Everyone freezes at Shinta's statement, including Lydia.

  "W-what?!" Karna exclaims in shock and incredulity.

  "It sounds insane, I know..." Shinta steps aside for them to go into the classroom. "I'm being serious, Rika is dead! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

  Everyone rushes to see Rika's still corpse and her blood pooling next to Lydia's quivering state, unable to process Shinta's accusations.

  "This...!" Kenji's face scrunches up, not wanting to believe the gory sight. Everyone's face morphs into disgust, in utter shock at the horrific image before them. It was an outcome no one expected to happen. Everyone shuffles back to the other side of the room, away from Rika's corpse. No one could bear the sight of someone they knew so brutally murdered.

  "Lydia...killed...Rika?" Rey asks in disbelief. He glances at Lydia, whose face was still frozen in terror. Her clothes were covered in blood and her hair was now more disheveled than ever before.

  "I know it may be difficult to believe, but I witnessed it all," Shinta explains. "We were collecting supplies, Lydia and Rika were together when I was at the far end of the classroom at the teacher's desk. I didn't think anything of it, but I heard an awful sound followed by screaming. By the time I rushed over, she was dead."

  "Lydia...how could you even think of doing this...? As much as you hated her..." Karna turns to Lydia with a face of disgust, immediately believing Shinta. "There's no way he could kill anyone."

  Lydia stands up abruptly, vexed from the immediate accusation.

  "It wasn't me, guys! I didn't kill Rika!" she points a finger to Shinta. "He did! He forced me to go along with him or else he'd kill me! How can someone like me kill her?! Me?! Of all people?!"

  "The evidence here is against you, Lydia. You can't blame me because you got caught," Shinta sighs in disbelief. She glares at him, knowing he was ridiculing her. "I can tell you never meant to kill her. Your form of 'discipline' so she'd stay in line is what resulted in this unfortunate accident. And now you're panicking shamelessly to get out of this situation."

  Her face almost turns purple from the humiliation, veins starting to pop out from her neck.

  "I didn't! Listen to me! Rika attacked me for some reason and then you killed her as a way to 'save' me! You only killed her to put it on me!" Lydia screeches. "You must've done something to cause this! How could I even think of killing her?! Guys, you have to believe me!"

  Karna and Kenji just stare at her with clear disgust. Although Rey was also staring at Lydia, it was not with disgust, but confusion. Elios glances at Shinta and raises his suspicions.

  "As far as I can assume, this death was no accident," Elios points out. "Something happened in there that you're not telling us about. This was an intentional murder, a death by deceit. Why would Lydia commit such a treasonous act just to discipline someone? For what reason? Getting rid of the only servant she has when she hates doing any type of work so much more? Your little story isn't adding up."

  Elios glares at Shinta, and he glares back. Although Elios was involving himself into the conflict, he still stood at a distance in comparison to the rest of the group. The questions start to infiltrate everyone's minds.

  "Elios is right! Besides, look at this!" Lydia reveals her injured arm with a large slash by taking off the jacket. Blood sticks onto the jacket as it peels off her skin, making her flinch in pain. "I don't even have the guts to kill someone! Even if I do, with my arm fucked up, how am I supposed to even do anything?!"

  Murmurs arise, now starting to question Shinta, as Lydia's story seemed way more believable now. The tides were turning, shifting in Lydia's favor.

  "If you didn't kill Rika, then..." Rey glances at Shinta, who was a bit too unfazed at the situation. He sighs in disappointment, his face too unreadable to decipher what he was thinking.

  "I have no association with Rika. I have no opinion nor have I ever really interacted with her. Why would I want her to be dead when I barely knew her? On the other hand, we have someone who's had a history with Rika. Someone who she hates so much, she'd rather cut an arm off than even see her as an equal. It's safe to say that both of them were in a struggle before Rika died, Lydia got slashed in the arm, but she still fatally struck her in the end," Shinta defends himself calmly. "Besides, it's not like her fingers were chopped off. She still could've stabbed Rika."

  "He's got a good point there. However, he's acting too calm for someone who just died," Elios ponders to himself. "Way too calm. Shinta has to be the killer."

