Asuka's eyes were wide, her eyebrows raised, and her face embodied primal fear.
Everyone in the garden, under the fairy lights, turned to look at her. The sharp noise of crockery hitting the concrete pavement filled the air, and her clothes were covered in hot ramen broth.
She screamed.
One of the tables, previously occupied by a single gentleman, was now vacant. The man lay dead on the floor.
Many customers left immediately, some abandoning their untouched food on the table.
Asuka's knees weakened with fear, but Toru caught her before she fell unconscious.
Himawari noticed the commotion, and Lilly, along with Akuma, joined her to see what was happening.
Meanwhile, Akira remained oblivious, still serving ramen bowls even when the counter was full.
"I have never seen a body like this," Himawari said to Lilly.
"What? This isn't even that exciting. He's just turned blue, and his eyes are missing pupils, that's all," Akuma shrugged.
"I'm off to the cash counter; money is more interesting than this," he added.
" Akuma, if you aren't aware, this could shut our business down. We've only been open two days," she reminded him.
Akuma grunted.
By this time, Akira had caught up and came to inspect the situation as well.
"Akira? Did you kill this guy?" Toru exclaimed.
"No way, I was with you the whole time," Akira defended himself.
Himawari, Asuka, Akira, Akuma, and Toru found themselves in a real-life murder mystery.
Who did it?
Everyone looked at each other with suspicion, as if they had been living with seasoned killers all this while.
"Hey, what's going on? You guys having a picnic without me?" Lilly screamed.
She crouched closer to the man's face, examining him closely. She saw a star mark and moved away from it.
"The cops are on their way," said Himawari.
"If any of you has done this, now is the time to come clean so that we can think of a plan," she added.
Toru looked at Himawari with admiration, "Ah, Himawari, I didn't know you would have our backs even if we were murderers," he said.
"We are a business; all businesses have their dirty secrets," she replied.
Asuka realized she didn't really know anything about these people she was spending time with.
Akuma sensed the rising suspicions among them.
The cops arrived, and Angela, the detective, began taking statements from everyone.
Akuma froze when he saw Angela, and Toru noticed this.
The atmosphere was tense.
While the forensics team worked, Akuma approached the detective.
"I believe I am next?" he said.
"Actually, I was about to interrogate the chef fi..." Angela was interrupted.
"No need to be bored by that; let me tell you everything I saw. I had a much better view," Akuma said confidently.
"You're acting quite cocky. You know you look suspicious, right?" She said, eyeing his tattoos.
"I know what I haven't done, so please, feel free to ask me anything," he replied, flirtatiously.
"He's acting weird, don't you think?" Toru said to Asuka.
"Yeah, I just heard him suggesting the detective not go into the mansion. It's so cold out here," Asuka replied.
Toru decided to lead them inside.
Angela was not pleased with Akuma's interference.
Inside, Akuma continued to stand by the detective, even butting in during statements.
"You're obstructing me, Mr. Akuma," Angela said sternly.
"I am just saying that there are important clues you might miss out on if we keep doing everything inside! I mean, come on, the guy died out there!" Akuma argued.
Angela ignored him and moved on to interrogate Akira.
"What did you see?" she asked.
"Well, I noticed no one was clearing the ramen orders from the counter, so I looked ahead and..." Akira paused.
"Is there something on my face?" Angela joked.
Akira noticed tears on her face. "You have tears streaming down your face," he said softly.
Angela touched her face in surprise.
Akuma offered her a glass of peach iced tea, but Angela had had enough.
"Something is fishy about you guys," she said.
"Where is that man in the picture frame?" she asked, her emotions unintentionally slipping out.
Everyone was tense.
"Okay, we can leave now," the head detective announced the end of the investigation.
"The reports are in; it was a heart attack and he also choked on his food. What are the odds?" the detective said.
"Doesn't seem like odds to me," Toru said, eyeing Akuma suspiciously.
Akuma remained calm.
"Well, that was a relief. We can finally go back to our 'not so normal' normal lives," said Lilly.
Akuma didn't seem convinced.
"I think we should be prepared. She will come back for us," he said, watching the detective leave.
"Scared you'll be exposed?" Toru said, sternly.
"She's the granddaughter of the man we killed," Akuma revealed.
Only Toru heard this.
"This stays between us, I hope," Akuma said, leaving to get some rest.
Toru looked after him, confused.