few notes pertaining to this one:

1) It will be told in a series of drabbles. There will be 18 in total.

2) True to the Hyouka nature, this story is a mystery. Pay attention, everything is important! Though, I promise, if you pay close attention to the clues I give, by the end, you will know both the culprit and motive :)

3) This story will have dark themes and elements.

4) Rated M for sexual themes.

5) Pairings include not only SatoshixMayaka, but also OrekixMayaka, OrekixChitanda and OrekixIrisu. (I'm having fun with this XD)

7) And finally, true to the summary, this story will feature five distinct timelines that will overlap, warp and diverge again. I suspect that it will be rather confusing, but I'm also excited to hear your theories as we go along, so do share them in your reviews! After all, this is a mystery to be solved, right? XD The predictions may also help me write a more coherent solution given this is the first mystery I've ever attempted...

8) Oh yeah, title credit to the lovely Nayuki Bunny. :D

Thank you so much for reading! I promise quick updates with this one (since each chapter is just a short, little drabble).

And always, please review! Reviews make me happy and would help me get back into FF after a two year hiatus... cough cough. XD