  "I'd like to point something out," Rey joins in and breaks Elios's train of thought. Everyone looks at him with anticipation. "As long as I've known Lydia, she's a terrible liar. She can't make up an elaborate story like that within the minutes we've been talking. We would know right away if she's the killer. On the other hand, Shinta seems way too calm and precise with his words. All of us know the least about him, anyways. And despite not having history with Rika, he might have more guts to kill her."

  Rey knew Lydia the best besides Khari, and given his reputation in the group, he was the best person to bring up this point.

  "I'd like to add on to that. Wouldn't it be easier to kill someone you know nothing of than someone you know? Lydia doesn't even hate Rika enough to kill her. Otherwise, she'd be dead already. Meanwhile Shinta would feel little to no guilt because he has no association with her," Elios states. "Besides, judging from what we saw on our first encounter with zombies, this isn't too far off for something you would do."

  "You speak of me as if I'm some murderous monster. Are you seriously making assumptions about my character?" Shinta responds, displaying clear frustration. "When we encountered the zombies, I was only trying to help us. Is it wrong of me to try and defend my friends? I threw myself into danger and risked my life to drive those zombies off. Now you're saying I'm some murderer for doing that? For being the first to take initiative and try to survive?"

  Kenji steps in, "Calm down, Shinta, that's not what he means. We just-"

  "How can I 'calm down' when accusations are being thrown in my face saying that I'm the killer? You expect me to confess to something I didn't do?" he raises his voice.

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  Everyone stays quiet knowing deep down that he made a good point and that these were only just accusations. Yet there wasn't much for him to defend himself. Elios speaks up from a distance.

  "The whole point of this is to figure out the murderer! There's a killer amongst us and we have to-"

  "Have to what? Kill me? Make me suffer the same fate? Wouldn't you be the same as the killer by then?" Shinta almost loses it. "Is it so wrong for me to be upset that my very friends are accusing me of something I didn't do?! Am I supposed to play into this emotionless monster to confirm I'm the murderer?! Is that it?!"

  "No, that's not-"

  "Forget it. I refuse to cooperate any further with how shamelessly fake you all are acting," Shinta scorns indignantly and leaves the classroom. He slams the door behind him angrily, creating a deafening silence to the group left behind.

  "Wait! Shinta-"

  Kenji rushes to the other classroom to catch up with Shinta. He was the second closest friend to him, given how much he admired Shinta's charisma and unwavering confidence.

  "Listen, we know you're upset right now! But we're just-"

  "Why, you wanna be a fucking detective now? Stop acting like a goody-goody bitch, so drop it. Its fucking annoying, dumbass." Shinta shoves Kenji away and walks off. Kenji just stands there, feeling hurt. Rey tries to comfort Kenji amidst the whole situation.

  "I should stay out of this," Rey thinks to himself, staying close to Kenji's side.

  "...Is this why you never really liked him?" Kenji stares blankly at Shinta, whose back was turned. Rey looks up and nods silently. "...Right. Sorry...for never listening to what you had to say about him."

  "It's okay, Kenji. That should be the least of your worries right now."

  The rest of the group catches up, but Lydia runs up to Shinta first and yanks him by his shirt. Rey stretches his arm to stop her, but pulls back at the last second with hesitation. He'd only add fuel to the fire.

  "Oh, so now you don't want to resolve the situation when you've been caught?! Admit it, you killed Rika!" Lydia yells at Shinta, getting up in his face. "That's why you're running away! You don't want to face the consequences of your actions!"

  Shinta swipes away Lydia's hand, his patience now running dry.

  "Making more assumptions about me, huh? You always think about a way to villainize me, no matter the situation! Why would I admit something I didn't do? Have you ever even considered other reasons why I do the things I do other than being a bad person? I am the reason we got the zombies out of the room! I am the reason we're alive! I came up with the idea to try and get food for our survival! You've overlooked the things I've done to be beneficial to our group, and the one time you get caught, you pin it on me!" Shinta yells. He turns to the rest of the group. "And you guys believed her blindly! You probably never even took into consideration what I did to save us!"

  A loud silence erupts the room, everyone's face morphing to surprise and shock. Shinta's outburst was the most emotion he's ever shown in their years of friendship. No one even dared to respond. Any remembrance of social status was draining away the longer time passed, giving everyone free will to say or express their true intentions.

