A/N: Good news: my fever is starting to slowly go down. Mama still makes me food and leaves them outside my door. I feel now that I don't have to make the effort to cook, my body is starting to get more rest. Here's Chapter 6 of "Whodunnit?"

Chapter 6: Further Circumstances

When it came for Sana's turn to be questioned, Inspector Etou and Sergeant Tanaka took note of how direct and forward she was in answering. Apart from her serious golden eyes, she was calm and controlled. Neither provoked nor vehement. Nodding gently in approval, Sergeant Tanaka could understand why she made a good commander at the Special Sword Administration Bureau.

Leaning back in his chair again, Inspector Etou asked, "So, Director Maniwa, you are now permanently General Director at the bureau, correct?"

"Yes—do you mind if I smoke?" Sana asked, in a bored tone. Not waiting for an answer, she felt around in her pockets, before pulling out a cigarette and lighter.

Inspector Etou tried to not let his sensitive nose get the best of him, choking out, "Did President Gojou go to the bureau last week?"

Sana replied, "Oh yes, Yukari-sama requested to see her in her office."

Sergeant Tanaka made a note of this in his notebook and asked, "Do you know why?"

Sana shook her head, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Not a clue. I was in the command room the whole time."

Inspector Etou moved on, asking about last night to which Sana told her whereabouts. At 9:20, she went outside for a smoke with Akane, where Yuzuki joined them. All three of them stayed there till ten o'clock and headed back inside to go to bed.

"Yuzuki-senpai and I saw Shidou-san just outside our rooms, so we said goodnight to her. Nothing too out of the ordinary," Sana said, with a shrug.

Inspector Etou asked, "Anything else before then?"

Sana looked as though she could fall asleep at any moment. With a mist going over her baggy eyes, the director lit another cigarette. When she replied, it was in a half-hearted tone.

"No…," then her eyes lit up as if she remembered something, "...wait, yes! Just after the meeting, when we all went to the library, I had to leave almost immediately to go to the bathroom. Right when I turned the corner into the next hallway, I could hear Yukari-sama and Yukina-senpai having an argument."

"Did you hear what they were saying?" Sergeant Tanaka asked, drawing his forehead together.

Sana said, "Their yelling was quite muffled, but I could clearly hear Yukina-senpai say two words."

"And those words were…?"

"She said…'choose me!'"

Inspector Etou and Sergeant Tanaka side-glanced at each other with intent looks of speculation. They had worked together long enough to know that they were both thinking the same thing.

"So, what happened after you heard that?" the inspector asked next.

"After I used the bathroom, I saw Yukari-sama coming out and we went back to the library together. That was about five minutes after I heard the argument."

Sergeant Tanaka asked, "What about President Takatsu?"

Sana said, "She went somewhere else, I think."

Outside of the library, Kanami was pulling her side-ponytail in deep thought. Her mind kept replaying what Sana said moments earlier.

'Hm... Choose me...President Takatsu said, "Choose me." Could it be possible that she wanted to be the heiress and next Head of the Origami Family?'

With a frown, Kanami thought back to the words she heard Yukina yell last night. "Now you listen, girl! Someday, I'll make you pay!" Had Yukina been yelling at Yukari at that time as well?

Sana seemed to already have a similar idea about Yukina's maliciousness. Judging by the wolf-like snarl in her voice, Kanami and Hiyori could tell the director was pissed. Over what though? The meeting last night? Yukari's death? Or perhaps something else...

"Even though the Origami sisters were in charge at last night's meeting, Yukina-senpai tried to take control in terms of who would be selected in the end," Sana explained, spitefully. "No doubt she herself wanted to be in favour. Honestly, that woman...trotting around Yukari-sama like some lapdog that wants to please its master for extra affection."

Rolling her eyes, the ponytailed woman added, "Yukina-senpai always thinks she deserves the best because in her belief, she—"

"—sacrificed everything for Yukari-sama!"

Fire seemed to be raging in Yukina's purple eyes, as she proclaimed, "I was her right-hand confidante! Her most trusted ally! And anyone who has the audacity to think otherwise…well, to Hell with them!"

