*Kiyoko Sasaki's POV*
//June 14, 2040//Thursday//
He is taunting me, and his attitude is what upsets me the most. What we need here is cooperation, and I can't see any intention from this guy cooperating with us in the future.
"I will ask you again, Kei Machida. Where have you been, and what have you been doing for the past month?"
"I told you I'm-"
"A great detective should know that I am someone you shouldn't underestimate. For sure, you know that it is futile giving me your stupid answers."
Machida glared at me with those dead fish eyes of his. That's right, this is how I felt when I first met him. His attitude, everything about him, it pisses me off.
He gave a long sigh and started talking.
"I have been investigating for the past month. Where are we? Why did this happen? All of it. As a detective, I should solve the mysteries of this school that involves you gifted individuals."
"If you have been investigating for quite a while, have you found any clues where we are, and how to get out of this place?" Megumin asked.
Machida has solved cases quickly in the past, and he is called Japan's Greatest Detective. He surely has made some progress in his investigation of what is happening here at Saitei University.
"I'm afraid to tell you that I have not found anything at all."
"No way…" Kanade said.
"The reason why I hid from everyone is that Ichi sees me as a huge threat in this place. If he knew that a great detective like me was here in the first place, he would be hiding things from me that I can use as clues about what this place is."
"Then why haven't you found anything if Ichi doesn't know about your existence?" Asahi asked.
"I assumed that was the case. I thought I could find a lot of things since my existence was unknown. But for the past month, I do not have a single clue that I can use for my investigation. I think Ichi knew that even if there was no one like me inside this place, someone else might find a way to get outside from here if he becomes careless. After all, you people have great talents that he is scared of. no wonder there are no clues that I can use from the beginning. That was a mistake on my part."
"So we still don't have any progress even if a great detective is here?" Ichika asked.
"But even if we still do not have clues right now, Machida will be a huge help to all of us, am I right?"
Raku may be right, but I still have a question for Machida. From the things he answered earlier to my questions, it looks like he was not hiding anything. But, even if Machida will be a huge help for us in the future…
I still have one more question that I am wanting to ask him.
"Machida, if you had an idea that there would be something bad happening to all of us. Then that means you are aware that the students who died on the first day are, correct?"
"Yeah you are right, I know all of them are going to die."
What Machida told me made me furious. I rushed straight to where he is standing and glared at him straight in his eyes. He looked right back at me with a cold gaze like he didn't care for those students who died last month.
"Then why didn't you inform them earlier?! You could have saved a lot of lives!" I yelled.
"Will saving them be beneficial for me?"
*SLAP*
"Big sister! Stop it!"
Out of anger, I slapped Machida on the face because of what he said, and Kanade tried to pull me back away from him.
"What's wrong with my answer, Kiyoko Sasaki?"
"YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED?!"
"Yes I am aware of that, but do you think they deserve to live after what they did to each of you? In the first place, they also knew that they would die if they didn't get a higher score than you people. Do you still think I am out of my mind for letting those trash be killed by Ichi who attacked you in the beginning when all of you were not aware why they are doing those things in the first place?"
"BUT THEY ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO DESERVE TO LIVE!!!"
"I did not care if those people died. If that is what needs to happen for my investigation, then that is it. Kiyoko Sasaki, I know that you think helping each other will solve the problem. But do you think after what happened, you can still lift the spirits of these people who were about to face death earlier?"
"I thought you said that you believe in us?!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!!! Kiyoko Sasaki, you should already know that I am just bluffing earlier to save myself from Ichi."
Kei Machida, I can tell that his intellect and deduction skills are on par with mine, but our difference is, he is only working for himself, and he uses people that he thinks he can benefit from.
Looking at Ichika again, Machida was right, after what happened earlier, some of us were terrified by the things that we experienced, and the fact that we are nowhere to be found, everything is hard to sink in for them. Raku came beside me, and he held my shoulder.
"You may have a point, Machida, but I still believe that Sasaki will find a way to get us out of this place." Raku said.
"I-I also believe in big sister!"
"Kanade… Raku…"
I started to tear up because of them, these two have been believing, and supporting me since the beginning.
I wiped the tears on my face and looked at Machida once again. He may have this way of thinking right now, Ichika looks like she has lost all hope, Hyakuzawa still is hostile to all of us, Asahi, and Megumin were speechless from the things that happened, but I am Kiyoko Sasaki.
I will do my best to convince these people that we can help each other to get out of this place, and defeat Ichi.
"Oh, you have the determination in your eyes once again, Kiyoko Sasaki. Then, I guess there is no point in talking to you people. I'll be taking my leave."
"Wait..."
I tried stopping Machida from leaving, but he just ignored me and went outside.
Damn it! who knows when he will show up again to us? Megumin also stood from her place, and quietly walked towards the exit. She faced all of us and bowed her head down.
"Sorry, everyone... But I need to rest for today. This is too much to sink in." Megumin said.
"The same goes for me…"
Asahi, and Megumin left, as well as Ichika who quietly left the room. I have never seen these three so discomposed.
The first time when Raku and I met these three, they were really cool with the whole situation. They even managed to handle what we are going through in a mature way.
The things Machida said to me a while ago kept repeating inside my head. Yes, I know that this is the first time that almost all of us have experienced death waiting for us, and it can't be helped that the three of them are acting like that.
"Big sister, Are you okay?" Kanade asked.
I remembered that Kanade almost died if not for Machida earlier. My tears began flowing, and I can't hold all my pent-up emotions from earlier.
That frightening experience of losing someone special to me, the feeling that I am helpless against Ichi, and the feeling that I do not have the power to protect these people. Straight away, I hugged Kanade and cried a lot while apologizing to her for not doing anything at all.
"I'm so sorry Kanade… I didn't do anything to protect you... I'm sorry… I'm really sorry."
"It's not your fault, big sister..."
Kanade patted my head and hugged me back. Both of us looked together at Raku, and we also saw him tearing up as well. He might still be guilty because he is blaming himself for what happened today.
"I'm also sorry because of what happened earlier… It's my fault for-."
"DON'T APOLOGIZE IDIOT!!! I am just glad that everyone is still alive." I cried.
That morning I cried so much, and both of them comforted me.
These two, I remembered them doing the same thing to me when I had that nightmare last month. On this day, I understood my feelings that these two really earned my trust, and they have a special place now inside my heart.
I realized that even if our bonds with one another have shattered because of what happened, I still wanted to help everyone in this situation we are in.
******** TO BE CONTINUED ********