This is a behemoth of a chapter that I couldn't chop in half, but also I have poured much into this so yeah, please enjoy!

Rieka

I had just finished getting ready when I heard the doorbell ring. I let out a sigh of frustration, but then I heard my mother going to answer the door.

"Oh, you must be Rieka's new friend!" I heard her exclaim. "Otsuka-chan, right?"

"Yes, that's right." I heard the journalist's voice say, smooth as anything. "Otsuka Jihara. I'm sure your daughter told you, but we are going to be classmates next year at New Hope's Peak."

"Yes, yes, that's right."

I bristled at the charm coming off of Otsuka's voice. No doubt it would disappear the moment we were alone. Oh well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I brushed down the skirt of my dress, and made my way down the stairs.

"Hey there!" I said, cheerfully once I was just over half-way down.

Otsuka, having taken off her admittedly very stylish studded ankle boots, looked up at me. She had an inviting smile on her face, but it seemed to sharpen when she looked at me.

"Do you want to come straight up?" I asked, putting on my best polite voice.

"Sure, sure."

"Do you want a drink, Otsuka-chan?"

Otsuka picked up her bag and straightened, before turning on the charm for my mother once again.

"Not for now thanks, Amasaki-san."

"That's fine. Maybe I'll bring something up later. Nicky and I are baking."

"Sounds fine to me. Rieka, shall we go?"

Now, I wasn't one to be overly stuffy about formalities-that was just the mark of a pretentious person, to me. But Otsuka's casual intimacy in addressing me made me bristle. Naturally, though, I smiled and nodded. My mother went back into the kitchen, and the two of us went back upstairs.

"Welcome to my humble abode," I said sarcastically as I got to my bedroom door and opened it. "Hopefully it won't be too frivolous for you."

"Your room doesn't have anything to do with the investigation, so why would I care about that?" Otsuka retorted.

I bit back my response as I went to the desk and picked up the box. Since I figured with the two of us spreading it out on the floor would be the easiest thing to do, I took it to the middle of my room, sitting on my fluffy rug. Otsuka raised an eyebrow, and sat down as well, eyeing the box greedily and practically pouncing on it the moment she could. I simply waited, letting the contents speak for themselves.

"Alright, so remind me," Otsuka said after a moment, holding up some of Uncle Matsuo's hand-written notes. "How did you come to get this box?"

"Oh, did the name Matsuo Amasaki not ring any bells for you?" I asked, not able to hold back my snideness for this. "Or was your investigating not diligent enough?"

Otsuka narrowed her blue eyes at me before answering.

"One of the main detectives on the original case. There was also a Detective Shizuka Onoe-she's a Superintendent now, but I doubt she's just going to stay at her desk all day with this one. But anyway, I'll bite at your not-so-subtle dig there-he's clearly a relative of yours."

"My uncle." I admitted.

"Okay, and the reason you have these is because?"

"Why not? He can't solve the case himself anymore, he's not on the force. And I'm capable of solving mysteries."

Otsuka snorted at this, but at least had the grace to not cast any more insults. Still, she seemed to be looking down her nose at me, in that sort of sniffy I'm-not-like-other-girls way. Though, to be fair, I guess not that many girls were interested in solving tragic cold cases.

"Well, this is good stuff. Which I presume that you are not going to let me take away with me."

"Hell no. You can make notes or whatever, but don't even think about it." I said hotly.

"I don't suppose you can set up an interview with him, though?" Otsuka asked, her eyes gleaming at the thought. "Even though this case was a complete baffler to law enforcement at the time, their input will be valuable."

I had, actually, anticipated that she would ask this question, and I'd already found a copy of Uncle Matsuo's buisness card in preparation to give her, putting it in my jeans pockets. But for whatever reason, I was feeling stubborn and annoyed by Otsuka.

"Tsh, aren't police and journalists supposed to hate each other?" I asked.

"And I thought you were supposed to be against utter clichés." Otsuka retorted hotly. "But whatever, can you, or can't you?"

"Do you even want to work with me?" I asked. "Or are you just here to get sources and run?"

We stared each other down for a long time, before Otsuka sighed and put down the notes she had been idly flicking through, regarding me curiously.

"Why do you want me to work with you? It's clear we find each other mutually irritating, is it not?"

Well, that much was true, I had to admit. Yet, I hadn't contested Mitsuhide's interest in joining my mystery team, even though I thought much the same of him. Well, sort of. I still thought he was a puffed-up flirt with a narrating style that should've been patented at an insomnia cure, but at the same time, hadn't half this mess started because I'd thought his opinion was worth something once? Similarly, Otsuka was snooty and condescending as all hell, and yet I knew she was good at what she did. I wanted her to see that I was more than some girl spouting opinions on the internet. I was not perfect or special, but I had mettle. I could do things. And this was the perfect opportunity to prove that-of course I was going to strike.

"Ohh, you know what they say, if you can't beat your enemies, join them." I ended up saying instead, grinning. "Or rather, get them to join you."

"I'd hardly call us enemies, despite all this." Otsuka said, raising an eyebrow. "But, you know what, fine. Whatever. I can see some benefits to this so I'll go with your little Nancy Drew escapade."

"My, you are well versed in classic children's mysteries, aren't you?" I couldn't help but tease.

