Rumor

"How's her?" Yukawa asked me after I enter the laboratory. By this time, he already freed me from the rope. I joined the circle that they made so that we can talk about what happened.

"I can't convince her with words," I replied.

"Any wound can't be healed with words. Let's leave her alone for a while."

"But…" I stuttered with drawn eyebrows as I worry about her.

"Don't worry, we are all here. No danger can touch her," he assured. I sit down on the floor after.

The meeting not only exists to clarify my innocence but also to narrow down suspects in today's mystery.

"The murder happened only here, yesterday. Whoever did this murder, he or she must only be in this room last night. The three of us in the other room can vouch for ourselves," Yukawa announced.

"How can you say that you're innocent? Are you putting the blame on us?" Rise complained.

"He seems to be correct, Rise. If you think of it, this murder could only be done with an accomplice," Manabu added.

"Correct, Manabu. You're scary sharp. You guys also planned a sleep rotation, right? If a murder happens, someone should be watching over. I heard that they're the two who are tasked at the evening," Yukawa explained.

"You are really suspecting us!" Rise shouted.

"Hey, loud woman, if you're not even thinking straight, zip your mouth straight too," Manabu complained because he seems to be holding out his anger from her loudness since the first day.

"Are you the boss here? How dare you command me!?"

"Do you even know our situation, you spoiled freak!? You're dying soon, yet you're still demanding!"

"Please, stop!" I shouted to be the middle force of stopping the fight. "Both of you… please be quiet… Yukawa's already…"

Out of guilt, Rise looked away with clenched jaws and red cheeks. On the other hand, Manabu clicks his tongue while looking at me with his brows drawing closer. It is too doubtful, unlike the first time he clicks his tongue at me.

"Let's continue. The two are the lookouts in the evening, right? The murder only happened in this room. That means they're attacked but someone. The question isn't just who, but how," Yukawa explained. "As far as I remember, I didn't see strangle marks on their necks. Can you double-check, Manabu?"

Their bodies are still on the tables of the laboratory, covered in blankets. We decided to watch over the bodies so they don't vanish without a trace. But the moment Manabu tried to slip at the blankets… "No… They're just pillows!"

"What!?" Yukawa exclaimed as he rushed toward the bodies. His eyes dilated after confirming what Manabu said. Their bodies were replaced with pillows under the blankets. Yukawa tried checking the laboratory tables but there are no holes or indicators of mechanisms in there.

"How? Just how!? It's just too impossible," Yukawa exhaustedly doubt.

"This world… it's so strange. I want to go home now…" I stuttered with shaking lips.

Yukawa goes near me and taps my back. "We'll definitely go home. Don't worry."

"You should stop your false hopes, Yukawa. There were too many victims already," Manabu said.

"I'm not lying nor fulfilling her imagination. I am keeping my promise. Moving on, whatever method the murderer has used, there's no blood present.

"If it's possible, it's poisoning that happened. The chemicals are still in the drawer. But dissolving it with water is too obvious, even if it's not reached its acidic content."

"How did they poison them?" I asked.

"That's what I also wanted to know. There's not even a DIY sleeping powder that can be crafted here. If the murderer tried to poison them, he or she must have done it beforehand. If they forced the poison on them, the two should be resisting. In this case, no one heard their scream.

"I don't want to waste more time harming each other. With the eight of us present here, we will practice suspicion by democracy. Can we all agree to that?"

"Will it be a reliable source? Some of us might have grudges against each other and use it as revenge," Manabu said and stares at Rise.

"Why are you looking at me?" Rise asked with a clenched jaw.

"And I'll add, Yukawa. There's someone here winning favorable votes based on popularity. I'll doubt it will be a fair decision just with that. It's just too scared that there's a chance that a prey is working with a hunter," Manabu added.

"Why are you attacking me!? Speaking of revenge, you're the one who's doing that!" Rise complained.

"I have no choice but to pick a method of elimination. If you have something in mind, good, but what I'm doing now is our last resort.

"We'll begin after ten minutes, and if no other methods are defined, we'll resort to democracy. I'll try to convince Hirari if she can join us for this. Her vote is the most essential," Yukawa said.

After Yukawa left the room, the remaining people group themselves according to their own accord. The boys and the girls gathered, leaving me alone. I went to the window and stare at the scenery which seems to be blurry.

A minute passed, Manabu approached me. "I want to talk about something important? Can we speak in private?"

I followed him to the corner where no one can hear us, but I can feel someone's stare behind me. Whatever feeling it is, there is pressure in it.

"Saori, I'm serious about this, but please listen."

"What is it all of a sudden?"

"Please, be careful around Yukawa. You might not know him before, but I am."

"Why are you telling me this, and why did you suddenly approach me? Are you planning something behind my back?" I asked worryingly.

"Tsk! Stop your act," he whispered angrily. "I'm saying this because you're the most vulnerable to us. You're the one nearest to him. I'll be honest with my life on a bet, I am not the hunter. But Yukawa, there were too many things that make him suspicious."

"But I don't see him do such acts."

"He's already wary of me being suspicious of him, calling me 'scary sharp'. I'm afraid I'll be the next victim. We are all murdered one by one, and him being calm makes me shake."

"He already said that matter to me yesterday. He said he's having a hard time showing his true feelings because if not, then our group will fall down without an ideal leader."

"You still believe that? Did you see his face when he said that?"

"He is…" I stuttered with dead air next to it. Manabu is right. When he said those words to me, he's looking without even a pinch of sympathy on his face.

"I'm once his classmate, and I know him very well, and how he leads a team. He's the type to leave everyone hanging with his deceitful words. He already broke too many promises that lead us to our downfall.

"So don't expect him to let you out in his hell hole because he's the reason why we were given our worst times."

"He already opened to me, maybe some stories about his past. Thereby, I have trusted him."

"Then… Do you know the rumor that is still unanswered among our batch?" Manabu asked with serious and heavy eye contact.

Those eyes are telling me that I should believe him no matter what. "What is it?"

"Then you shouldn't trust him now. I'm doing this for you."

"I'll think about it, but what about the rumor? What is it?"

"He… already killed a person…" Manabu whispered with an assurance that no one could hear us.

The moment those words entered my ears, I unconsciously shook my head in denial. I stutter and stammer knowing that a kind person wouldn't do such a thing. "I… It's not true… It can't be…"

"As I said, it's a rumor, but without you knowing, you will realize that you're standing on a dangerous pedestal," Manabu said.

Yukawa opened the door and announces the start of the elimination, but notices me and Manabu talking about something in the corner. His stare at us is not even showing doubt, but it's too scary seeing him looking down at us.

"You two… What are you talking about?"