Full Thing

Kokona made a habit of approaching Ayato in the mornings and accompanying him until classes began. During this time, she enjoyed engaging in small talk, innocent gossip (did you hear about the kitten behind the school?!), and other mundane activities.

Today, she asked, "So who's your new friend?"

Ayato was leaning against the school gate. Next to him, Saki Miyu sat curled up on the ground. It made sense that Kokona would find the situation questionable.

"This is Saki," Ayato answered. "You've met, I think."

Kokona gasped. "Saki?!"

She bent down to get a better look at the girl's face. "I barely recognized you! You look terrible!"

Saki didn't respond. She kept her gaze focused on her feet. Kokona continually tried to talk to her friend while Ayato scanned the area. He had already went over Saki's instructions and given her the appropriate tools, all he needed now was the victim.

"Kokona," Ayato said, "leave her be."

"Huh?" Kokona was still messing with Saki, fixing up her hair and giving her calming pats on the back. "But I think Saki might be sick, she's never this-"

"If she wanted help, she'd ask." He looked down at her. "Isn't that right?"

Saki nodded, eyes still staring towards the ground. From the corner of his eye, Ayato saw Koharu Hinata pass through the school entrance. Well since she was definitely here, there was no point to staying with her anymore.

"Let's go Kokona. She'll be fine." He began to walk away.

She huffed quietly and puffed out her cheeks. "But why? I think we should do something. Aren't you worried?"

Ayato continued his stroll. "No."

"Well," Kokona pushed herself back onto her feet, dusting off her skirt. "Maybe you should be. It doesn't take much effort to show a little concern."

Saki suddenly rose from the ground. She stood quietly for a moment before quickly walking past the pair, muttering under her breath. As she made her way inside of the building, Ayato made the smart decision to go anywhere that wasn't near her. He and Kokona walked along the brick wall, watching Saki until she was out of sight.

"She looks healthy," Ayato noted.

Kokona shook her head, her curls bouncing and swinging about. "I dunno…"

"How has the drama club been?"

"Are you trying to change the subject?"

"Yes."

Kokona stared at him. "Y'know, you're the most blunt and honest person I've ever met Ayato."

Ayato wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just shrugged. She laughed at this.

"I guess I can't be mad at that. But you have to promise to come with me to check on her during lunch."

"Sure." He answered.

"Promise?"

"I-"

Suddenly, an ear splitting scream tore through the previously calming atmosphere. Ayato watched Kokona frantically search the area, turning from side to side.

"What was that?!" She yelped.

Students bursts through the front doors in a panicked rush. Some hid, others fled the school all together, either way they were all trying to get away from something.

Ayato took Kokona by the wrist and pulled her forward. "We should go and see what's happening."

They quickly headed towards the source of the madness, dodging flailing students and sneaking past panicked teachers and staff. The chaos seemed to be coming from the school's cooking club area.

Outside of the room's entrance stood Kuroko Kamenaga, one of the student council members.

"Stand back," she said, extending her arm, "no one comes beyond this point until the police arrive."

"Police?" Kokona squeaked. "What's going on?! Why are the police involved?"

Kuroko shook her head. "Nothing that you need to concern yourself wi-"

"Apparently, a student came up, tackled another student, then started stabbing her to death." Budo approached from around the corner, holding a stack of documents. "At least.. that's what everyone is saying."

"Someone died?!" Kokona gasped.

Kuroko paused, then nodded. "I'm afraid so. Though," she glared Budo's way, "at times like this it is best not to spread panic."

Budo simply shrugged. "I'm just relaying the news."

"Do you know who it was?" Ayato asked, just to be sure.

"We can't-" Kuroko began.

"Koharu Hinata and Saki Miyu." Jonzu suddenly entered the conversation, casually strolling up to Ayato and leaning on his shoulder. "I also heard that after Saki killed Koharu, she commited suicide right on top of her."

