Starting in class B: Ayanokouji the actor.

Arc 3.5: speculation

"So, you're definitely sure that Sakura's appearance is nothing to do with you?" I asked.

"Yeah, I promise. I wouldn't break the law that far just to get back at you," said Ryuuen.

It had been a week since Sakura Airi had vanished from the public eye. A lot had come to light about her, including her side business as the gravure idol Shizuku. Nothing was known about her disappearance other than she had bled in her apartment.

If the wound was self-inflicted, she obviously had an accomplice who hid her body and cleaned for her. I had bribed one of the security guards to give me some information, and apparently that tiny speck of blood was the only trace of blood in her apartment. They had obviously done a very thorough job with cleaning.

If the wound was unintentional on her part, however, it's assumed that the killer slashed her at the wrist when she was getting out of the shower.

It was imperative that I get to the bottom of this. As the one who reported the disappearance, and my personality that I projected, it would be strange if I didn't appear interested in the case.

"So, if it's not me, who do you think did it?" Asked Ryuuen.

I could tell he was telling the truth. Obviously, he would say he didn't do it even if he did, but it wouldn't make sense for him to go this far.

"To be honest, I don't think it was any student at this school," I said.

"Really? How do you think that would work?"

"Well, as you know now, Sakura-san was a popular idol. She probably had quite a few stalkers, and it would be fairly simple to draw similarities in appearance between Sakura and Shizuku. Then, it's just a matter of getting onto campus. Perhaps it's a staff member, or a retail worker," I explained.

Clack! Clack!

"Well, if it isn't Ryuuen and Kiyotaka-kun."

I turned to see the short, hobbling figure of Sakayanagi walking towards me.

"Good evening Arisu-san. Did you get what I asked for?" I asked.

"Fufufu, not even a hug when you see me? My my, boys are so casual these days," she said, commenting on my haste to get to down to business.

"Hey hey, woah...I didn't agree to team up with her as well, you know?"

"Be assured, she's not working with you. Both of you are working FOR me, not with me. As long as I get to the bottom of this case, I don't care how much you speak to each other," I said, taking a sip of my drink.

Both of them seemed a little lost for words, both humbled by my sudden authority in the situation, and also slightly angry at each other. Goodness knows why, though.

"Well, Kiyotaka-kun, I couldn't find any evidence of who was in that apartment, but the investigation is still ongoing. My father is sure to find something at some point. It's not as if the abductor is a ghost or anything," she reported.

"You say abductor, but why not simply say killer? You said you saw blood, Ayanokouji?" Asked Ryuuen.

I sighed.

"We can't rule out the possibility that Sakura-san is still alive. For what purpose, however, is up to anyones speculation. Obviously not public ransom, or else it'd be all over the news," I explained.

"However, the abductor could have contacted the family directly and is privately extorting them," Sakayanagi speculated.

"And if it's not ransom?" Asked Ryuuen.

I grimaced a little.

"The motive isn't important. To be honest, without any evidence at all on who was in the room, we can't do anything right now. Even if it was just a hair, or a piece of torn clothing. Anything at all and we could make huge progress," I said.

Each of us agreed to part ways until more information had been uncovered.

Whoever the abductor was, he was clearly skilled at what he did.

A paid professional, perhaps?

Maybe some rich kid wanted the great Shizuku all to himself? Or perhaps a rival idol jealous of her success had asked for her to be eliminated.

But, then again, it could simply have been a one-man job. Shizuku's true identity wasn't known by anyone except a very select few, however, so it would've been hard to target her.

Unless...she wasn't targeted as Shizuku, or maybe even Sakura for that matter.

Perhaps she was just targeted because she was a beautiful high school student, and her current predicament was just one of chance, and she was just unlucky enough to be the girl who this person abducted.

It's too soon to be theory crafting at this stage, however. The only reason I'm bothered about it is to have a good image to my schoolmates.

As I was walking back to the dormitory's, I noticed a line girl sitting on the bench.

"Horikita-san?"

—————

The sudden noise made me jump a little from the bench. I looked up to see who called my name, to see that it was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from class B.

"Oh, good evening, Ayanokouji-kun," I said, getting up to bow.

He put his hand on my shoulder.

"No need to be so formal. You look tired...what's up?" He asked, planting himself on the bench next to me.

"W-well, it's to do with the situation with Sakura-san..."

"What about it?"

"Do I need a reason to be sad at the death of a classmate?"

"Please, don't say that. All we know-"

"No, Ayanokouji-kun. You have to be realistic here, either Sakura-san has been killed or has been kidnapped. And for a girl as beautiful as her, a kidnapping might as well mean death. She's sure to not see the light of day again if that's the case," I stated bluntly.

"Horikita-san, please don't be so negative about it. The police will find her eventually."

I looked down at my legs, doubtful at his optimism.

Whoever killed Sakura was a true master of his craft. In the space of a few hours, he had killed her, hidden her body, cleaned the apartment and gone back to his daily life, whatever that was.

But Ayanokouji was right. He had been the one to report the disappearance after all, so he knew more than most other students. Perhaps to him, it was an obvious kidnapping rather than murder.

That wasn't to say that Sakura was still alive either way.

1092 words
I just decided to log into my account the other day to see that people are still reading my shit. Thank you all so much for your continued interest in my terrible writing.
I can't exactly remember where I wanted to take the story from here, so if I do decide to continue this again it will be a bit janky at first.
Hope you're all doing well and I hope you enjoyed :)