Sfx: run
"HAAAH...haah..." Lisa panted.
"We need to keep running!" Nina exclaimed.
"But I-.. I AM TIRED!" Lisa was shared.
If she didn't run, the fire would catch her.
"I-...i-..."
Thud!
"LISAAAA!!!!" Nina shouted.
Lisa had just fallen, she was too tired from all that running.
"What do I do what do i- wait. I have an idea!" Nina got confused, but suddenly she stopped.
Lisa said while panting
"Nina...leave me, I'll wait here...for Aiko my brother, you can..."
"Are you stupid?!"
"H..huh?" Lisa was confused,
And suddenly,
"Oh my god I-" Nina gulped and then,
PULL! CARRY!
"WHAT?!" Lisa was confused.
Nina picked up Lisa, and ran as she carried her on her back!
"Are you serious?! You can do this?!"
"I am a trained maid." Nina was determined.
And so,
They kept running.
"UWAA-" Lisa panicked, this was definitely a first time for her.
"Surprisingly, you're pretty light." Nina said with a light voice.
After a while of running, they came towards a safe place.
Pant... Pant...
"Haah...haah..." Lisa panted.
"Why are you panting? You didn't even run for a while..." Nina said with a confuse face.
"You...the way you carried me, it's going to make anybody nervous you know?!"
While remembering somebody, Nina laughed
"fufu~ wait. OH MY GOD-" She blushed!
After a few minutes,
Lisa resumed the conversation, with a question.
"are there any other reasons which made you believe Aimi was the killer?"
"Well, to be fair, Aimi had always comitted her murders in a way that it was impossible to frame her as the one responsible for it..."
"Huh? How is that?" Lisa was curious.
"Well, she always fed her victims."
"Huh?"
"Yes, this is how she did it." Nina said.
"How can you say that?" Lisa was curious.
"Well... I..."
Chapter 57: Direct Confrontation
[Flashback]
"Uwaaaaaaah..."
At Maid Nina's room
It was morning.
Nina woke up from her sleep, it was a good night for her yesterday.
But unlike somebody else,
Tremble...Tremble...
"Haah...haah..."
"Aimi, are you okay?" Nina asked in a concerned manner.
"Nnn..n-no...i-... I don't know...it'sh- IT'S WEIRD!" AIimi was afriad of something, it seems.
"You were afraid the last night too, and you came to my room for the same, isn't it?" Nina asked.
"Th-thats...that's only because we maids cannot sleep in our young master's bed..." Aimi said with a nervous voice.
"Huh?!"
"Forget what I said."
Nina hesitated.
Though after a few minutes, She crouched and patted onto Aimi's back as she said
"It'll be okay Aimi, whatever you're going through, it'll all be okay..." Nina assured Aimi.
[Nina's Perspective]
I don't know what she's going through,
But I do know she had it rough.
Her parents were killed, she is treated badly as a maid in this mansion, if I were to be her,
I'd prefer death over this.
"Ah, Aimi..." I begin distracting her with something positive.
Or atleast I'll try, to be of help to another woman.
"I know we are only like...you are 15 and I'm around but...what's your motivation for living?" I asked her.
"H-huh?"
"For example, there's this someone I love alot. And so, I live for them." I said while smiling.
"I-...I think...I don't know...maybe I am living...for nothing?" Aimi said.
Did I hit the wrong spot?
"Then, I'm afraid to tell you ..."
I build suspense, as Aimi looks at me with a look of curiosity over her face, wondering if what I'm about to tell will only demotivate her,
But the truth is
"You're very lucky!" I say with a cheerful voice. Completely surprising her.
"W-what?!" This uplifted Aimi's mood, I see.
"Exactly, you just have to find your purpose! When you have a blank canvas, you can draw anything, right?"
"Well, I do have a purpose of you say it like that..." Aimi said with a low voice.
"Hm? What is it?" I asked curiously.
"Fufu~ will not tell you~" Aimi giggled.
"Huh?"
And that moment, Aimi ran off.
I knew something was weird with her, but
I couldn't just find out.
It was until,
.
.
.
At the Mansion
"What are you giving away, Aimi?" I asked cheerfully.
"Ah, this? It's an apple! Fufu~" Aimi gave an apple to maid Samantha.
"Ooh, to come think of it, Samantha would approve of an apple give by the young master himself ...a little more, wouldn't she?~" I teased Samantha.