"So, tell me," Otsuka said, apparently choosing to ignore me (which, fair). "Who else will be joining us."

"Mitsuhide Okita, soon to be SHSL Audiobook Narrator, Akemi Koizumi, soon to be SHSL Aptitude, Akagi Benbow, soon to be SHSL Archer and Akio Arisato, soon to be SHSL Lucky Student."

"Lucky Student, huh? So in that respect at least New Hope's Peak is mirroring the old one. Interesting."

"I don't really think that means anything, as such. It didn't really have any bearing with what happened, did it? That year's Lucky Student wasn't in that class." I pointed out.

Otsuka nodded very seriously at this.

"No, you're right. I just wonder how much New Hope's Peak will be mirroring the old. But I plan on finding out tomorrow."

"T-tomorrow?" I stuttered, startled.

"Yeah, didn't you know?"

"Know what?" I asked, frustrated.

"I take it you've not checked your emails or your Student Portal notifications?"

"No…."

Otsuka grinned at this.

"Let me show you."

She took out her mobile phone from her own pockets, and tapped at the screen a few moments before she handed the phone to me. I found myself staring at a message on the Student Portal about 'early-look tours' since the building was apparently at a safe enough stage to do this. It emphasised that though these would be quick since there was still a lot of work to do and there were going to be more in-depth tours closer to the time of expected opening, they would still be an opportunity for the new prospective students to be able to get a sense of where they'd be spending the next three years of their education, as well as ask questions.

Oh boy, are they going to ask questions.

"This could prove pretty useful, couldn't it? Especially if we manage to actually get to talk to Kyosuke Munakata himself." I said.

Otsuka nodded at this.

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

"Well then, that will have to be our team's first meeting, won't it?" I said. "I'll contact them all-they probably won't see it until later, as I think all their schools only end today. But yeah, let's do this!"

Otsuka grinned in agreement, looking as excited as I felt. I handed back her phone, and she slipped it back into her pocket, before returning to surveying the array of papers around us. And as we began to talk about what we knew and thought of the original case, I found myself beginning to actually like her.

…

Tetsuji

As I trudged back to the flat, I looked around, wondering if the girl was still around. Or rather, woman, but considering she had looked a similar age to what Moeka would have been if she'd been alive, I could not help but think of her as being a girl. And there'd been something in the panicked way she had looked at the gate that had seemed so very young. Like she needed to be looked after. But then again, as I'd walked away I'd heard a man's voice, so perhaps she was.

But of course, none of that would have mattered if it wasn't for the fact that she looked familiar. I couldn't place it, but I was convinced that I had seen that face before.

I unlocked the door, and went in, taking the shopping bags to the kitchen and unloading the ready meals and few fresh ingredients into the fridge. And then, once I had done that, taking one of the ready meals out of the fridge, because I was hungry. And as much I didn't want to sit around and eat when I could be doing something, I wasn't completely deranged. I wasn't going to be any use if I passed out from hunger. So, I warmed it up, and once it was done, I took it over to the living room, tucked in, and stewed.

I had been to see Matsuo Amasaki today, knowing that he was retired and just as unable to be directly involved in the investigation as I was. And I thought it had been worth the visit first, as he'd talked to me. For some reason, he only had scans of his notes that he showed me via a tablet, rather than his own notes, but he had shown them to me, and I had shared what I suspected about the other incidences. And we were both sure that the staff of Hope's Peak knew more than they had said. Way more.

"What is it?" I demanded, beginning to get up, but then faltering. "Have you got news?"

"We went to interview Kirigiri again," Matsuo said. "Specifically about the complaints that a number of the class members had about being followed. We specifically mentioned Moeka-chan?"

"And?" I asked. "What did they say? Were they able to give you a name?"

"That's the problem," Shizuka said. "He was quite insistent that there hadn't been any complaints made, at all. "

"But-that's not…are you saying that Moeka was lying to me?"

"That's not all, though," Shizuka continued on briskly. "But we also questioned him closely about how they hadn't had the potential disappearance bought to the school's attention and they staunchly denied having ever received calls or messages from any parent."

That made me rise out of my chair, shaking all over.

"Now that I can tell you is a fucking lie! I called them, Hanami called them, Tsukuda called them! I've even had the mother of Sen'ya Ochiai track us down so we could help her talk to the school! Over and over!"

"Kamiya-san…" Shizuka began, but I cut her off.

"Wait right there! I'll show you!"

The chair was slightly in my way, so I forcefully pushed it away and then went to where I kept my things-I supposed under the circumstances I could keep my phone with me but apparently habit still overruled me. But I had set a new, extra loud ringtone, so if Moeka did call, I would know for sure. That, or my colleagues would be annoyed enough to answer it and pass the phone on to me immediately. But once I found it, I stormed back, unlocking and looking for what I needed as I did. Then, I shoved the phone into Shizuka's face.

"Detective Onoe, look at this and tell me I'm lying."

"What's that?" Matsuo asked.

"It's his call log." Shizuka said shortly, scrolling through it.

There were a few moments of silence while they looked through it. Then, Matsuo looked up at me.

"We'll need to access your phone records. Do you give us permission to do that?" he asked.

I almost deflated from the relief, before remembering there was nothing really to be relieved about. Moeka hadn't been found yet, after all.

