A/N: Coughing is gone now, but my fever is going nowhere but up. Headache is still persisting as well. I honestly think I'm going to have to self-isolate longer than fourteen days. :( Thankfully, I have no problems breathing.

In addition to this, my mother, who's a retired nurse, graciously offered to stay at my house and take care of me. Despite my protests and concerns for her own health, Mama was having none of that, and so is now looking after me (while keeping her distance, of course). I am happy to have her company (and also excellent cooking), but can't help feeling like a burden to her. Once I get well again, I definitely want to do something special for her as a thank you.

Anyway, this chapter deals with when our main characters question our first suspect, Akane. Like the chapter before, there will be very subtle clues that may seem normal but are important later on.

Chapter 4: Testimony Of An Origami

"I want you girls to guard the library door outside, but keep your ears attentive and open during the questioning," Inspector Etou had instructed. "You never know if someone might say something contradicting or out of the ordinary."

The inspector gave no other instructions other than that, so Kanami and Hiyori could do nothing else but obey. Sergeant Tanaka purposefully left the door open a bit—but not noticeably—when he brought Akane to the library. Straining their ears, the two Tojis remained quiet as mice, hoping to clearly catch every single word.

Akane's eyes were still visibly wet and puffy, when she came in, still clutching her handkerchief. With an appraising gaze, Inspector Etou studied the woman before him, as she took a seat. Most people considered Yukari as the more beautiful sister, but Inspector Etou thought this an unfair comparison. Akane had a lovely charm of her own with delicate features. She would've looked just as pretty as her sister if her face was less doleful.

'Poor girl,' Sergeant Tanaka thought, as he took a side-glance at her.

His colleague's face, however, was completely unchanged. It was difficult to imagine what Inspector Etou was thinking at that moment. A red face with teary eyes was normally something to feel pity towards, but the inspector knew that such a sight could also work easily as a mask. Getting straight down to business, Inspector Etou made Akane recount what happened after the meeting last night, while Sergeant Tanaka took cryptic notes.

'Perfectly matches Hiyori-chan's story,' the sergeant observed.

Inspector Etou also seemed to notice this. "So, then what time did you take Yukari-sama back to her room?"

"Probably around a quarter-to-nine. I returned to the library maybe five minutes after that."

"And what did you do after that?" was the next question.

"Stayed outside on the engawa with Director Maniwa and Yuzuki-senpai until ten o'clock. I went to bed right after that," Akane replied.

Pursing his lips slightly, Inspector Etou leaned back in his chair. "So then...you did give some of that sleeping medicine to your sister?"

Akane's face noticeably turned pink. "Nee-sama occasionally suffered from insomnia and also had a low-alcohol tolerance. Which is why she had that sleeping medicine—to knock herself out after drinking."

"Did your sister always take that particular brand of sleeping medicine?" Inspector Etou asked.

"Yes, she always kept some next to her bedside," came the reply.

"I guess it worked well for her then?"

"Well, she'd normally be asleep within half an hour, so I guess."

Akane's voice was flat and her eyes, which had been full of tears, were now deadpan. Sergeant Tanaka began to wonder if she was starting to get slightly annoyed. Then, without warning, the younger Origami sister seemed to have had enough.

"Look," she began, crossly, "can I ask what this has to do with my sister's death? Why are you suddenly so interested in the medicine she'd take?"

The inspector pressed his fingers together, staring at Akane just as intently. "We've discovered that Yukari-sama's sleeping medicine had been doped. The same sleeping medicine that you administered to her last night, Akane-sama."

Colour flushed into Akane's cheeks, as she stared incredulously at the man in front of her. She looked as though she might spring out of her chair at any moment.

"Are you accusing me of the murder of my own sister, Inspector?" she asked, in a sour voice.

Inspector Etou chose to dodge the question. "I was merely stating a fact, ma'am. Now, there's something else I'm inquisitive about. That meeting last night...what exactly was it about?"

Akane's expression became a haggard one. For a long time, she said nothing and only stared at her hands. Her fingers played with the soft fabric of her handkerchief. It was so quiet that from outside the room, Kanami and Hiyori could hear the clock ticking on the library mantlepiece.

Then, with a deep breath, the younger Origami sister said, "We were supposed to discuss who the next Head of the Origami Family would be."

