Another Like Me - Part II (CoTE x OC)

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟠 - 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕆𝕗 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤 ℂ 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔻

( Takeyama POV )

I slowly massaged my head. For the last half an hour, I've had a rather annoying headache for no apparent reason. My eyes felt a bit heavy and dirty too, but I realized that I must finish this game with Class D before I crash back into my room. 

"Commencing Round 9. Murderers, take off your blindfolds."

The remaining Murderers took off their blindfolds once again. A few of them seemed tired of the game, but they knew they had to continue and finish it. It's mostly boring for those who've already been eliminated by either murder of suspicion.

Currently, the Murderers were leading by a big amount. Only two of them had been caught yet. The Policemen on the other hand, were severely lacking in manpower. Only 4 of them remained.

Satoru Kaneda was one among them, so maybe they still had a chance. But being up against so many Murderers would be quite difficult. Till now, the Doctors have done jackshit, so their contribution does not matter.

Shiina Hiyori had been eliminated from the game, after being suspected by Satoru. After all, it was evident from her body language that she was not used to this game. She seemed to tense up whenever a Murderer was suspected. Voting her out was quite simple.

But the person in the Murderer group that caught my eye was someone who surprised even me.

Manabe Shiho.

She was handling it quite well. Given that the Murderer group did not have any set Leader amongst them, I was of the opinion that they would get wiped out pretty soon. But Manabe showed some real brains, and managed to unite all those in the same role.

I looked at the stopwatch I had started before the Exam. An entire hour had passed.

One hour and three minutes, to be exact.

"Who do you want to murder?"

The group of Murderers had reluctantly accepted Manabe as their de facto leader. Ever since Ryuuen had pointed her out to be the traitor in the Karuizawa incident, her social standing had taken a massive hit, and she was still slowly climbing up the ladder.

But being ousted and demeaned by Ryuuen would take a long time to bounce back from.

Manabe did not say anything, but she curiously stared at everyone around the class. For once, she seemed to be taking this quite seriously. Her demeanor did not show the frail and hidden weak side that she exhibited in front of Ryuuen.

Her headstrong, mature and serious personality was what emanated.

After a few silent seconds, Manabe slowly raised her finger, pointing it towards a certain individual in the class —

Satoru Kaneda.

She stared at me, waiting for approval of her decision. I maintained an expressionless face, making sure not to give away anything from my body language. Without hesitation, I nodded my head, and confirmed Manabe's suspicion for this round.

This game was over.

I quietly pondered over the girl known as Shiho Manabe. All I know about her is that she is a girl with a strong mental fortitude, and someone who has the power to bounce back from her fall.

But I've never really spoken to her before. All I know is that she was involved in bullying Karuizawa, back during the Zodiac Exam on the cruise. Fortunately, Kiyotaka was able to neutralize her threat, so she did not play that much of a factor.

My headache worsened. I closed my eyes to relieve the pain for a bit, and let out a deep breath. I opened them again to continue.

"Murderers, wear your blindfolds. Policemen, open your eyes."