"So, who's the spy then?"
Ishigami looked at me as if Akito and Yonamine weren't also there. Perhaps she thought their opinions were irrelevant which was exactly what I had aimed for.
"Well, I think—"
"Tsukamoto-san."
We all looked at the man at the end of our table. He wore a dark-grey trench coat and a black shirt underneath. He also wore dark-black trousers. He had messy dark-brown hair and light brown eyes. He had a serious expression on his face and only looked in my direction.
"Ikeda-senpai? What happened?" I asked.
"Ikeda? You're Harumi's brother!" Akito exclaimed as he finally met Harumi's older brother.
"And you are?" He asked as he looked at Akito, judgementally.
"I'm Kishimoto Akito, I'm a friend of your younger sister's." Akito introduced himself to Shuichi.
"Oh, Harumi's friend." He said without any emotion before looking back at me. "Tsukamoto-san and Ishigami-san, meet me here at six o'clock today." Shuichi then left after saying that.
"So, Tsukamoto-san, who do you think it is?"
As usual, Ishigami always continues regardless of what happens.
"Oh, well…after observing your group for half a month I can confirm that it is most definitely Kawahara Kotone from Class D."
"Kotone-chan?" Yonamine said as she looked at me with her head tilted to the side. "Why her?"
"No, he's got a point. Kawahara-san is definitely suspicious however I still think it's Matsushima-san.
"Kawahara-san and Matsushima-san…" Akito muttered to himself as he thought. "I'd go with Ishigami-san."
"Then I'll also go with Ishigami-san!" Yonamine smiled as she agreed with Akito. "Kishimoto-san, you're extremely intuitive!"
"Kawahara may play the "innocent girl" act but I'm sure there's more to her than meets the eye." I added. Ishigami didn't deny it but she stuck with Matsushima being the spy.
"Are you sure, Tsukamoto-san?" Ishigami asked.
"Yonamine-san, could you show us your bank balance?" Akito asked her and she agreed. She then showed us her bank balance.
"Wow. You're seriously rich." Ishigami blankly said.
"Yonamine-san, you have a job don't you?" I asked.
Students were allowed to work in this school as work experience is needed in the real world.
"Yeah. How did you know?" Yonamine asked but I dodged her question.
"The "spy" knows what day you get paid and then they seem to have waited for that day and then taken your money without you even knowing." I shared my thought which Ishigami agreed on.
"How wouldn't I know if my money is taken?"
"The spy is extremely cautious and does their job carefully so I have a plan." Everyone looked at me with complete attention. "There will be another major announcement so before that we make a plan. We have to get all four of us and Kawahara-san and Matsushima-san together."
"How will we bring those two here?" Yonamine asked.
"We could arrange a gathering." Akito blurted out. "Like a karaoke."
"Eh?" Yonamine looked at Akito in confusion. "A karaoke?"
"That does work." Ishigami added.
A karaoke would work however I would have to avoid participating in any form of singing. I could also use this opportunity to confirm who the spy is.
* * * * * *
I sat in a karaoke cubicle waiting for the others. I had come early which means I was on my own for a few minutes until the next person came which is likely to be either Akito or Ishigami however there is still a chance that another person might come before those two and depending on the person it might give me an opportunity.
The door then slightly opened and small fingers appeared in the narrow gap between the door and wall. The nails were painted pink and long. A head then appeared from the gap. The girl wore a white shirt with long sleeves and a yellow and white checkered skirt.
"Hello?" The girl said as she looked around the room with her emerald eyes. "Is anyone there?"
I didn't want to answer her and tried to stay as hidden away as possible but I had to answer her to use the most of this opportunity.
I walked up to the door and opened it. The girl then fell to the ground. Her head hit the ground first and the rest of her body followed.
"Oh, sorry."
"What was that for!" The girl yelled as she touched her head.
"Sorry." I said as I held out my hand. The girl took my hand and brought herself up and brushed her uniform. "Are you Kawahara Kotone?"
"Yeah and you are?" The girl looked at me sideways as if she was confused.
"I'm Tsukamoto Tadashi."
"TSUKAMOTO!" The girl exclaimed. Apparently, I was famous in this school. "The Elite Imperial!"
"Yes, that's me."
"Is it true you have an IQ of 250? Is it true you speak six languages? Is it true you studied abroad?" Kawahara asked me multiple questions and continued to ask me without having to hear my answer.
"Let's sit down and wait for the others." I suggested and Kawahara agreed.
We both sat down on the seats and chatted idly about various topics mostly about my time abroad. We talked until we heard a knock at the door. I went to the door and opened it and it was Ishigami and Matsushima.
"What took you so long?" I asked however Ishigami dodged the question and went straight to Kawahara.
"Hi there, Ishigami-san." Kawahara greeted Ishigami and Ishigami greeted her back and then greeted Matsushima who then awkwardly greeted Kawahara back.
"Where's Akito and Yonamine?" I asked Ishigami. Ishigami then turned around to look at me.
"They'll be here soon." Ishigami replied. "Oh and Kishimoto invited some others as well."
Oh, Kaori and Ryoko are coming then. Perfect.
