AN: Apologies for the very late update! Massive writer's block for this story in particular. And a few others, but... I didn't plan on dropping this, but I figured I needed more time to think up a scenario. Anyways, again- sorry for the delay! Please enjoy.
Back in the tension filled kitchen, the eerily serious Leon Kuwata folded his arms to show he had not been up for any games, yet Hiyoko grinned mischievously, fully convinced. "So you believe me, huh?" Hiyoko pranced over to the indifferent ginger. "That witch is going to totally die. I'm not saying I'll do it; I'm not stupid enough to risk-"
"Shut it," Leon spat. The pig-tailed traditional dancer scoffed, crossing her own arms. She pouted, pretending to look away. A few seconds later, footsteps sounded the cafeteria and in came Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, slightly bewildered by the gang in the kitchen. He shrugged, noticed the knife sticking in the wall and accepted it. Other than the rustling of the Yakuza member retrieving a snack, it was silent. Neither Leon nor Hiyoko uttered another word. As Mahiru opened her mouth to speak, she was bested by Kyoko, who cut her off briefly.
"May I see the cake that was supposedly cut?" she queried.
Hiyoko, baffled by what she believed was pure ignorance, stomped her foot. "Why does that even matter?! I told you what happened."
"Actually," Akane spoke up, "that was me who mentioned the ca-"
"Who cares!" the brat continued to stomp. "You get the idea!" As she annoyed Akane, who put her hands over her ears to block out the yelling, Leon strolled over to the well-stocked fridge where Fuyuhiko walked away from. Upon opening it, he discovered through thorough investigating, there had indeed been cake. He pulled it out with not so much of uttering a sound, and placed it on the counter. There he found that one piece had been removed from the rest, what he believed to be the missing idol's slice.
"See!" Hiyoko pointed to the evidence as Kyoko walked over to the counter. "I wasn't lying!"
"I do not recall labeling you as a liar," Kyoko responded. "Rather, it would make more sense to be given visual evidence." The tiny blonde had not seen what the point was, but she kept her mouth shut anyways. It seemed unusual to Akane, who finally removed her hands from cupping her ears only to be hissed at shortly after. Fuyuhiko attempted to exit the room, yet stopped in his tracks.
Makoto glanced at Leon, his face clearly expressing worry. The solemn adolescent took one last look at the cake, glanced at the cake-crusted knife in the wall, and turned to head out of the cafeteria. Not only had he almost completely lost hope, but he wasn't sure how to face Sayaka. For a brief second, he thought of what it would be like to have witnessed that event, but he couldn't bring himself to picture it.
"Girls lose their temper all the time," the short gangster suddenly blurted, still standing by the opening of the kitchen. He popped a yellow, bendable straw into a juice box, sipping it as he spoke. "In a school like this, good luck finding anyone that's going to stay sane after all of this shit." And with those self-believed meaningful words, he tossed his unfinished juice box into the trash and left with his hands in his pockets.
"That guy's right," Akane admitted, stretching. "I'm not going to let any of this negativity get to me, so that's why I'm going to eat all I want and stay in the gym for as long as I want." She grinned, hoping to cheer everyone up, but no one so much as received her words the way she intended. The gymnast pounced on pointy-headed Makoto, who was caught so off guard by the larger individual. "You look like you don't exercise much. Want to hang out with me?"
"Uh…"
"I'll let you touch my boobs!"
"Akane-"
Suddenly, Kyoko turned on her heel and exited the room. Makoto, dumbfounded, found himself trailing after her, urging her to wait for him. Feeling indifferent, Akane shrugged and decided to head to the gymnasium herself. She stopped when she realized she could have asked Hajime Hinata; when she did, the confident gymnast was promptly rejected.
Hajime stood there pondering to himself. Soon, everyone else who had been in the cafeteria besides him left, and not even the high school cook, Teruteru, bothered showing up at the moment. "The next motive," he thought aloud. "I bet he's going to reveal that soon…" Clutching his head as if in pain, Hajime leaned over the counter and grunted. "Why… why is this happening?"
Throughout that day, the previously energized Ibuki sat on her comfortable bed, strumming her trusty guitar to help boost her mood. "Another night I sink into my lonely bed," she began to sing. "To shut out every sound as I scream inside my head; and like a turning wheel, the time keeps moving on; the pain from yesterday is now just so long gone…" After mumbling more lyrics to her cover and strumming with attempted effort, she tried pouring her heart and soul out, only to be interrupted by a Monobear announcement.