Her words raised eyebrows both inside and outside the room. Lost in his own surprise, Sergeant Tanaka almost forgot to take note of this new fact in his small pad. Puzzling over Akane's remark in the recess of his mind, Inspector Etou knit his eyebrows close together.

"Please correct me if any of this is wrong, Akane-sama," he said. "After the Great Year-End Disaster last December, you officially became the Head of the Origami Family."

"Yes, that was when Nee-sama decided to permanently abdicate her seat to me."

Inspector Etou then added, "And from what I've been told, the Origami Family has no other generation of descendants after you and your late sister."

"Yes, that is correct."

"So, you are the youngest in the Origami Family then?"

Akane nodded her head.

Massaging his left temple, Inspector Etou carefully continued, "So, you've said this meeting you all had last night was about choosing the next Head. I'm going to ask a few more questions concerning that. Might I ask who is next-in-line?"

"Nobody."

From outside, Akane's answer perked up Kanami and Hiyori's attention. The two Tojis stared at one another, before leaning closer towards the door.

"You have no other close relatives?" they heard Inspector Etou ask.

"Those I have are way beyond their years," was the reply.

"I see," the inspector said. "So, after you, there is not any sort of heiress?"

Sergeant Tanaka, who had remained silent this whole entire time, abruptly cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention. His pink face became slightly deeper in hue.

"Excuse me. If I may interrupt, Akane-sama, forgive me for being so bold to ask..." he blurted out, "...but are you planning to get married?"

Kanami and Hiyori simultaneously bit their tongues at the sergeant's rash question. It was all they could do to keep from cringing. Sergeant Tanaka's impulsive words likewise earned him a warning-like glare from his colleague. The awkward silence that followed was dreadful, as they remained on edge, waiting for a lash of insult from the Origami woman. But it never came.

Instead, Akane replied, "Even if I was, there would be no difference."

Inspector Etou slowly asked, "If you don't mind my asking, Akane-sama, but what do you mean by that?"

His question was met with a blank stare. However, the inspector could tell that though Akane's eyes were empty, she was feeling anything but no emotion. When she spoke, her voice was dead and far away.

"A while ago, even before Tagitsuhime was defeated, Nee-sama and I found out that we were both...sterile."

A pall of heavy somberness shrouded over the atmosphere in the library, as Akane's words hung in the air. The sound of rain pouring outside added to the gloom, along with fitful gusts of wind. Occasionally, the rumble of thunder could be heard.

'It's almost as if the weather is sad too,' Kanami thought.

She noticed Hiyori's expression was still as stoic as ever. However, internally, the Heijou Toji couldn't help feeling bad for Akane. A gentle and kind-hearted woman such as her was unquestionably worthy of becoming a good mother. But instead of looking forward to moments of joy, she had to look back upon losses—robbed of the chance of having any children at all.

Akane pushed a stray strand of hair from her face before continuing, "That is why Nee-sama needed to host a meeting. To tell everyone that she would designate an heiress of her choosing."

Inspector Etou asked, "Well, did she choose someone?"

"No, but I think she already had a thought of who she wanted to be her heiress," Akane replied, vaguely. "That might just be my sisterly instinct though."

"And was that what caused everyone to be at each other's throats last night? Cause there was no heiress at the moment or because there was, but your sister didn't say?"

"I don't know," Akane said. "Part of me thinks it affected each one of us in a different way."

She paused as if she was about to say something else, but remembered just in time. "Iroha-san, for example...I've never seen her get so angry before. And I could tell she was upset even before the meeting started. I guess when we were all yelling at each other, she finally exploded."

Inspector Etou raised his eyebrows, "President Gojou? Exploded?"

He thought back to the times he saw Iroha on the news and occasionally, in person. It was enough to make him agree with Akane's words. Generally, Iroha seemed so mild—it was hard to imagine her as a person who'd lash out in anger.

With a sigh, Inspector Etou said, "That will be all, Akane-sama. Thank you."

He turned to the sergeant. "Tanaka, bring in President Gojou next, if you may."

A/N: That is the first of our suspects, Origami Akane. Next chapter, we will delve into Iroha's side of the story. And we may just find out that she's hiding a secret of her own, under that calm smiling face of hers... Hope this chapter was interesting enough and happy Easter!