Samantha blushed at my words, as she said
"Shut up!! It's not like I-..."
"You love the young master, isn't it?" Aimi said with a straight voice.
"Well I-..." Samantha blushed.
It didn't seem like much,
But I could tell Aimi wasn't teasing.
.
.
.
"Nina..."
"Nina...!"
"Nina!"
"Huh...Aimi?" I woke up in the morning.
Was that a dream I experienced? I swear I already woke up-
"Hey? Let's go!" As Aimi woke me up,
I did my duties as a made.
"Master Ryou, here's your lunch."
"Master, here's your bag."
"Master, preparations for the bath have been made."
And the day went usual,
Except for one thing.
.
.
.
"Samantha...SAMANTHA!" Aimi shouted.
I rushed.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!"
"IS SHE OKAY?"
all the other maids were concerned.
"I-...I don't know! She started vomitting and spit came out of her mouth and...she's dead! I don't know...how?!" Aimi began crying right there.
Our Master was already with Samantha's corpse into the hospital, but,
"You shall not go, master."
Aimi stopped him, somehow.
And within a second, news came in.
"Samantha is no longer around us. Rest in peace..."
We were all sad, except for Aimi, she was in her room staring at the window.
I thought it was trauma for her, so I asked the other maids if it was because of that apple she ate.
"Huh? Apples? Ar you crazy?" The maids said.
What? I clearly remember eating an apple Aimi gave us-
And that was a hint.
At the time Samantha died, Aimi once remarked
"The apple got her... Huh?"
If I am the only one who vaguely remember Samantha eating an apple, unlike the others,
How does she know?
.
.
.
Nina sat beside Lisa, as she said
"And that's how I got to know about her curse very early on. I even helped Edrick remembering it. I acted as a spy for Aimi, just so I could contact Harold and the others." Nina recalled her efforts.
Which didn't went down the drain,
"But I don't understand how is she winning this?!" Lisa was frustrated.
"Though you could understand how she feels, isn't it?"
"You're spot on, though I can only feel her heart, not the brains." Lisa commented
Sfx: call
Ring... Ring...
"Huh? Who is it-"
"Pick it up!" Nina insisted.
Pick!
Lisa picked up the call,
"Hello...haah, this is Minoru."
"Hm, okay?"
"Harold, Lee and the others are dead. Most likely-"
"WHAT." Lisa did know about Harold,
But Lee is dead, too?
She was worried at this point,
She started overthinking, will her worst nightmare, COME TRUE?
"Ah, most likely, Aiko, your brother, he's dead too. I can't say for sure, but we haven't seen him for a while now." Minoru said with a plotted voice.
"..."
Thud...
"Lisa..?"
"LISAAAA!!!"
Both Minoru in the call, and Nina beside her, were concerned.
"Minoru i-... Where are you heading to right now?" Nina asked as she took over the call.
"I'm heading towards Aimi, you can join if you'd like." Minoru said, it could be easily told he was smiling on the other side of the phone call.
Hang...
He cut the call.
Meanwhile...
"Eh...-"
"Lisa...?"
LISA STOOD FROZEN.
And with the most hatred and anger lubricated with disgust in her voice, she said
"Aiko... I WILL FIND YOU!"
.
.
.
Infront of the Main Room
"How long will this march of yours keep going?" Ryou asked.
"Until all my enemies are crushed." Aimi was blunt.
"That sounds like an anime character of you, cool, ahah..." Ryou's face was blank.
"..."
To this statement, Aimi gave a blank stare towards Ryou.
.
.
.
The silence was loud.
"Eh- did I say uh something ...wrong?" Ryou's laughter was nervous.
As time went on,
Aimi's face became from the look of blank ness,
To a look of HORRIFIED
"what did you... Just say?" She asked.
"W-why? Was it uh...that bad?!" Ryou laughed nervously again.
"It wasn't even bad, it was horrifying. God, What have I turned you..." Aimi said with her eyes in regret.
"Huh..? Huh..." Ryou quite understood what that meant.
This was basically, a proposal.
Ever since the beginning of their twisted love, Aimi has been the quite center of being the cold blooded murderer,
But hearing such sentence that confirmed Ryou was quite comfortable with Aimi killing their obstacles, made Aimi be felt at ease.