"Yes! Take the phone for all I-no, don't, actually. But yes!"

I still had that old phone, and it still had that log of calls. So very many calls, outnumbered only by those I had made to Moeka over that long, long month-and-a-half, back when I still had hope. Matsuo had bought it up, actually, in amongst the things that we had talked about, but then in the end, he had concluded that it was best if I "stayed back and let the ones who are actually detectives do their job". Just thinking about it, I put my chopsticks down in disgust. They'd failed the first time, and technically Matsuo had been a part of that. I'd not said as much, but we'd ended it there, and then I'd gone food shopping since I knew that it'd probably be necessary. And then I had come and sat here, and I was stewing, wondering what to do next.

I was shaking as I walked away from the morgue, rage bubbling up in me. Perhaps there was reason in not having me autopsy my own daughter, but what about the other children? What about them? This was my job, after all, and they would help uncover what had happened to Moeka. Wishy-washy as I thought the expression was, the dead could 'speak' in ways the living couldn't, especially if the living weren't even speaking. Why they thought that they could get anything from any of them when they'd been so stubborn-

My thoughts ground to a halt as I realised that I was heading to one of the interview rooms. I stopped, and tried to collect myself for a moment, when suddenly the door opened, and I saw the forensic psychologist herding a girl out. I stared at her pink hair for a moment.

"Azami."

"Oh, what are you doi-"

They paused, but though Nobuyuki looked at me cautiously, Azami didn't react. Instead, she looked down, her hands in the pockets of her lilac hoodie, seeming to sway slightly.

I stepped forward, putting myself in her line of vision, even bending ever so slightly to try and gain some sort of eye contact.

"Azami, it's Moeka's dad. Can't you tell me, what happened? What happened to Moeka?"

"Hey, Kam-"

"What happened to her, Azami? Did you see it? Did you see what happened to Moeka, or did the murderer take her away from you all."

Azami lifted her head slightly, but her gaze seemed far away, somewhere over my shoulder, and a little part of me noticed that her face seemed blank. But still, I pressed on.

"Azami, answer me, please. Moeka was your friend, wasn't she? Yours and Akari's, too. She really liked both of you, she told me that."

"Akari…." Azami murmured.

"Yes, I know, Akari died too, so tell me!" I grabbed her shoulders. "Azami, just tell me!"

Azami blinked, and mumbled something, wrapping her arms around herself almost absently. I strained to hear it, though what I did hear sounded like nonsense. But it couldn't be. It couldn't be. She had to know something.

"What was that? What did you say?"

"Kamiya-san, what do you think you are doing?"

I felt someone grab at my shoulders and pull me back, and I stumbled, letting go of Azami before rearing back and looking to see Matsuo, alongside a couple of rookies.

"Arisato-kun, Matsumoto-kun, help Kurosawa-san take Azami back. I don't want her to become more upset. Kishinami-san, I am so sorry about this."

"I, that's fine…"

"Yes, sir!" Arisato said, before he and Gabe went to do just that.

I watched as they flanked the girl, as if shielding her from me. For her part, Azami had seemed to fold into herself, looking down again, taking whatever answers she had with her. I noticed a short woman accompanying them, looking a little overwhelmed as she flicked glances between us and Azami, and I watched as they disappeared.

"What did you do that for?" I demanded. "I was talking to her!"

"Exactly!" Matsuo stormed. "It's one thing for you to try and keep doing your job during all this, but what do you think you're doing, interrogating a vulnerable witness?"

"She saw what happened! She must have! She must have!"

"Yes, and she's catatonic, or didn't you notice this? You also had to do it in front of her mother, didn't you? I'll have to go and formally apologise to her later."

I glared mutinously, but Matsuo seemed just as furious.

Thinking of that, it somehow wasn't surprising that Matsuo was trying to warn me off, just like everyone else was in the end. I could just ignore him though, the same as I would be for everyone else trying to dissuade me. I could mostly do this alone, anyway, at least until I needed to get my findings substantiated. And there was at least the journalist girl. If Kenichi and Harada decided to be stubborn and not give me any morsels for whatever reason, she would at least do so.

With a sigh, I got up to throw away the carton and chopsticks, and it was as I was washing my hands, it hit me. No, wait, could it be? I dried my hands quickly, and returned to the living room as fast as my leg would allow me, before going over to the wall where I had made, well, a makeshift 'wall' –which included photographs of Class 78-B as they had been then. I went right up to it, and plucked a photograph up.

"Azami Kishinami."

That's who it was. Of course it was. Black-haired, older, but it was definitely her. Now that I had her in my head, I could say it was her.

"So, she's come back? For the investigation?" I wondered aloud, the picture trembling in my hand. "And she's here?"

Even better, she was no longer a catatonic teenager, a vulnerable witness. I wouldn't get into trouble for talking to her this time, and maybe this time she'd be able to shed some light.

But first, I had to wait for her to come back.

…

Ritsuka

"Okay, and then he was lik-heyy, Nerd, are you even listening to me?" Tasuku's voice, having been going along in its usual cheerful pratter suddenly took on a whining note over the bleeping of his video game.

"Sure sure, you're totally getting ribbed because you've got to take summer classes." I said tiredly, looking up from my laptop screen. "Didn't I say you probably should've studied for the end-of-terms?"

