Case 1: The Young Lady's Assassination

Screams filled with panic and fear are coming inside the bus of the Seiken Academy that’s surrounded by five black cars at the intersection. The ogling crowd are standing behind the encirclement of the police line. The bomb disposal team are waiting for the signal of the police captain who are negotiating with the hostage takers who are sitting on the driver’s seat of the bus and some of them mixed within the students who are sitting while trembling in horror in their seat inside the bus as the criminals point their gun at them.

“Ah.” I mumbled as I watch the live broadcast on the social media.

“It’s been two hours since the students of the Seiken Academy had been taken hostage.” The female reporter said. The bright yellow bus of the Seiken Academy with the criminals surrounding it are in the background. “According to the eyewitnesses, they saw the four buses of the Seiken Academy approaching. After the first two buses had drove past the intersection, suddenly black cars drove towards the approaching third bus and surrounded it in the intersection.” She explained as the camera focused a middle-aged woman. She’s a vendor on the roadside, still holding her sold refreshments as she anxiously looked at the bus where the students were held inside.

Standing at the top of the rented car not far from the crowd, I saw the fourth bus of the Seiken Academy parked on the roadside. The teachers were filled with panic and apprehension as the head teacher in charge of the trip were interviewed by the media. The cars of the parents and guardians were parked near the teachers’ bus. Some of the women were crying in fear of their child’s situation while some of them along with the men were calmly calling their connections to ask help for their relatives, suppressing the panic in their heart.

Aboard by the four buses of the Seiken Academy were the students and teachers, two buses for each. The first and fourth buses will be the teachers’, while the second and third buses will be the students’. The buses for the teachers will be on the lead and on the back, leaving the students’ buses in front for the students’ safety. The parents and the guardians’ cars will be riding along with them or trailing on their back, or some will come for their child later after they finish their business in their company or whatnot.

However, they didn’t expect for this to happen.

Well... they really didn’t? I thought, sarcastic, as I smiled in schadenfreude while looking at the inside of the bus through my binoculars. I saw Mio sitting at the back of the bus, her face pale but calm as she blankly looked at the criminal in front of her and Aria.

“You expect for your cousin to come?” the criminal’s voice can be heard from the bug I put on Mio’s nape which was hidden by her hair. “She’s already dead, you hear me?” the criminal added as he laughed maniacally and went to the other students to scare them as a part of their hostage drama.

Suzuki Mio clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. He… died? She thought as she remembered the words of the man disguised as her cousin.

“I’ll follow you later.”

Her eyes became dim. Even he died. She thought as she looked outside the window and saw the policemen still negotiating with the criminals through the speakerphone. Useless. It’s all useless. She closed her eyes as she looked away. Even the recommended friend of the man my father trusts is useless. She blew out air as she opened her eyes and looked at the criminals. She knew she is their target. Even though the other students may be the heir of some successful businessmen, how can she not understand she is their target after one of the criminals told those words to her? She thought. Well, I pity my classmates for being bonuses for the criminals’ pockets. She sighed.

“Mio-sama…” Aria called and held her hand tight, comforting her. Worry can be seen from her eyes.

I forced a smile as I calmly looked at our trembling classmates. The female students are crying. Just when their bus reached the intersection the driver saw five black cars madly rushing towards their bus. The drivers of the buses ahead together with the parents or guardians who went together with the first two buses sped up after they saw the problem. The driver of their bus also sped up, but the black cars ahead of the five cars hastily drove in front of them and almost hit the head of the bus. The driver of the bus got no choice but to stop after he heard the panicked voices of the students on board and also to avoid the roadside vendors, who hastily fled away, getting into the accident.

Thus, the result was the third bus – this bus, was immediately and easily surrounded. She took a deep breath to suppress the fear taking root in her heart. So in the end I will still die? She thought and smiled, mocking herself. Father… mother… Hare-neesama… I am sorry… she thought as tears welled up her eyes. She can feel her heart started to beat rapidly and pounding against her chest, about to explode as the fear slowly eating her heart away. She closed her eyes when she saw the leader of the criminals walked towards her and grinned maliciously. His eyes are filled with greed.

“Mio-chan~” he called as he sat beside her, looking at her filled with mocking amusement when he saw the young miss is finally crying. Some of the students looked at him and Mio, while some are still preoccupied in horror, fearing their death.

“You - !” Aria hissed and glared at the man sitting beside her miss. She was about to stand up when the man’s friend grabbed her shoulder and dragged her away from Mio. “Mio-sama - !” Aria screamed, but the man stuffed her mouth with towel to silence her and pushed her with the class leader in the front.

The students immediately helped their classmate and made Aria sit beside on the girls. They can’t help but continue to cry when they finally realize who is the target for this horrible happening this time. They pity Suzuki Mio, but they pity their parents more. If they were gonna die, how will their parents feel and continue to live in grief as they held their children’s funeral photo?

And so, they hope that the criminals can release them and would just hold Suzuki Mio with them.