Girls' Talk

Everyone's mouth is already sticky as we all think about our death tomorrow. As far as I know, organ failure starts after the third day of dehydration. Yukawa told us that. Everyone seems to lose their strength while leaning on the wall.

No hunter confession yet as per still, but Yukawa told us that after we found the other hunter, he'll volunteer to strangle himself with the rope. He declared that this day will be our final frontier, and everything will be settled for peace.

That afternoon, after Manabu went out to release stress in the bathroom, I quickly woke up Yukawa. "Wake up Yukawa! Manabu's already out."

"Then let's set up."

Yukawa, and the two boys quickly went out to prepare the storeroom for the plan. Rise and their group went out all curious, and from the looks of their faces, I can see their down-turned mouth full of regrets for not participating in the plan. I told them all of the plans except Yukawa being the other hunter.

"Manabu's the real demon after all. Hiding as a detective wannabe even if he's the suspect, ugh so ugly," Rise sneered with a curling lip.

"We nearly got busted. Luckily, we didn't continue our plan," Misaki added.

"What plan?" I asked.

"Rise wanted to team up with Manabu because he proved to us that he isn't the murderer," Sara said.

"Now that I'm shameful, it's true that I believed him. It's my fault to forget that the first to approach and try to convince someone are swindlers.

"Whatever happens to him, that unsociable, misleading, and bad-mouthed liar deserves the worst judgment. I don't care what Yukawa might do to him. If I have just my makeup to fix these cracked lips, I'll watch them with a crescent smile," Rise ranted. "It might be my fault but I'm not apologizing to you."

"Talking about lips, what happened to you, Saori? You don't look like you're drowned in drought," Sara asked.

"About that, it is why we're in a rush now," I replied as I continue explaining to them how we drank the poisoned water. They flinched back with their hands flying to their mouths and their voice flying high.

"WHAT!? What did Yukawa just do to you!? Is he crazy!?" Rise exclaimed.

"He is crazy! No… He shouldn't have done that! If you died, he can just kiss you for you to wake up," Sara added.

"Did you just mention high school romance?" Rise argued with Sara with narrowed eyes.

"N… No. It's elementary."

"But did the poison take effect already? You seem too… well," Misaki muttered. "What if the water isn't really poisoned?"

"If they don't die, that's it. Now, looking at it, Hirari's death is suicide by poison. Her followers died just after midnight. Does that mean the poison only lasted from midnight until the moment the two died?" Rise said.

"Eight hours?" Sara asked. "You're right, Rise! You're awesome!"

"Heh, look who's more genius of us," Rise smirked.

"If it really is eight hours, does that mean we only have two hours to live?" I asked.

"Depends on whether Hirari betrayed us or not. There's no reason why we should poison the water in the first place," Rise said.

"I'm more concerned about what's happening on the other side," Misaki said.

"Now that you said it, Yukawa must be angry by now," I said.

"Hey, Saori, let's talk, just girls," Sara said with a malicious smile on her face. "You and Yukawa seemed really close. Tomorrow might be the end of the world for you two. Why don't you tell him you like him? Confessing isn't that hard."

"I… uhh… no! It's not what it looks like!" I replied with my red cheeks as I avert my eyes away from them.

"Look who's embarrassed. That means it's real, right? You have feelings for him, right!?"

"I… I… I told you that's…"

"Sara… I told you, right? No high school romance!" Rise fumed with her clenched fist and jaw.

"I… I… I told you this is elementary!" Sara stuttered, and it is enough to convince Rise. Sara continues to tease me.

"Don't you want to experience love, Saori? You know, midnight talks, fourteenth-day chocolates, and new year's kiss don't you want that? It's not too late, Saori. Tomorrow might be the end of the world, so don't let your feelings rest into nothing."

The more she talks, the more embarrassed I became. My body is completely frozen as I continue swallowing excessively. Out of a sudden, like how people with bipolar act, Rise hit Sara's head with force. We can hear her noisy breathing out of quietness.

"You're making fun of me, aren't you, Sara? From the moment you praised me, you're already developing your devilish plan. I said no high school romance! Where did you get that energy to tease someone, huh?"

Is she angry about romance, particularly high school romance? If she does, what exactly is the reason?

The girls' talk continued without even noticing the time. On the other side of the room, nightmares are already wandering.

The moment Manabu went out of the room earlier, Yukawa and Ryo went out to plan the act at the storeroom while Murata camps at the laboratory, waiting for Manabu to enter the storeroom.

After Manabu got out of the restroom, he noticed that the door to the storeroom is open and the lab room is the opposite.

He heard strange noises of a person inside the room. When he tried to peek, he sees Yukawa strangling Ryo's neck while sitting over his lying body. Ryo's face turned ashen from the lack of breath. Manabu entered the room to clarify their identities but the door suddenly closed, locking the three inside.

Manabu quickly tried to go out of the door but someone was blocking the door from the outside. As he budges the knob continuously, Yukawa turned his face towards him with a smile and blank eyes.

"Oh… A witness I see," Yukawa mumbled with a cold tone. He slowly stands up, cracks his hands, and faces Manabu.

Manabu can feel the aura of a deadly intent around him. His body trembled as he steps back leaning at the locked door.

"Yukawa… Is that really you?"