Kanami and Hiyori simultaneously rolled their eyes at this. Yukina would've continued rambling on if Inspector Etou didn't ask what she did after her fight with Yukari.

"Had to let off some steam outside," the Renpu president replied. "Just went for a smoke."

To Inspector Etou's dismay, Yukina suddenly had to urge to do so right now, taking out an expensive cigarette holder made of silver. The artificial flowery scent left from Sana's cigarettes was replaced by Yukina's, as the Renpu president proceeded to fill the entire room with the heavy smell of tobacco. Inspector Etou's face turned green for a few seconds.

He swallowed before saying as gently as possible, "You were definitely very upset, yes? I'm going from what I already know, but the meeting last night was about choosing an heiress to be the next Origami Head. Were you upset because you wanted to be selected?"

Yukina looked at the inspector as though he asked her to do a simple addition equation. Did the man seriously not understand that she, Takatsu Yukina, was an obvious choice?!

"I had every right to be!" the purple-haired woman exclaimed. "I was devoted to Yukari-sama. I'd have even crossed the world to get soil from America if she wanted it!"

Hiyori thought sarcastically, 'And yet, you readily switched sides with Tagitsuhime last year without a second thought.'

The Heijou Toji could still vividly remember those awful times. That day when Yukina herself appeared publicly on the news with Tagitsuhime and her imperial guards, telling ridiculous lies to the press and all of Japan. And to think that they actually believed her! Hiyori's porcelain-like skin became even paler and her burgundy eyes hardened, as she recalled that smug, stuck-up grin on Yukina's face.

'Rotten, manipulative...beast!' Hiyori internally cursed.

She threw a glance at Kanami and was surprised to see that a faint indulgent grin was on the Minoseki Toji's face.

'That's one mystery solved,' Kanami was thinking to herself. 'President Takatsu definitely wanted to be the next Head and no doubt that now gives her a clear motive.'

"What time did you finish smoking outside?" Inspector Etou asked.

"Nine o'clock. That was when I went to bed," Yukina said.

"And you stayed outside the whole time? You didn't happen to leave in between to go...somewhere else?"

Yukina's narrow eyes became even narrower. Sergeant Tanaka didn't know how she could do that without closing her eyes completely.

"Yes, why?" the sharp-tongued woman demanded.

"I'm the one asking questions here, ma'am. Can anyone else confirm this?"

Yukina's voice was dangerously slow, her eyes black with testiness. "Are you accusing me of murdering Yukari-sama, Inspector Etou? Me, the one who understands Yukari-onee-sama the most?"

"Ma'am, please. I'm saying nothing of the sort. I'm simply—"

But it was too late for gentle sugarcoating and carefulness. Yukina's buttons had already been pressed. Her hands clenched together as she jumped from her chair, looking as though she was ready to let her fists fly. Only she didn't. If there was something Yukina cared about more than her ambition, it was her pride. She knew that she couldn't possibly physically hurt Inspector Etou without having assault charges laid upon her, along with damaging her reputation.

So instead, the Renpu president used her strongest weapon by driving everyone mad, spewing obscenities and plenty of curse words. The victims of her verbal attacks, including the two outside the library, all rubbed their foreheads, getting headaches from the endless loud yelling.

"If you're accusing someone of Yukari-sama's murder, accuse President Hashima," Yukina spat. "That bitch, I swear, is a swindler which Yukari-sama was very much aware of!"

She pointed a finger almost accusingly at the inspector, adding, "And I bet my goddamn hat, that's why Yukari-sama made her come early before the meeting!"

Then, at last, she stormed out with a black thundercloud over her head. Everyone was now allowed to let out the sighs of relief they'd been repressing.

Inspector Etou thought, 'A swindler she said…'

Kanami and Hiyori were thinking the exact same thing. What could President Takatsu possibly mean about that? A terrible thought had occurred in Kanami's mind—was her school president secretly committing fraud?

A/N: Out of all the suspects so far, we've gone through Akane, Iroha, Sana, and Yukina, along with their motives. Who seems the most suspicious to you so far? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the reviews! :) Next chapter will be Ema!