"Ritsuuuuuu." Tasuku pouted at me, but I just stared back, and eventually he dropped the look.

"Don't tell me to change your scores on the school system cos you know what my answer will be."

"Yeah, yeah."

Tasuku rolled his eyes, and I rolled them in return, earning yet another pout.

"So, what are you trying to hack into this time?" he asked, jokingly. "Your scores?"

"My scores are perfectly adequate, because I actually studied," I replied cuttingly. "But, I'm not actually hacking. I'm browsing the internet."

"Oh?"

Tasuku paused his game, apparently intrigued, and then came over to the worn sofa I was sitting on, sitting down heavily and peering over my shoulder.

"'No need to worry about missing teenagers because they are SHSL-former Principal's comments cause outrage', Ritsu, what's all this about?"

"Hope's Peak." The obviously went unsaid, but I was fairly sure it was clear enough in the first place.

"This is all the stuff about the old school, right?" Tasuku asked curiously. "The stuff that happened with your cousin. Why're you looking at it?"

"Why not?" I asked flippantly. But as soon as I did, I felt the need to explain, despite myself.

"I mean, I've just been invited to New Hope's Peak, and this is a significant portion of the old one's history, and one that's still really unclear. After all, nobody knows what happened in there, let alone who was responsible."

Though, he does, doesn't he? I thought of Eikichi Hanamura, the cousin I had never met. He didn't have much of an online presence, but from what I had been able to find, it was hard to say how affected he had been by whatever he'd been through. He always looked contained and serious in photographs, and he hadn't abandoned the skill behind the title he'd once had. I had also noted that we shared a hair colour, which meant that that particular shade of green was clearly a Hanamura family feature, but that did not really have any relevance to anything.

"Are you scared?" Tasuku asked after a moment of considering this.

"No. But I'm curious."

This made Tasuku grin at me.

"Of course you are."

"What's that meant to mean?" I asked.

"Noooothing."

I gave him a look, and he just grinned wider. Shaking my head at him, I returned to reading the different articles that I had turned around.

"Wasn't one of the theories that Hope's Peak itself was responsible, and they were just trying to cover things up with that uncaring act?" He asked after a moment.

"That does seem likely-especially as most so-called 'elite' schools are almost unbelievably protective of their cohorts." I considered. "But I'm not so sure it's quite that simple."

"Perhaps you could some digging and find out?" Tasuku suggested. "After all, this sorta thing is right up your street."

I pursed my lips and let out a breath, re-considering the many things that I had been considering over the past few days. Including my own curiosity. Eventually, I answered:

"I mean, I'm going on the tour."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that at school, I think. What was it, some sort of exclusive 'first look'? And tomorrow as well."

"Yeah. Read the email if you want."

I clicked back on the tab that had had it open, and passed my laptop over to Tasuku, who read it for a moment, before handing it back.

"Maaan, I wish I could come with you. A first look inside the murder school."

"This is a new building," I corrected. "Besides, the incident took place in what was basically the middle of nowhere."

"Right, right."

"Also, your classes start tomorrow, don't they?"

"Yeeeeah-what about Erica-san? Is she coming with you?"

"She has work all day-has to cover someone else's shift or something." I said, matter-of-fact as I could.

Tasuku nodded at this, extra serious about it. He didn't ask about anyone else coming, and instead idly picked up his game, regarding it, while I went back to reading.

"Is she working late tonight, too?" she eventually asked.

"Mhm."

"Want to come next door for dinner?"

"Nah, there's a meal in the fridge."

"Then I will keep you company-otherwise you'll just sit there all night all sad and lonely, my poor little Nerd."

This made me glance over at him once again and give the dirtiest, most unimpressed look that I could possibly muster, before going back to reading again and pointedly asking:

"Don't you have studying to do?"

"Yeah, but it's all at home anyway."

"Well then, if you really want to, bring it over."

"Fiiiine. I'll be back in a tick. Shall I let myself out?"

"You know how."

Tasuku laughed at that before getting up. I listened to the sounds of him getting up and leaving, and then, I let out a huge sigh, staring at the article I had on the screen-yet another speculating about Hope's Peak role, focusing on Kazuo Tengan in particular as well as how the planned party hadn't been cancelled until the very last moment possible. It was the type of stance that could mean anything, but either way it probably wasn't anything good. That didn't stop me from wanting to know more.

And I knew I would, soon enough. Probably. I wasn't going to go all HEY I'M GONNA BE A DETECTIVE, the way that person on the forum had been, but it would be interesting to see if there was anything there that could hint towards what had happened. Closing the tab, I read the next article, and then the next, gathering more information and yet feeling the lack of real information. As I did, though, a part of me wondered what it would be like for Eikichi. How did he feel about all this? How was he reacting to having it all raked up? That in particular was not something that I was likely to find out, but still, a part of me wanted to know that, too.

When I heard Tasuku arrive back again, I sighed, and decided to power down my laptop. More than likely the guy was going to whine through his homework, and I would need to provide vague reassurances as well as reminders to not procrastinate. But I didn't mind. We were friends, after all.

And for a while, it'd take my mind off of tomorrow.

…

Evalynn

"Alright then. Thanks so much for your time!"

I turned around as Gabe put down the phone, and then typed something on the computer.

"Who was that you were talking to?" I asked, curiously.

