Jangxia Tongzhi wasn't concerned with much else right now—except for the Ran situation.
He had cut short his "Walking in the Rain" plan because when Ran had dashed around the room earlier, she accidentally caught a glimpse of something she really shouldn't have seen: Ryoichi Takahashi's half-naked body.
And with that glimpse, she unknowingly uncovered something important—Takahashi wasn't actually as fat as he pretended to be.
Ran herself, dazed after being hit with the triple shock of the naked back, didn't realize anything.
But Takahashi Ryoichi did—and now he had murder in his eyes.
Ran was brave in a fight, sure, but when it came to creepy, horror-movie-looking guys—like, say, a man in bandages—her power level would nosedive, and she'd be the first to fall victim.
Jangxia wasn't about to let that happen. No way was he going to sit back and watch Ran get chopped up by a bandaged man wielding an axe.
Plus, if Ran had agreed to go out for a walk just now, Takahashi would've attacked, and Jangxia would've had to dash out into the pouring rain to save her. Major hassle.
Better to stop this pot from boiling over entirely—keep everyone indoors, and let the bandage man squat alone in the rain.
Ikeda Chikako, meanwhile, had originally wanted to take a walk to shake off the bad mood from remembering Atsuko.
But just as she reached the door, Jangxia called out to her.
She glanced down at her short skirt, remembered the bugs and snakes in the woods, and silently abandoned the trip, retreating to her room to wallow in boredom.
…
On the Roof
Ryoichi Takahashi, as a longtime classmate of the suave long-haired guy, knew that guy's usual style: chasing girls and showing off.
There were only four girls here this time—two classmates, off-limits for various reasons. That left the two high schoolers. And it was obvious: Ran was more his type.
So Takahashi climbed up to the roof, crept to a spot near the door, and waited. Peering down, he planned to don his bandaged man disguise and attack the moment Ran stepped outside.
As for Chikako Ikeda… she would require props, and dismembering the body would take time. He'd handle her later.
But even after squatting there for ages, getting drenched in the rain, no one came out.
He figured the long-haired high school girl must be too shy.
She'll come out. Just wait.
Takahashi hugged his freezing arms, now covered in goosebumps, and kept watch, unwilling to give up.
…
It wasn't until dinner—prepared by Ayako Suzuki and served with an unusually peaceful atmosphere—that Takahashi finally gave up waiting for his target.
He gave the roof a half-hearted fix, trudged back to the villa sneezing furiously, and fumed: that long-haired classmate of his was way too soft this time.
Guess the plan would have to be postponed.
Everyone finished dinner, chatted for a bit, and then retired to their rooms.
Late that night, Takahashi quietly got up.
He slipped into his bandaged man get-up, grabbed a heavy axe, and headed out to chop down the suspension bridge at the villa entrance.
This way, no one could leave before dawn—and he could safely continue his murder plan.
After chopping the bridge, he returned to the villa and snipped the phone line.
Then he made his way upstairs and paused outside Chikako Ikeda's room. Listening closely, he heard faint movements—probably still awake, disturbed by the earlier mention of Atsuko.
He slid a threatening note into the door crack, knocked lightly, and ducked away.
Before long, Ikeda Chikako opened the door, caught in the bait. She slipped out, heading for the woods as the letter instructed.
Takahashi, hidden in the shadows, saw that she'd changed into long pants and sleeves, even wearing a scarf and hat. He scratched his bandaged head in confusion.
Then shrugged. Whatever. As long as she went out, that was enough.
Her room was now vacant—and conveniently, it shared a balcony with Ran's room.
Ikeda didn't have a private key, and she hadn't locked the door when she left.
Takahashi slipped through her room and stepped out onto the balcony.
He crept to Ran's window, pushed—it was locked from the inside.
Cautious girl. But…
Takahashi sneered, pulled out his prepped tools, cut a hole in the glass, reached in, and popped the latch.
Everything was going according to plan.
Tonight, he was going to make it a clean double kill.
…
Jangxia was half-asleep when Miyano Akemi and Xiaobai woke him up.
Exactly as planned—he'd told them to make sure he didn't oversleep on an important night like this.
He sat up and yawned, "Takahashi started the silencing?"
Akemi nodded eagerly, floating halfway to the door, then spinning back with worry.
Despite her criminal record (bank robberies, silencing), Akemi was always soft on innocent people.
Jangxia climbed out of bed in his pajamas, grabbed a pillow, and tucked a thick, brick-like book into it.
When he reached Ran's door, he heard a panicked voice inside.
Conan was shouting, "Sister Ran! Wake up!"
Tonight, Ran and Conan had been sharing a room.
Ran had been mentally distracted and fell into a deep sleep. Conan, on the other hand, was so tense he couldn't sleep—and thus, was the first to notice the bandaged intruder. Now he was frantically trying to wake her.
The situation was looking grim.
Jangxia twisted the doorknob. Locked.
He took a step back, eyed the door structure, and gave it a solid kick. The door flew open.
Inside, the bandaged man had raised his axe high. The blade gleamed coldly as it arced toward the still-sleeping Ran.
Jangxia flicked on the lights. In the sudden brightness, he hurled the pillow forward.
Thud!
The book-stuffed pillow struck Takahashi Ryoichi's head like a snowball hiding a rock.
Takahashi's vision spun. His head rang like a bell.
Right then, Ran rubbed her eyes and sat up, confused—until she saw the bandaged figure. Then came the scream.
Takahashi panicked, clutching his head and bolting toward the balcony in a frenzy.
Conan started to follow—but realized too late that he'd injured his foot while trying to block the intruder earlier.
Ran was still in shock and clearly not going to be useful.
Luckily, Jangxia was still here.
Conan turned to his trusty classmate and shouted, "That's the bandaged man we saw this afternoon! Hurry!"
But the moment he said it, Jangxia gave him a blank look, yawned slowly… and turned away.
Conan froze.
…Sleepwalking?
Or just groggy like Ran?
Originally, Conan thought he'd be mad about the three of them fumbling the capture and letting a murderer escape.
But strangely, he wasn't. Maybe it was because he'd been saved too many times before—but seeing Jangxia shuffle out in a half-dream, still sharp enough to react and save people…
It was kind of touching.
Still, this wasn't the time to be sentimental.
There was a psycho bandaged man on the loose in the villa. Time to wake everyone up.
Conan checked on Ran—she was sitting up straight, still wide-eyed. Definitely not falling back asleep.
Then he limped off after Jangxia.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 30/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS*
Glossary
Silencing – A fanfic term for committing murder to keep someone quiet, often used tongue-in-cheek.
Snowball hiding a stone – A deceptive attack: soft outside, painful inside.