Okay so here's my weekly chapter! I'd like to thank the one person who left a review and the few followers I gained! Oh, and thank you Ash Lite for your support!
Anata ni min'na ni kansha
I jumped when I heard my alarm and fell out of bed.
"Fuck!" I yelled as I landed on my bad leg.
Forcing myself to get up, I got ready for the final test. I wouldn't really say that I changed clothes, instead, I just brushed my hair then pulled it back into a ponytail. I didn't even eat breakfast, which ended up being a good thing.
When I got outside, I saw that my car was completely beat up. The windows were shattered, my steering wheel was missing and all four wheels were popped.
I groaned, "Dammit..."
Instead of even bothering to make a big deal over my car, I just began to walk to the agency. Well... Limp to the agency.
By the time I got there, I was exhausted. I stepped into the elevator, completely oblivious to Jellal, who had walked in right by me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, causing me to jump.
"Yeah, just tired." I replied, still trying to catch my breath.
"Alright... I'm sorry again about yesterday." he apologized.
"Its fine." I responded, sitting down in the elevator, even though we were only going to the third floor.
Jellal looked at me with concern, but didn't say anything. When we got to the third floor, I slowly got up and limped off the elevator.
"You're still limping?" he questioned.
"Uh yeah... I fell out of bed this morning and landed on my leg funny." I responded.
He gave me a disbelieving look in return.
"It's true! Mostly..." I replied.
"What part of it isn't true?" he asked.
"I choose not to answer that," I retorted.
"Really, because I'm pretty sure you want to answer me." Jellal responded.
"Would you two hurry up, and stop flirting? Everyone is supposed to be testing right now..." Meredy scolded.
I blushed and looked away from Jellal. I hurried off to the corner of the room, and leaned against the wall, silently waiting as twenty other people came into the room.
"Okay!" Ultear called from the front of the room, "We are going to go through the stages of investigation. This includes talking to witnesses, exploring the scene, checking for certain traits of suspects not caught, interrogation, and everyone's least favorite: Dealing with the press."
Jellal walked forwards, "We will provide 'actors', for the press, witnesses, etc. We also will provide data such as an autopsy report, and all the science things like that... All twenty-three of you will have to reach the same conclusion. We will be setting up a fake interrogation room on the first floor of the F.T.B.I. Feel free to use it. Also, you will be graded individually. This means you can't just go along with the group. The horror..."
We laughed and Meredy walked forwards, "Does everyone understand?"
"Yeah." everyone responded.
"Also, we might have lied. We have no clue how long this will take, because it's different every time. I still remember 2001 when it lasted six we-"
"Ow! Ultear!" Meredy cried out, clutching her side, "Sorry..."
"We will now provide very basic background information. Andrea Hill, and her daughter Marguerite Hill were found dead in an alleyway. There are three witnesses, or other related persons. These people are: Willow Yester, a family friend, Quint Esker, a person who they were with earlier that night, and Jacob Zenith, a nearby bystander. These may not be the only people. Why would we tell you about everyone?" Meredy smiled, still holding her side.
"The alleyway we are using as a crime scene is on 2nd street N, and near 5th avenue. We have warned nearby people, who are not involved, so they shouldn't be an issue. If anyone is staring at a group of twenty people in an alley, can you blame them? Just ignore them. Do not punch them in the face. We do not need a repeat of when Ultear-"
"Shut up, Meredy! That was years ago!"
"A year ago," she corrected.
"What about 2002?"
"How about we just get to the test?" Jellal suggested.
"Y-yeah, but I know I've been drinking for at least- Ouch! My side! That hurts! Bad Meredy!" Ultear lightly hit Meredy's head.
"And that's why you two normally aren't trusted together..." Jellal muttered.
"What about you and Ultear?" Meredy snapped.
"What about anyone and me?" Ultear suggested.
"You aren't helping yourself..." Meredy pointed out.
"Hey! At least I'm not flirting with anyone! Right Jellal?" Ultear looked at his now slightly red face.
"Shut up." he retorted.
Ultear smirked, "Oh? Are you embarrassed?" she taunted.
"No... And just so you know, I wasn't flirting with her." he replied.
"Oh really? That's not what Meredy said..." she smirked.
"Umm... Let's get to the test..." Meredy mumbled, then led the way out of the building.
I smiled at a still slightly red Jellal and he smiled back. He stopped and let me catch up to him.
"Are you ever going to answer my question from earlier?" he asked.
I thought about it for a moment, "Umm... No."
Jellal rolled his eyes.
The second we got to the place where we had the test, I could already see that it was going to be annoying. Nobody would shut up. Not even for a second. Then again, I was in a pissy mood, so maybe I just thought that they wouldn't shut up.
"Okay, before we begin... Does everyone remember how this works, or did we cause you to forget?" Ultear asked loudly, causing everyone to shut up. Suddenly almost everyone was shouting, hurting my ears.
"Shut up!" I yelled at them.
I saw Natsu, who was farther away from me, immediately sit down.
"Umm..." Meredy looked at Natsu, "Stand up!"
"B-but Erza..." Natsu whimpered, "Sh-sh-she said-"
"I said 'Shut up'," I corrected, "Not 'sit down'."
Natsu very slowly got up, shaking. A few people laughed, but I glared at them. For some reason, they suddenly stopped laughing. Weird.