"Jun Yamamoto, younger brother of Seiko." He said. "I got the feeling he was set adrift after her death, poor thing. He'd only have been about 14 or 15 when she died."

"Yes, yes, but what did he say?" I said, a little impatiently.

"Well," Gabe said, even and considered. "He was quick to mention that he didn't know much, because Seiko-chan had been very private even with him. But he had met some of her friends, and he did hear a few bits about how some of them had thought they were being followed-which of course corroborates many previous statements. But there was something up that came up that was interesting."

"Oh, what is it?" I asked curiously.

"Apparently she had been working on a new script." Gabe started.

"Okay, and? That's not so surprising, is it?"

"Well, no, but apparently she was collaborating with some other director and it was meant to be all hush-hush because of it. I got the sense that Jun-kun thought that she might not have been fully onboard with that aspect though-as if she was under pressure to keep it secret." Gabe said, frowning now as he recalled this. "But there wasn't any evidence of any new projects either at her dorms, or in her childhood bedroom."

"There's been some efforts by fans to find her 'lost works'" another detective I didn't know piped up. "Didn't some of her camcorders and things go missing too?"

"Yes, he mentioned that too, actually!" Gabe exclaimed. "It was something that Seiko had mentioned to him-she'd thought she'd misplaced a camera. He wasn't too clear on the details and honestly I don't think he knew all that much anyway."

"The question is, how does all of that help us?" I asked.

There was a silence as those in the incident room who had been listening considered this.

"Well, I guess that we'd know that once more information comes in! Like how we managed to narrow down where they were being held based on all the reports of 'unusual activity'." Gabe concluded brightly.

I looked back at the board, where sure enough, that map that we'd poked so many goddamn pushpins into, trying to find a point where they all intersected before either Juro or Gabe (it easily could've been both at the same time) realised that since they formed a circle, perhaps the answer was within the circle. We'd then replaced the pushpins with stickers, though I couldn't remember why that was. The map had been an old one back then, I was honestly surprised it hadn't fallen apart in the intervening years. Oh well, that's hardly the point.

The door opened, and I jumped slightly as Superintendent Shizuka Onoe came in. She looked around with her piercing gold eyes, assessing what was going on.

"How have things been going?" She asked.

"We're getting there, Superintendent!" Gabe said. "Would you like a progress report?"

"Just a brief summary will do for now." Shizuka said, nodding.

Eager beaver, I mouthed at Gabe cheekily as he did so, talking about his call with Seiko's brother as well as some other things. A few of the others in the room also chimed in.

"That's good." She said after hearing all this. "I think it is going to be worth chasing down some of the less prominent staff in Hope's Peak, as well as some of the students from other classes, as it is entirely possible that they might have spotted something that 78-B weren't in a position to spot. They may also feel more inclined to talk about it now, even if they hadn't been before."

"Yeah, that makes sense to me. I'm still trying to get ahold of the Principal's kids."

"Alright, but don't spend too much time on that. In the meantime, I'm taking a thirty minute nap now. I've set my alarm. If anything urgent comes up, please feel free to interrupt it."

Just as she turned around, a phone rang. Gabe practically leaped to reach it.

"Hello? Oh, hi there, everything okay? Mhmmm-oh really? No, of course, gimme a moment, okay?"

Putting the phone down on the table, Gabe looked over at Shizuka.

"It's the techs. They think they've cracked the tablet things."

"Electro-IDs." The other detective supplied.

"Yes, those!" Gabe exclaimed. "I need to go assist with the other case over in Sex Crimes, so Evalynn, could you go?"

"Sure I can." I said, already excited.

"I'll accompany you, Detective Dupont-so ignore my previous decision about the nap." Shizuka said unexpectedly.

"O-oh. Right. Alright, sure!" I said after a moment of gormless staring.

"Brilliant!" Gabe picked up the phone again and said. "Okay, Superintendent Onoe and Detective Dupont will be with you in a bit-yeah, no, it's fine! Yeah, I'll tell Biki you said hi! Alright, I have to go now, bye!"

"Well then, we had better set off, hadn't we?" Shizuka told me.

"Oh, um, yes. You lead the way!" I said, making a slight dramatic gesture out into the corridor.

…

When we got down there, Shizuka immediately reached into the pockets of her tailored blue jacket, and pulled out a pair of white gloves. Thinking to follow suit, I looked around, and luckily spotted a box of disposable gloves, so I grabbed two of those, and then went over to the table that the tech was waiting for us at.

"Alright, so what do you have?" Shizuka asked crisply before I could drawl the same question.

"Well, it all centers on this little thing."

The tech held a pair of tweezers aloft. In them at the moment appeared to be a small, thin black circle.

"This was found in Kimiko Tsukuda's coffin during her exhumation." He said, pleased with himself. "It corresponds with a small injury that was noticed during the re-examination of her body."

"Okay, and?"

"Well, it's clearly a bug of some sort." The tech said, looking pleased. "So at the very least, Kimiko Tsukuda was being tracked. But of course, without the rest of the kit, it's hard to know why. Or rather, it was. Take a look at this. "

The tech put this down in the center of the table, and picked up two black objects.

"Those are what we assume are the trackers for the bugs-they were attached to the security cameras as well as some lighting, as I'm sure you might recall."