After a few more minutes we waited while we chatted idly until Akito and Yonamine arrived and Ryoko and Kaori had brought Yanagizawa with them. They arrived a couple of minutes after Akito and Yonamine. Ryoko, Kaori and Yanagizawa introduced themselves to everyone before starting the karaoke and ordering a few meals.
* * * * * *
"Asagiri-chan, I didn't know you could sing like that!" Kawahara exclaimed as she praised Kaori's singing skills.
"Oh really? I'm not that good." Kaori tried to hide her true emotions however I could tell she felt more superior now.
"What do you mean?! Nakamoto-san, you're really good as well!" Kawahara praised Ryoko as well.
Akito, Yanagizawa, Matsushima and I played a few games of poker while the girls sang. Ishigami had stayed in the corner and watched the girls. Ryoko saw Ishigami and being the extrovert she was, she invited Ishigami to sing with her.
"Ishigami-san, please sing." Ryoko pleaded. Ishigami looked at her blankly however you didn't need to see her expression to know what she was thinking.
"W-What?" Ishigami was startled by Ryoko who kept smiling at her as she "invited" her to sing with her.
"Please sing with me at least then!" Ryoko pleaded. Ishigami looked at Ryoko with bloodlust.
"No." Ishigami cold-heartedly said to Ryoko which only made her plead more.
"Please!"
After a few seconds of Ryoko perpetually pleading, Ishigami had no choice but to give in.
"Fine, but only one song." Ishigami sighed.
Ryoko exclaimed as she jumped in the air,
"Yes! Thank you!"
"Tadashi." Akito whispered. "Have you ever seen her this happy before?"
"No…not really." I replied. "She must be excited to have broken Ishigami's shell."
It almost seemed as if Ishigami had heard me because she then glared deeply into my soul that very moment those words escaped my mouth.
She surprisingly sang beautifully and I recorded her so that I can mock her in the future and embarrass her.
After the performance, I excused myself to the bathroom because winning all the time in poker had gotten boring and I needed fresh air.
I walked through the corridor which was dimly lit with poor lighting. The corridor looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie. I then heard a soft buzzing sound before all I could see before was gone. It all emerged in the darkness.
The lights had gone out and it took my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness and now I could see clearly as if I had night vision. I acquired such a skill through extreme methods of training.
I walked down the corridor and I then heard footsteps. The footsteps weren't mine and the person had tried to copy my rhythm but it wasn't precise but it wouldn't be noticed by a normal human being. This meant a few things, the person didn't know me well enough or it was a person who knew me and wanted to get my attention, either way, they weren't someone a person like me would approach because I avoid socialising on a daily basis unless I have to.
Suddenly, I felt cold steel on my neck. I continued to walk down the corridor as if nothing had happened and then I heard faster footsteps behind me. I grabbed the arm of the person and disarmed him without any difficulty which was when I started to think if I have gotten extremely strong or if people have gotten weak. I threw their body onto the wall and then threw them onto the ground. Their body was extremely light however every person I have encountered seemed to be light when I attempted to carry them.
The person wore a mask that covered their mouth. I ripped it off and it revealed an extremely attractive woman.
"How can you see in this dark?" The woman asked.
A stupid question to ask when you are on the verge of being killed. How inexperienced.
I grabbed the knife which I had disarmed before and held it to her neck. I then slowly dug it into her neck until I saw a line of blood form. It was extremely dark so I could almost see the colour of the blood and the fact that she bled meant she wasn't some robot or mannequin. I then knocked her out and dragged her body outside and threw her into an alleyway.
If there was an assassin in the school—experienced or not—I shouldn't care if they roam around because my life isn't endangered especially when they are as weak as the one I had knocked out cold so easily.
I then returned back to the room where the others were.
"Tsukamoto-san? Is that you?" I heard a feminine voice call out to me. I identified the voice, it was Kawahara.
"They had free soda cans in the vending machine." I said.
"Pass one to me if you can find me." I heard Kaori's voice call out from the darkness. I then threw a soda can at Kaori, aiming for her head. "Ow!" Kaori exclaimed as a cold can of soda hit her head.
"Akito, my aim is still good." I called Akito and there wasn't any response.
"How are you making jokes in this darkness?" I heard Ishigami's voice.
"Your parents did the same." I replied to her.
"Shut up, Tsukamoto!" Ishigami yelled. "How are you seeing in the first place?"
"There were many power cuts from where I grew up." I replied which answered everyone's question about how I was roaming around the darkness with ease.
I felt more comfortable in the darkness as I had spent more of my time in it than I have in the light. My eyes have adjusted to it which is why I can see clearly in the dark. Others would see what they call "pitch-black" however I can see almost as clear as day.
"That means you deliberately aimed for my head!" Kaori yelled.
"I was aiming for an empty space."
It was now clear that I had successfully angered Kaori and Ishigami which is what I wanted.
"There's been a power cut." I explained. "I couldn't find any light even outside this building and our phones don't work."
"This could be another test." Ryoko said. Just then, our phones made a sound which indicated that there was an announcement. All of our phone's screens illuminated the darkness and we were now able to see each other.
Ryoko then read out the announcement.