But this wasn't quite normal for Aimi,
And so, she was horrified.
"If that's the truth you're telling me... Then"
An essence of suspense built up between the two, as she said
.
.
.
"I'm happy to accept you!~" Aimi smiled.
"Do you think you're some sort of goddess who's accepting me?! Did you just flip the tables and called ME a killer?!" Ryou was mad!
"Oh no, have I used the wrong set of words? What I meant to say, is that I'm happy to accept MY dear Ryou as a pathetic killer who has nobody else but me, and with that he will do anything to keep me with him, fufu~"
"That literally changed nothing... You have a god complex, Aimi..." Ryou sighed a breath of resignation, as he added
"You're still wicked, huh?"
"Fufu~" She giggled.
It's almost that question has been quite common between the two.
.
.
.
At the corridor
"So, are we all ready?" Minoru said as he cracked his shoulders
"Yeah, hell I am!" Takashi prepared his bat.
"This will do..." Alice prepared something in her arms, as she looked into her palm, she sighed a little.
"It's finally come to this...huh?" She said.
"Yeah, it sure did. Let's not use this again, shall we?"
What was it they are talking about?
Hiss...
"HEY! HEY!" Aoi was panicking.
"Why, are you afraid, Aoi?~" Takashi teased Aoi.
"Damn you!! Anyone who thinks this tactic is cool, is an awful person!" Aoi had enough.
"But anyways what the hell is our plan even?! What are we going to do?!" Aoi asked curiously.
"Ah, that? Well the plan is..." Minoru said.
Touchy touchy...
He poked at Takashi
"It's uhh..." Takashi countinued.
"It's me. I AM the plan." Alice said as she caressed something in her palm
"Huh?! What?!" Aoi was confused, and panicked.
"More like, 'they' are the plan..." Takashi suggested as he indicated at what Alice has prepared.
"But actuall, what the hell are we going t o do?!" Aoi asked again.
"Oh, you'll see that."
"Let's consider some things first" Minoru said.
"What is it? She's just a girl who's alone-" Takashi responded
"There's a possibility Ryou will be with her." Minoru added.
"And? What's he gonna do? He'll probably come to our side-"
"That's the issue, he won't." Minoru said.
"Why wouldn't he?" Aoi asked.
"Well, I'm not saying he wouldn't. But what if, what if he didn't?" Minoru explained.
"Is that still an issue? He's just a submissive guy who gets toyed around by his own maid, what can be so dangerous about a guy like him?" Aoi said.
"It is Aimi, who toys him, we are talking about. We haven't seen any proofs of other people toying him around. Maybe he just tolerates it all with Aimi?" Minoru explained.
"But even so, even if he takes the side of Aimi, and even if he doesn't comes to us, what's the deal?" Takashi asked.
Minoru smiled as he said
"That's the problem, He's Successful, and a strong person, if you didn't know till now."
"Huh?! How does that change any dynamics of who's winning and losing between us?"
"That's the case, he can take on our strongest pawn in our attack, Alice." Minoru said.
"But...how?" Takashi was still curious.
"Well, the thing is, As a teenager, he has practiced Martial Arts and has no sense of morality when it comes to hitting somebody. I figured the latter out on my own..." Minoru said.
"How do we know he's still strong huh? What if he's just no longer in that spirit?" Takashi explained.
"And that's where my second thing I said, kicks in. You see, how could Harold and Mai be dead? Mai is a pretty strong person as we know, but hitting somebody like her? It takes a lot of guts... From there I deduced that Ryou must be a strong person. Who isn't afraid of killing somebody, only at a certain times though." Minoru explained.
"Woah... So we are dealing with the quite of a package, aren't we?" Aoi said.
"We are kind of screwed..." Takashi said.
"To support Minoru's theory, I have even more proof. Ryou went to the same Martial Arts gym as me. I was defeated by him several times, though he must've forgotten it. One time I was able to defeat him, though he left the gym due to foreign studies after a while..." Alice recalled her time.
"Wait, so it means it's been years since Ryou has fought ever again, right?" Takashi glowed with hope.
"Well, it's been years for me to have ever used my skills too. But look, I'm a police officer now, and I have quite some medals to my name." Alice said as she adjusted her palm.
"Eh-...that's true." Aoi sighed.
