Crime Games | ✓

37. Beaten to the Punch

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'When you are going through hell, keep on going. Never never never give up'
— Winston Churchill

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"Chiaki!" Tadashi cried in shock. "What are you doing..."

Chiaki Asahina let out a tired breath, running her fingers through her hair. She bent down and held out a helping hand for him.

"Let's get to the others."

☻☺☻

When Tadashi stepped into the CRF clubroom, everyone sprung from their seats.

"Where's Haru?! Did you find him?" Ryuu cried, wearing similar demanding expressions as everyone else.

Frowning, Tadashi shook his head and moved to the side. Chiaki stepped in without a second to delay, invoking gasps from all of them.

"Chiaki!" Ryuu yelled.

Both Yasuo and Atsushi jerked their heads between Ryuu and Chiaki, jaw-dropped. "This is Chiaki?!"

Memories flashed through every one of their minds, to the information back at their Tsuji Day Camp trip.

"Saya Asahina is dead."

Katsura crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed in thought. "We didn't get to see you and only heard from Matsumoto and Miss Kobayashi... But it is still a surprise..."

Mayumi was biting on her thumbnail in apprehension while Juzo still looked a bit lost.

The magenta-haired female cracked a small smile and took in all of her formed clubmates. "It's nice to see you all again."

Her eyes fell upon Ryuu and his eyes widened in response. It truly wasn't hard not to recognize her without those frames on her face. He knew for a fact that the person standing before him was Chiaki. The Chiaki that was supposed to be dead.

"Chiaki, is there a reason why you've returned?" Ayame asked, her violet hues questioning.

A laugh escaped her mouth. "What, no 'Welcome Back!' C'mon, it's been a few months guys!" Her expression immediately fell. "Though, I'm not going to ask what happened while I was away. It seems like you've all dealt with your fair share of problems and overcame them..."

The tension in the room thickened. They all knew what she meant — there was now less than half of the members of the fourteen they always were. This game was truly terrifying, and the mastermind...

Gritting his teeth, Tadashi balled his fingers into fists.

Haru...

Why couldn't it have been a dream?

"I'm going to get straight to the point: Haru Tomachi is the mastermind's right-hand man," Chiaki wasted no time to begin, her voice booming. It was hard to believe she was the same timid female from a few months ago.

An immense emotion of shock struck the teens and they gaped. They snapped their heads towards Tadashi, who only looked away in response.

Chiaki sighed at their reactions and raised her head. "It is inevitable you've all faced many problems and conspiracies while I was away, so why are you guys still getting so surprised after each and every declaration? I'm not lying, and you've accepted enough. So could you stop acting so dumbstruck for a while?"

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

"Ch-Chiaki..." Ryuu mumbled, eyebrows high.

Chiaki stared at the brunet before cracking a wry smile. "It shouldn't be such a surprise. I'm still the same old 'Asahina' you know. Though..." Chiaki frowned, shifting her attention to everyone else. "I was tired of being completely useless in this situation, so I decided to take action. And to take action means to stay impregnable."