Ayato frowned. "She killed herself?" He hadn't told her to do that. Sure, it didn't really matter to him, but he had still wanted to use her for other tasks. All that time and effort for one measly kill. It was rather disappointing really.

"Hard to believe, right?" Jonzu said, watching him closely.

Ayato plucked Junzo's arm off of his shoulder. "Very."

"Well believe it," he said, grabbing for his phone, "I've got pictures and everything-"

"Give me that!" Kuroko hissed, snatching the device from his hands. "Do you have no shame? Who sent these to you?"

"Aw c'mon! It's not like I was going to post it online or anything!" Jonzu threw his hands up in despair. "I need it! This is a murder mystery phenomenon! Just what our newspaper has been looking for!"

"Mystery?" She scoffed. "There is no mystery. One student harmed another-"

"But why?" He began, his eyes lighting up. "What's the motive? When was it planned? Were others involved? What was the relationship between the two? These are the questions people! And the student population must be informed!"

Budo raised an eyebrow. "You really think it's that deep?"

"I know it's that deep." Junzo confirmed. "It has to be."

"...Saki." Kokona suddenly said. "No… Saki wouldn't… this can't be right.."

Junzo turned to face her. "You knew Saki?! That's great-I mean horrible of course, very tragic-but vital to the cause! What was she like? Any murder-ish tendencies? Crazy personality traits?"

"What?! No!" Kokona said. Her eyes were puffy and wet. "Saki was one of the sweetest, kindest people I knew!"

"She killed somebody." Budo helpfully pointed out.

"No.. I can't believe that.. I WON'T believe that!" She cried. "I…"

Kokona burst into tears once more. Kuroko placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go home and rest. We'll leave it to the police to figure things out from here."

Kokona nodded, wiping her face. As she began to leave the area, Ayato followed close behind, eager to distance himself from the slowly forming crowd.

They made their way through the entrance and soon past the gates. They walked in silence, and Ayato watched as the authorities poured into the school group by group.

"I just don't get it…" Kokona finally said. "I mean I knew that she was acting weird all morning but…"

She turned to him. "Ayato… this morning, when I was checking on Saki, I saw… scars.. and bruises all over her body."

He stared at her. "You found scars?"

"Yeah, and not just that!" She continued. "They weren't easy to see either. It was like they were purposely put in places that people wouldn't be able to notice at first glance."

Well duh. "That's alarming." Ayato said.

"I didn't want to mention it while the others were around, because I didn't want to sound crazy. But I think that someone might've hurt Saki and forced her to… do what she did."

Ayato thought about this, or at least pretended to. "You really think so?"

"It's the only explanation." She said. "Do you think I should tell the cops about it? Would they believe me?"

"You'd need proof." Ayato answered. "Otherwise they wouldn't even consider it."

"You're probably right. But I can't just let this go. She was one of my closest friends."

Ayato took a moment to think about that. If he let it continue like this then Kokona could potentially become a bigger pain than she already was. He already had Junzo playing Sherlock Holmes over at the school. Why couldn't she just get over it?

But then again…

"Kokona."

"What?"

Maybe all of this could work out in his favor..

"You think that another student could be behind this?"

"What?! I hadn't thought of that..." She muttered. "What made you think that?"

"It's just that I remember seeing someone harassing her on my way to school this morning. That's why I was with her when you came by." Ayato said.

"Harassing her?" She echoed, eyes widening.

He leaned in. "I saw them push her against the gates and grab at her sides, yelling about something. But as soon as I got close enough to hear, they ran off. If what your saying is true... then this student..."

"Did you see who it was?! I bet they had something to do with it!" Kokona stomped her foot on the ground. "They won't get away with this!"

"I'll tell you," he said, "but we shouldn't jump to conclusions or do anything rash. We still don't have anything to use against them."

"Ayato just tell me who you saw!"

"..."

"Ayato!"

"Alright, alright." He sighed. "...It was another female student. Her name is Osana Najimi."