"So, what can we do in this situation? If what Minoru says turns out to be true, the Ryou who might be potentially broken down by Aimi, could also become a huge threat for us?" Takashi said.
"Well, I have called Lisa and Nina for help too..." Minoru said.
"Shit! How will they be a material of help to us?!" Aoi was confused.
"Why wouldn't they? Lisa has a gun." Minoru said.
"What?"
"Yes, I saw Aiko flinching and trying to feel his gun pocket, realising he has no firearms. He did that right at the moment he said 'Only the three of us? But there's four...' when I remarked about them only being three..." Minoru explained.
"Oh damn, I never noticed that!" Takashi was impressed.
"So... Now that we are prepared..."
"I am ready." Takashi cracked his knuckles, adjusted his bat.
"I- I don't know...!! Let's keep it safe..." Aoi braced herself.
And Alice looked at her palm, as she said
"We will never resort to this, ever again."
"Gentlemen and women, LET'S BEGIN."
.
.
.
At the Front of the Main room
Aimi walked a little as she said.
"Ryou...we have a plan. To complete this march." Aimi said as she turned her head back, looking at Ryou who walked confidently to her side ...just behind though.
"Huh? I knew about that, though, what is it?" Ryou said as he sighed,
He knew Aimi would always have a plan.
"Hmm... The plan is..." Aimi put her hands over Ryou's cheek as she countinued
"For you to GET OUT. RYOU~"
"ahahah..." Ryou laughed awkwardly.
Weird joke, isn't it?
"Wait. Were you serious just now?!"
Aimi put her hands behind her back as she said
"Yes, I am dead serious, please, leave this scene, at once."
She looked at the ceiling, she saw some noticable cracks as she said
"It must've happened in the other rooms, maybe that's why that Aiko hasn't gotten to me yet."
"Fufu~ these four monkeys would be a piece of cake..."
And so, Aimi began marching.
Now that Ryou had left the scene on her commands,
She untied her hair as it flew like a waving flag, contrasti g to the white room.
She seemed as if she was a walking bust of wind, but the wind was soothing, and such soothing wind could make you fall asleep, and kill you in an instant the moment later.
.
.
.
"For all that money..."
"For a well established business."
"For my Foreign vacation, my paradise!"
"For it all to happen" Minoru said.
.
.
.
"For my only love, For the sake of this curse, For a life that I want. And for a way, to 'pass the day', fufu~..."
Aimi took a breath as she countinued
Minoru sipped his part of air, as he too, said
.
.
.
"NICE TO MEET YOU...!"
.
.
.
"So this is how you look like, huh?" Aoi said.
"Real skin, real skin, you're quite the beauty when you're covered with blood, Aimi~" Takashi commented.
"Oh my~ stop with the flattering. And respectfully use my formal name. My first name, is reserved for my dear." Aimi wiped off blood off her forehead as she said this.
"You little-" Aoi was irritated.
"Hold on Aoi, this is exactly what she would like-" Takashi held her.
"Fufu~ you're quite on spot!" Aimi gigled.
Somebody who wasn't having it,
Was Minoru.
"Tsk.... Grrr...."
It was the first time for anyone to see Minoru this angry.
He had a face, full of the looks of horror, as he couldn't have imagined this situation ever...
"I thought Ryou would either side with you, or with us. BUT YOU FUCKING- HE ISN'T HERE?!" He said loudly.
This was not even calculated by Minoru.
He could've thought and tackled if Ryou were to be here.
But with Ryou being OUT of the equation...
What will he do now?
"...so, Aimi, or ah, Inoue-san, as how you'd like it, you have quite the trail of blood over your history, how'd you explain that?" Alice said.
Minoru regained his composure as he said
"Heheh... Tell me all your murders, one by one..."
It was a known fact to Aimi, every detective who has ever met Aimi, has broken down.
Wether it was Edrick, Harold or Lee, even Minoru as of now, becomes mad and insane when it comes to questioning Aimi's capabilities.
"Oh my~ so many orders! Unfortunately, I am not going to answer any of you. Infact, I'm rather going to hurt you by my own set of words~ fufu~" Aimi said as she put her hands together.
It was a technique of Aimi with her Wordplay,
She had held ot of secrets when it came to the orphanage members, and so,
She began her move.
"So, how do you do, Fake Takashi? I mean, the one who bullies my brother Ray's friend, the actual Takashi?" Aimi said.