"I do remember, yes." Shizuka said.

For my part, I just nodded, again feeling a little gormless. Yet, at the same time, I knew we were building up to something.

"Well, as it turns out, they act as a sort of receiver as well as a tracker for those tablet things-the Electro-IDs as well. "

A couple of these Electro-IDs, each about the same size as your average tablet, was also on the table. The tech rearranged these on the table, and all of a sudden, the screen flashed into life, showing an outline-drawing style map of something that looked a lot like the floorplans for the ground floor of Shirohata-but not as it had been. Rather, this was how it had looked with all the modifications made. Outside of the map, a red dot pulsated. I stared at it for a moment, and then recognition dawned and I leaned forward.

"Wait, is that the bug right there?"

"That's right, Detective Dupont. To be exact, it's-"

Naturally, the tech then went on to describe what was happening in very meticulous technical detail, all of which was precise and impressive and exactly what we would need for reports later on. For now, though, it completely bent my brain.

"Woah, woah, woah. Japanese, please. Or French or English, whatever."

"I too would like it explained in slightly simpler terms, please. I'm sure my daughter would know exactly what you meant, but unfortunately I am not that technically inclined."

I blinked in surprise at Shizuka mentioning her daughter-she didn't often pad her requests with personal details, unless it was part of her interrogation strategy. But it worked, because where my joke had resulted in a blank look, her request simply made the tech sigh deeply, and try again.

"Essentially, this was tracking created specifically for one particular setting-the school that the kids were trapped in. The bugs can be picked up by a bug detector, but you wouldn't actually be able to use them to track the object or person they were implanted in without the use of these devices-"

Here, the tech gestured to the Electro-IDs and the receiver/tracker things. Shizuka picked up one of the Electro-IDs, and examined it, while I looked at one of the things. Okay, so I didn't understand the techie side, fully, but all the same, my detective brain was whirring, making connections, deductions, things slipping into place. Shizuka's face was as impassive as always, but I'd be surprised if her mind wasn't doing similar.

"Additionally, it looks like that these tablets were finger-print activated, but not obviously so-suffice to say that the explanation is probably a little too specialist for me to condense into layman's term, but ordinarily it's designed so that only particular fingerprints-as detected by the device, allow it to be accessed. Otherwise, it doesn't have any kind of security lock."

"Have you managed to get past that?" Shizuka asked.

"But did you manage to crack that though?" I asked at the same time.

We both looked at each other, and I rubbed the back of my head and laughed awkwardly before listening to what the tech said.

"I got past a layer of it, and there's this menu-here, I'll show you on the other one."

The tech picked up the other Electro-ID, and tapped at it. The map flashed on the screen for a moment, also with the dot outside of it. Another few taps, and a list appeared. He turned it around to show it to us. Like the map, it was white on a dark blue background and read:

MAIN MENU

-PROFILES
-MAPS
-RULES
-TRUTH BULLETS
-SETTINGS

"Before you ask, nope, haven't managed to get beyond that yet-well, apart from the settings which is just font and background colour and things like that. But, with that being said, all this is honestly not the most interesting part of all this."

"Oh? What is?" I asked.

Suddenly, the tech looked a little worried.

"What's the matter, Kaegyama-san?" Shizuka asked immediately.

"This technology-not just in isolation, but the way it all works together? These might have been used in 2019, but truthfully-nothing like this actually existed in 2019. If it did, it would have been in extremely early development stages, if even that. More than likely, things like this would have been little more than ideas being thrown around in particular tech companies."

"So, that means whoever made these would have been very advanced in their technological knowledge?" Shizuka asked.

"Or working for such a company?" I asked as well.

"Yes, to both of those."

Shizuka and I exchanged a look.

"I don't suppose you have any knowledge of particular companies that would have been making things like this." She asked.

"No, but I can certainly make inquiries." He replied.

"Good," Shizuka nodded briskly as she put the Electro-ID she was holding back down. "Do that. Thank you for this, Kage-"

"Wait!" I blurted out. "Sorry, Superintendent, but I have one more question."

"Go ahead, Detective."

"So, the bug. You said it was implanted-where?"

"Oh, yes, I don't think I did say-it had, of course, fallen away, but the implication was that it was embedded in a part of Kimiko Tsukuda's ear. Or rather, the side of her head, in a small section directly behind the ear. "

"Behind…her ear?"

My mind whirred even more, and things slotted into place. Four of them complained their ears hurt-could it really be…..? I whipped around to face Shizuka.

"Superintendent Onoe-?"

"Yes, I know."

The grim look on her face told me that my deduction was most likely correct, and without so much as a goodbye to the now bewildered looking tech, we both swept out of the room with a sense of urgency.

At last, things were coming together.

…

Mai

After Eizo finished his funny awkward-colleague story, we lapsed into another silence in which we all stared at each other. This had been happening fairly often, as we all sized each other up, feeling the way to being together once again. I hadn't taken into account that we'd be total strangers, which had been really silly of me. But encountering Ayuna had allowed me to feel, feel so many different things. And perhaps deep down I had imagined that even though we'd been apart, there'd be bonds between us all the same, tying each other together. And hearing that Eizo had managed to have chance encounters with both Ayuna and Azami, along with the knowledge that Friede and I had had something in common, that had made it easier to believe in that.