Mood ruined.
"Ahem, ahem," Monobear began, "You know the drill! Get on down to the gym! I've got another important part of the motive to spill, so I don't care who you are! Upupu!" Click.
Ibuki routinely strapped her guitar to her back and dragged her feet to the door. She wanted to feel happy, excited… any positive emotion that doesn't involve depression or hopelessness. So she decided to suck it up until she made it to her destination. On her way down the hall, she spotted others exiting their rooms, Leon being one of them. When he noticed the rock star saunter with a surprising amount of confidence considering her mood, he felt odd. She hasn't done anything weird, has she? he thought. Weird as in murder related activities. But judging by Ibuki's appearance, she seemed fine and just about ready for anything.
In reality, she felt like she was going to foam at the mouth yet again.
Shortly afterwards, every student arrived at the gym, not a single one of them smiling. Even Hiyoko had her limits, despite observing Sayaka sourly make her way to the room, distancing herself from everybody. Ibuki's eyes lit up upon seeing her friend. However, Sayaka's grim façade did not change, and Leon certainly wasn't too pleased himself. The three were separated; Leon on the right side of the gym, Sayaka on the left, and Ibuki in the center.
"Oy," the slim Byakuya Togami spoke in the near-silent room. "You better not be wasting my time with this, you insolent, stuffed piece of nonsense."
Monobear chortled with delight. "Oh, don't worry, Sass Master! I'm sure you'll enjoy this." Clearing his throat, the bear continued. "A certain trio of birdies were so kind enough to offer a fine piece of information. Or rather, they were the ones who came up with this motive." He scanned the room, hands raised to his anomalous mouth to prevent himself from laughing. "I'm sure you know who you are, and I won't call you out for it yet, but I sure as hell will pretty darn soon!"
Makoto glanced at Kyoko nervously, while the latter didn't so much as blink. Hajime had his arms crossed and his eyes closed to indicate that he was ready to hear what he already knew. The other witnesses in the kitchen weren't sure as to what Monobear meant, since they hadn't heard what the motive was prior to meeting up with the investigation trio.
"Alrighty, then!" Monobear raised his arms to the ceiling. "Next part of the motive. Pay attention, you lot! This person weighs in the forties in terms of kilograms. They're also around one-sixty centimeters tall, upupu~!" Everyone took a quick look at their ElectroiDs.
Fuyuhiko sighed, apathetically. "That has to be the most useless clue you've ever given."
"Exactly!" Monobear clapped, animatedly. "Isn't it just exciting?"
"You said you weren't going to waste my time," Byakuya snapped.
"And who said I listen to you?" The heir scoffed, turning to leave but was abruptly stopped by Ibuki. Everyone turned to look at her. "What on Earth are you doing?"
"Please, don't leave!" she urged. Byakuya crossed his arms, uninterested.
"And why's that?" he inquired. "Have a confession to make?"
"No, but-" Ibuki ran to the stage, twirled, and faced the entire gym. "Everyone! Don't let despair take over! He's trying to intentionally kill you! Listen to me!"
The room was perplexed. Even Leon and Sayaka showed that they were puzzled.
"I want you to please listen to me," she unstrapped her guitar as Monobear disappeared from the stage, amused with himself.
"Lost," Ibuki began vocalizing and playing the instrument, hoping she wouldn't hurl onstage from anxiety. "I groped around, looking for it; but the answer to the future has been locked away; and I can't find it anywhere; an urge to dash out, I can't decipher it right now…" As she continued to get more into the song, she became more relaxed. Once she hit the last few parts, she was pouring her heart and soul out into it.
"Even if the knots of fate are loosened now; even if my existence is destroyed now-" at this point, previously tensed Sayaka strutted through the crowd, joining in with the song she recognized. "I will keep walking on my own way. It's now or never."
Ibuki, overfilled with joy, got even more carried away and sang, "This is what they say,
"Live your life today, yeah, yeah!"
"There will always be," Sayaka recited, "there will always be a way', yeah."
"This is what they say! 'Live your life today', yeah, yeah!"
"There will always be… there will always be a way…"
Ibuki consciously ended the guitar strumming, and stared at Sayaka, who also stared back. The room was now fully silent, and Leon watched the entire time, unsure how to feel.
AN: First song used was "Hysteria" by Nano, and second song was also by Nano, titled "Now or Never"! You should also listen to the two.
