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REMBER! CHARACTER DEATHS!!!!!
Chapter Four
The next day was spent in solemn silence. Everyone was in shock that a nice girl like Serenity would be killed.
"I have come to a conclusion." Yami said grimly during breakfast.
"What?" Joey spat out, picking at his food.
"The reasonable killers could be anyone within this room..........or anyone who is not." Yami said.
"And what does that mean?" Mai asked, confused.
"It means it could be Marik or Bakura, or even Kaiba." Tristan responded. "Or anyone else who is not here, as well as us."
"Oh." Mai responded.
"It's a bit chilly here, isn't it?" Tea said, shivering slightly.
"Hmm....yeah. How about we light the fire place?" Ryou suggested, pointing towards the large fireplace in the parlor.
"Sounds good. But we need wood." Mai responded.
"Heh, you rhymed." Malik said. Everyone looked at him oddly.
"What?" He protested, pouting a bit.
He's crazy. He's nuts.
There's a good chance he could be the killer.
Thoughts ran around the room for a moment, before Yami broke the tense silence.
"I'll go get some wood from the shed that I saw outback." He said, and walked off.
"Shouldn't someone go with him?" Tea asked worriedly.
"Nah, he'll be okay." Joey growled. He was suspicious of Yami, that was obvious.
"Well, I'm going to go see just in case." Tristan said, standing and walking out.
"We might as well too. It'll be good to go outside." Tea said.
"I'll stay and clean up." Ryou said, and began gathering dishes.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Yami? YAMI!" Tristan called. Where had the ex-pharaoh gone too?
"Tristan? Where is Yami?" Tea asked as she and the others ran up.
"I don't know!" Tristan answered.
"Oh my God............people! Get over here!" Mai shouted from the far right of the shed.
They walked over, and, looking over her shoulder, gaped at the sight of Yami's battered body covered in blood.
He had been stabbed.
Repeatedly.
"Seven little kids chopping up sticks;
One cuts himself and then there were six." Tea whispered.
"It seems we were too late." Joey said.
"Again." Mai agreed.
"And Tristan is the only one who was out here." Malik said, turning dark eyes upon the brunette in question.
"What about Ryou? He's alone!" Tristan protested.
"He's doing dishes! We would've seen him pass us." Joey answered, looking at his best friend with something close to betrayal on his face.
"There are still ways for him to get out!" Tristan pressed.
"Forget it!" Mai snarled. "You're as prime a suspect as him right now. I bet he doesn't even know Yami is dead!"
"What about Malik, then?" Tristan said desperately. He didn't do it..........
"What about him? He was with us the entire time!" Mai said, though Tea looked a bit skeptical.
"He has the Rod!" Tristan shouted.
"No I don't! Marik has it." Malik protested.
Mai paused.
"Maybe. Alright, we will solve this." She walked over and took the Millennium Puzzle from around Yami's neck, and walked towards the mansion.
She went inside, the others following her.
"Ryou?" She called.
He poked his head out of the kitchen door.
"Hai?"
"Yami's dead." Mai said, choking a bit.
"...........what?" Ryou whispered, eyes widening and brimming with tears.
"He's dead........someone killed him........" Tea answered, her own tears running silent from her eyes.
Ryou stood stock still for a moment, then suddenly seemed to collapse upon himself. He staggered back against the wall behind him, sank down to the floor and buried his head in his arms.
"Why Yami?" He sobbed. Yami had always helped him out when he needed it, though he did seem to get ignored a bit by the Pharaoh. But he had at least tried...........
"Yeah. And the only people who were not with somebody was you and Tristan." Joey said, eyeing his friend darkly.
"I'm afraid to say I can't defend myself. I was in the kitchen, but none of you will believe my word alone, and no one can vouch for me. Except the fact that the dishes are cleaned and I wouldn't have been able to finish them if I had run out to kill Yami." Ryou muttered brokenly, voice a bit muffled from being buried in his arms.
"I think we need to put all possible weapons away. Including Millennium Items." Mai said, holding up the Puzzle she had taken from Yami.
"Hai, that would be best." Ryou whispered, and without hesitation took off the Ring and handed it to her, before burying his head again.
Malik was a bit more hesitant, but finally handed over any knives he had. (The Rod was with Marik. They had Ryou prove this by using the Ring to locate the nearest Items. It had only pointed towards the Puzzle.)
While that did not prove absolutely true that Malik didn't have the Rod, it was better than anything else they had to go on.
Ryou handed over a knife as well, saying his yami wanted him to be armed when he was not there to protect his hikari.
"We will get to the bottom of this. Joey, you hold one of the keys to this safe, and Malik, you hold the other." Mai said, handing the keys out.
"Only both keys can open the chest."
With that, they spent the rest of the day in silence.
(End Chapter.)
Hai: hello.
Who is the killer?
Who is next to be killed?
Anime Crazed: Yay! Thanks for your review!
Inspector: Great job on your story! You still think it is Ryou or Yami, huh? One answer you should have now! Mai was a good guess, but keep on guessing some more!
Crash&Burn: Lol, thanks for your review.