But of course, being confronted with the reality was different. Even though Eizo was still amusing (though not in the constant, full-on way as before), even though Ayuna had staved off the previous silences of the day either with witty conversation starters of her own, or by ordering more cakes and drinks, the laughter still felt forced, the words somewhat unnatural. And for the most part, we had not been able to reminisce, the way old friends usually would. Not when all the memories lead down one road.

"So..."

I startled, not having expected Azami to have spoken up. She definitely looked well-so, so much better than she had back then-no thanks to me, I thought before forcing the thought down. But most of this time, she had been quiet. She had offered up little of her own life story, and she seemed to be looking to Eizo to guidance most of the time. They've seemed to particularly connect, haven't they? I remembered that they'd been an 'item' back then, but as far as I could tell they'd been very young about their relationship. I wondered if this time, it would blossom into a proper romance, if perhaps after this they'd be able to build a life together. That would be nice for them, in my opinion.

"So…." Azami swallowed, and tried again. "I'm not fully sure I understand. What happens now. Are we all going to go to the police together?"

"I assumed that would be best, yes." Ayuna nodded.

"Couldn't we just refuse?" Azami asked. "What do the others think, do you know?"

"Yeah, I can't imagine the likes of Hanamura being all 'yeah sure let's do this'." Eizo said. "He was pretty pro-promise."

Free had been, too, I recalled. The defining words, We have to promise….,summarising all our fears and worries into one, I remembered them in Friede's voice. But, she had been a particularly dear friend, and she was a mother like me. A bereaved mother. I didn't want Ayuna or Eizo lambasting her before she got here.

"I've been reading the newspapers the officers bring in, and there has been a lot of coverage, you know." Eikichi said.

As if to illustrate his point, he held up a newspaper, folded to a page with a headline that screamed '78-B DEATHS-NEW DETAILS REVEALED MAKE THE MYSTERY MURKIER'. Next to it, in a small column, I could just about make out another headline 'WORLD FAMOUS SCHOOL CONTINUES TO EVADE RESPONSIBILITY'. We all looked at it for a moment and .

"I didn't realise that the media controlled the police." Takaaki muttered insolently, returning to plating with that puzzle he'd picked up from…well, somewhere. Perhaps it had been from one of those storerooms and he'd had it in his pocket, or maybe it had been with all those gifts and things that seemed to be accumulating since our rescue.

I still couldn't believe how much our disappearance had been noticed.

"Well, no, they don't." Ayuna said. "But I guess that they're going to be pretty persistent, huh?"

"But we still can't tell them anything though, right?" Eizo asked. "You know, like we were saying before and all that?"

"Well I'M not talking about it." Takaaki interjected.

"I don't want to, either." Friede murmured. I noticed her wrapping her arms around herself, and I tried to smile at her.

"Hey, I'm sure it will all be alright," I said. "The police have all been nice, and they just want to find out what happened, so they can punish whoever killed them."

"If they found out about what really happened , do you really think they would be nice, Sadie-san?"

I gaped at Eikichi's stern expression, for some reason feeling more shaken by it than I had before, even than in the grimmer moments when it had seemed that all our lives were at stake. Feeling my lip tremble, I clamped down on it determinedly, before looking to Azami and taking her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. It was a good thing, probably, that she wasn't really hearing this conversation.

"It's bad enough we watched Fumi and those others die, I don't want to have to…describe it." Eizo said shakily.

"No, I don't either." Ayuna added.

She used a finger to trace the line of the scar that ran up her inner right arm, and for a moment our eyes were distracted by the motion. Remembering how it happened.

"They'll keep asking though, won't they?"

Takaaki looked up properly this time, his green eyes intense under his fringe-which had become increasingly messier since our rescue. The puzzle fell from his hand, and though he didn't seem to notice it, I scrambled to pick it up.

"Yes, Jinsai, that's how investigations work." Eikichi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It is very likely that even if we're allowed to go back to our lives now, they will keep asking, and keep looking for the truth, and then…."

He trailed off, sighing in exasperation. He didn't really need to finish off his sentence, though.

"Perhaps it's best if we didn't talk about it, then?" I suggested, tentatively as I handed the puzzle to Takaaki and went back to sit down. "I mean, it's already hard to anyway, so…"

"Well I mean, that could work, I guess. But that would mean I can't ever talk about Seiko and that's…well, I don't want to do that, and I don't imagine that you all really want to stop talking about them!" Ayuna sounded almost pleading. "They were our friends!"

"Ehehe, yeah, that's a point too…" Eizo started, somewhat hesitantly.

"No!"

"Free?" I asked in concern, looking at her in surprise.

"What's up with you?" Takaaki asked in surprise.

"No," Friede repeated, sitting up straight and unwrapping her arms from around herself to grip the arms of the chair. "No, we have to promise."

"We have to promise to not talk about it again?" Eikichi asked, incredulity in his voice.

"Yeah," Friede nodded. "We have to promise."

"There are many things that need talking about," Ayuna's voice jerked me back to the present. "and I'm not just going to let everyone brush them under the rug."

I opened my mouth to say something like it, and then I closed it. Brushing things under the rug was more or less what I had done, all these years. Brushed it all under the rug, and then built my life on top of it. How could I rebuke her, even though she was weakening those foundations? Absently, I checked the time, imagining what I would have been doing were this an ordinary day. I hoped that soon, it would be an ordinary day again.