"So," Jellal started, "The murder scene is around the corner. Ultear, Meredy, and I will be ditching you now. Beware of the press. Also, when you are done, or need to talk to us, just go to the F.T.B.I. Building, and no, not all twenty-three of you need to go."
"Good luck!" Meredy called.
"Don't die!" Ultear called.
"That's bad humor..." Jellal muttered.
They turned to go. Without saying a word, we managed to silently turn around the corner. I heard Natsu scream in surprise, and looked up at the mob of people.
I was left to deal with the press.
One of them went near me, trying to talk, and I just managed to not murder them. I turned and glared at them.
"Go the fuck away, or I'll-" I cut myself off as they screamed and ran away from me. I didn't even say how I'd take their cake...their strawberry cake...
I called after them, "I was only going to say that I'd take your strawberry cake!"
Suddenly we were right next to the scene. There was a yellow tape blocking the area, but police officers let us in. I heard and saw people cringe, and I pushed my way to the front. In the center of the alleyway, a woman of about age thirty was laying dead, a wound right over her heart. Next to her was a young girl, maybe seven years old, laying dead with not only a wound over her heart, but many other open cuts.
I walked over to a police officer, "Where are the witnesses?"
He pointed to where two men were standing, talking to police. Weren't there three witnesses? I looked around and saw-
"Natsu?" I muttered in disbelief. He was talking to a witness. He was being useful?!
He looked at me and took a step away, shaking.
"I only said your name." I stated.
"That's scary..." he muttered.
"How?" I asked, "Wait, nevermind. I don't want to hear your stupid excuses."
He was still shaking, but started talking to the witness again. She was slightly laughing. I went over to one of the others.
"Hello I'm Erza Scarlet, member of the F.T.B.I." I slightly lied.
He nodded, "I'm Jacob Zenith."
"Where were you at the time of the murder?" I asked.
He pointed down the alleyway, "I was around the corner. I heard two screams and ran down the alleyway. They were dead by the time I got here."
"Okay. Did you know the victims personally?"
"Th-the mom, yes," he stammered, "She was my girlfriend."
"Alright, do you know why they were in the alleyway?"
"N-no," he stuttered.
"Do you know where they were coming from and where they were going?"
"They were coming from the party. It was like a high-school reunion party, just with more alcohol. They were going home... I don't know why her daughter was with her..." he muttered.
This guy was annoying. He was either stuttering or muttering. Suddenly, a brown haired boy from the group walked up to me.
"Umm.." he started awkwardly, "You seem to be in charge here, so I guess I should tell you that I'm getting an autopsy report for both of them. Oh! I'm Daniel Archen by the way!"
"Okay..." I responded, confused.
He nodded quickly and ran off towards the others. Most of them were looking over the scene, Natsu and some other lady were talking to the witnesses. I even saw a few people talking to the police. What caught my eye though, was a girl punching the press, in the gut too.
I looked back at the witness I had been talking to.
"I'll be right back..." I muttered, then walked over to the girl and the press.
"Get away!" she yelled at them, "Or it'll be your eye!"
I quickly grabbed the girls arm and pulled her away.
"No punching annoying people. No matter how tempting it is..."
"Hey, at least I had fun..." she smiled. She had short green hair, and bright blue eyes. She was fairly short, but strong.
"I'm Lily." she introduced herself.
"I'm Erza. Sorry, but please refrain from beating up the 'all so scary, press'."
"Okay, but I'll see you around Erza. You're pretty awesome." she agreed.
"You're the opposite of my roommate. Which means you're awesome." I replied, then turned and went back to the witness.
"Sorry about that..." I apologized.
"It's alright."
"Okay um... Where were you going when they were murdered?" I picked up on asking questions again.
"I was on my way home from a bar." he answered.
"E-Erza..." I heard Natsu stutter behind me, "We think we got something... Th-they want you to ch-check it out..."
I turned around, "Why the hell are you so scared of me?"
"B-because..." he started.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the witness, who was trying not to burst out laughing, "Thank you for your cooperation. That's all for now."
Then I went over to the other people that were taking the test.
"Okay, why exactly do you need me?" I asked.
"Alex thinks she might know who it is, but she wants you to verify it." somebody explained.
"Why me?"
"You're one of the smartest ones here." a short girl with long dusty brown hair piped up, "I'm Alex by the way."
"Okay, so who do you think it is and why?" I asked.
"I think it's Quint Esker. He kept on hesitating about his answers and never made eye contact." she explained.
"We could interrogate him." I suggested, "While we're at it, let's interrogate Jacob Zenith further."
"Alright, should I go get them?" somebody responded.
I nodded and looked around once again.
"Wait," I said just before he left, "It's not Jacob Zenith. I'll be right back."
I walked over to someone who was standing at the edge of the alleyway.
"Hi, I'm Erza," I introduced myself.
"I'm Midnight,"
"Did you see or hear what happened?" I asked.
"Uh no. I was at a party," he retorted.
"I see... Would you mind coming with me and a couple of my... Companions?" I asked.
"I'll go with." he responded.
So what did you think? Please leave a review! Sorry, I had to split this chapter in half, I'll post the other half soon. Sorry everyone, my iPad won't let me post the second part tonight... I probably won't be able to post it until Monday night.