"EH-?" Takashi went limp.
This wasn't the part of the equation for him,
"Y-you're... Not the actual... TAKASHI?!" Aoi said in horror.
"Wait...no, I can explain-!" Takashi apnicked.
To which, Aimi suddenly said
"Oh my, How would you explain this Takashi? I have already killed the original Takashi, you know?" She slammed a photo of the dead Takashi from her phone towards the four people.
"W-what...?!" Takashi was surprised.
He was shocked. His entire identity, through which he was able to get a conract from Michael, all of it, all of it,
HAS NOW WENT TO DRAIN.
"TAKASH I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU- wait. Who the fuck are you then?" Aoi looked at Takashi as she said with disgust.
"Oh my~ Aoi, let's not get too further here okay? Aren't you the favourite, and the closest friend of Seiko?" Aimi exposed another secret.
"W-wait...S-SEIKO?! HOW DO YOU... REMEMBER THAT NAME-" Aoi was surprised.
"Because of her bullying, I gained a brother. You know? How could I forget that beautiful lady!" Aimi said while smiling.
"And oh, my pretty Alice-chan, how could I forget!" Aimi clapped her hands together.
"Should I begin exposing your secrets?" She said.
"Huh?" Alice was hesitant, though she was ordered by Minoru to stay back. So she couldn't attack Aimi,
Yet.
"Your hands ar behind your back, is it because of the bruises in your hand still being present there when you got clapped by Ryou-" Aimihad crossed the limits, it seems.
"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT- I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"
JUMP! LEAP! RUSH!
And so,
Something that couldn't have been expected before,
ALICE HAD JUMPED ONTO AIMI,
However, she went WITH A DEADLY TACTIC
"YOU COULDN'T HAVE GUESSED, THAT THESE PALMS DON'T HAVE BRUISES, ITS A VENOMOUS SNAKE THAT WILL KILL YOU-"
She had fit a small venmous snake inside her palm, it was the perfect size to be well-hidden, yet Alice was trained, sonit didn't do anything to her.
But for Aimi, it could release such venom in less than a second and end her life in a moment.
"EH WHAT?!" Aimi was caught off guard.
And as we see the end moments,
Of finally ending it all,
"NOOOOO!!!" Aimi finally screaming at the top of her lungs as-
WHAM!
.
.
.
.
"...what....?...."
Thud!
.
.
.
.
"So, how was my acting?"
"It was pretty realistic, yet awful."
"Your bat swings are awesome!"
"I literally can't believe this is what you meant by telling me to get out."
"You're so silly, Ryou!"
.
.
.
Alice had finally fallen, her last words being
"Paradise... My paradise... Maybe in another dream, Minoru..."
Before her eyes finally closed in.
.
.
.
.
.
MINORU'S EYE'S WERE WIDE OPEN AS HE WITNESSED THIS.
"Tsch...hahahh....hahahahah....AHAHAHAHAHAHAH....BAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
MINORU LAUGHED.
"It's natural for him to be traumatic when he sees his lover die like that..."
Aoi and Takashi were frozen.
"So...now Ryou is finally in the scene, huh?" Minoru smiled as he laughed maniacally.
Minoru didn't laugh because his lover had died, instead,
He laughed because Ryou was in the scene again, meaning there's still a chance of defeating Aimi now.
"WHAT?!" Aoi and Takashi yet couldn't believe it.
And suddenly,
"EVERYONE! GET HER! WE CAN STILL DO THIS-"
Takashi and Aoi rushed to her a hold off Aimi,
It seemed having no plan was the best plan for them afterall
They were desperate, doing anything to save their lives
Haah... Haah...
"Let's do this!" Takashi said as he,
Jump!
"AND FOR MY FINAL MOVE~" Aimi shouted as suddenly-
crack...
WHAM! FALL! BANG!
"Huh?" Minoru looked up.
And what he saw next, terrified him.
"Everyone, the roof, IT'S FALLING APART!"
the roof had just cracked,
AND NOW THE CEILING HAD BEGUN COLLAPSING!
"EVERYONE, RUN! ESCAPE!" they shouted.
In the midst of which, Takashi said,
"ON ONE SIDE THE CEILING IS COLLAPSING, ON THE OTHER SIDE, WHERE IS AIMI? SHE HAS DISAPPEARED!"