Suddenly, a phone ringtone blared out, and we all startled slightly. Ayuna took out her phone, and looked at it.

"Looks like I have a message from Hanamura-" she tapped at her phone to unlock it and read it, then started to tap a reply as she spoke. "Looks like he and his fiancée are a little ahead of schedule, they should be here soon."

"Niiice, that only leaves Jinsai and Heiwa!" Eizo said, grinning widely for a moment, before something seemed to occur to him and the enthusiasm dimmed. Azami scrutinised him, and noticing her gaze, Eizo gave her a dazzlingly reassuring smile.

Ayuna put her phone away once her reply had been sent, and put it back in her pocket, and once again, there was a silence in which we all regarded each other. I recalled long-distant silly conversations, makeshift karaoke in the minivan on the trip, splashing in puddles and watching fireworks and getting ready for the school festival and other things. Memories that all led down one road, in the end.

"Jinsai-kun? What are you doing in there?"

Friede and I peered into the small alcove under the stairwell, where Takaaki was sitting apparently…upside down? I scratched my head in confusion.

"Isn't that uncomfortable?" I followed up, when there was no answer.

"Should it be uncomfortable?" came the response, somewhat bitingly.

"I…erm….if you're comfortable, then…?"

Takaaki gave a big sigh, then sat up the correct way around, and opened his eyes, though he did nothing to brush off the layer of dust that seemed to have accumulated all over him since lunch time-assuming he had been here that long, that was.

"Did you know this is one of the few places that isn't in view of the cameras?"

"Is it really?" Friede asked in interest. Instantly, she turned around and looked around her. I just looked between her and Takaaki in mild confusion. Eventually, she turned, smiling, blue eyes gleaming.

"As far as I can tell, he is right!" she said.

"Oh…well….it's like the storerooms, isn't it?" I said after a moment. "After all that was why we didn't have any footage of what happened with Kiran-kun."

"Ah yes, Nanakai. That is what I was thinking of, actually." Takaaki said glibly.

Both Friede and I stared, waiting for him to elaborate, if he decided to. And sure enough, he did.

"If you think about it, he was kind of lucky."

"Lucky?" Friede asked, tone becoming clipped. "In what sense could being bashed over the head be called lucky?"

"In what sense could being impaled repeatedly then suffocated in a coffin, amongst other things, be considered lucky? Or being squashed to death?" Takaaki retorted. "However, in all seriousness, that would actually be the answer. Nanakai never had to experience that, did he? He hasn't had to see everyone die."

"I…that's…that's a grim way of putting it." I said after a moment.

Takaaki simply stared at the two of us, as if he had been expecting a different answer.

Feeling my bag vibrate, I scrambled for my own phone, and fished it out. Juro's name flashed on the screen-as a normal call, rather than video. But all the same, I felt my heart go in my throat.

"Sadi-I mean, Mai, you okay there?" Eizo asked.

"Yeah, just….let me get out-" as Azami got up to let me stand, I answered the call. "Juro?"

"Mai, my love, where are you now?"

Though I knew Juro was trying to be reassuring, I could still detect the note of urgency in his voice and almost immediately I felt myself begin to tremble.

"I'm in The Nonoka Café-why, Juro? Has something happened? Akio? Sachi?"

"They're fine, the kids are fine. But Mai, you remember the Towa Private Hospital, yes?"

Even though I didn't want to, I most certainly did. It was the hospital we'd been flown to immediately after rescue.

"I..yes, but why, Juro?"

"Nonoka Café, she said, that isn't too far." I heard Juro say to someone on his side, before he then returned to addressing me. "Mai, can you try and get to the hospital as soon as possible? I can't tell you why over the phone, but you need to come. And if you can reach the other survivors to tell them, that would be good too."

"I, but…" I looked to Eizo, Azami and Ayuna, who were all watching me. "Juro, why?"

"I wish I could tell you now, Mai, but it's really, really important that you come over. It's to do with the case-there's been an important breakthrough but…well, it'll be easier to explain once you are there. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, that's okay. I…" I took a shaky breath. "We'll come together. We'll be there soon."

"Okay, Mai. You just get yourself here as soon as you can. I'll be waiting for you at the reception, along with Evalynn."

"Okay…S-see you then."

I hung up, stared at my phone for a moment.

"Mai?"

I looked up, and gulped. How was I going to explain this? Even I didn't understand. Towa Private Hospital?

"I…I think you might need to tell Hanamura-kun that the plans have changed."

Characters introduced this chapter:

Survivors

Friede Anabuki (nee Benbow), former SHSL Interpreter (created by: PainX65)
Takaaki Jinsai, former SHSL Philosopher (created by: Shirasaur)

Investigators

Shizuka Onoe, Police Superintendent (created by: Lupus Overkill)

Prospectives

Ritsuka Nishimiya, SHSL Hacker (created by: arans)

HI I DID NOT EXPECT TO INTRO THIS MANY CHARACTERS THIS CHAPTER. But, it happened anyway. But anyway, since I've basically neglected ASIB now, for a while I will work on that more. I'm gonna explain things more in a status update for both fics on my profile, but yeah. Anyway, as always, hope you enjoyed, and leave feedback if you can :)