  "I see how it is," Shinta snarls, infuriated. "Is this really the gratitude I get for trying to be helpful? For trying to save our asses when the rest of you were just planning to sit here and rot? For trying my best to keep us all together? Is this it?! Tell me! Say it to my face!"

  Elios calmly walks up to Shinta, "Are you expecting pity for what you did? So what if you actually didn't kill Rika? Your very plan led her to her demise. You played a part in her death regardless if you did it or not. If you really aren't guilty, then why are you trying to win us over with a sob story rather than facts? You're getting sloppy, Shinta."

  "Obviously you're hiding the biggest fact! Maybe admit you're the killer because everyone now thinks the same too!" Lydia instigates even further. "You're not innocent, so just give up already!"

  "So now what? You plan on getting rid of the only person willing to take the lead for our survival? Is this seriously the thanks I get for what I've done? Don't try to become a hero after antagonizing me so much. Is it so wrong to want my friends to acknowledge what I've done to help them?"

  "The only thing we can acknowledge is you being the killer. It's not like the rest of us aren't capable of taking charge. We just need to get rid of the biggest liability here," Elios states, choosing the most offensive words for Shinta. The more aggressive he was, the more disapproval started to show on the rest of the group's faces. Before they could continue the dispute, Karna steps in between the three.

  "I think we may need some time to process this and cool off. By the rate we're going, you're going to end up killing each other," Karna scratches his head in annoyance, trying to calm the brewing storm. "It's already starting to become dark and we're wasting more energy by-"

  "We wouldn't be wasting more energy if we got rid of Shinta!" Lydia probes at Karna in anger. "And who cares if it's becoming dark or not?! Just get rid of him and be done with it!"

  "Stop it! Karna is right, we're wasting our energy! This is important, but it's going to keep us all night if we keep arguing! Do we really want to scream at each other forever?!" Rey decides to step in and back up Karna. "I say we stop here for the night and rest to-"

  "The murderer is right there! We're so close to getting this fucking bitch ass out, and you want me to REST?!" Lydia's face turns bright red, almost about to burst a blood vessel. "Are you CRAZY?! The longer he lives, the faster we die! Stop bitching about resting and just get rid of him already!"

  "Lydia, you need rest too. You're clearly-"

  "No! We get rid of him now! Listen to me guys!" Lydia's desperate body language insinuated she was most likely telling the truth. "Fucking hell, god dammit! Use your ears and listen to me! He's right fucking there! We've made our points and you know we're right! He'll fucking kill us all if we don't do anything!"

  "...I'm sorry Lydia...but still. Shinta...no, even any of us killing someone seems so outlandish. I can't choose right now between my friends. I'm becoming increasingly tired from all your arguing, and it's better if we just cooled off first so we can talk more rationally later," Kenji also steps in to agree with Karna and Rey. If there's anyone the whole group would be willing to listen to, it was Kenji. Shinta's face relaxes, gathering all composure he could muster.

  "Fine. I am quite tired after the events of today. If it can ease tensions, me and Lydia can sleep together so there's no risk of another 'casualty'," Shinta sighs, being surprisingly compliant. Everyone makes a repulsive face at the suggestion. He palms his forehead. "I mean we sleep in the same classroom together. We're not fucking."

  Everyone's face now changes to relief, but of course, Lydia had something to say about it.

  "Fuck no! I'm not sleeping with a murderer! He's gonna kill me overnight!" Lydia shrieks in fear and disagreement.

  "Lydia, killing you automatically paints me a target when everyone knows that I'm the only other person alive in that room," Shinta rolls his eyes. "Use common sense, stupid."

  She glares at Shinta, then looks at the rest of the group. No one spoke up, not even Elios anymore. They were starting to distance themselves from her like how Elios was isolated now.

  "I am not sleeping anywhere near that asshole," Lydia firmly makes her point. "Why are all of you always siding with him like some fucking minions?! Now I know how Elios feels with how irresistibly annoying you all are!"

  "Listen to us, Lydia! You both have the plausibility of being the killer, the rest of us cannot trust either of you as of now to be with us! We're all at risk of death knowing there's a killer amongst the two of you! Shinta can't kill you because it makes him an obvious target if we find you dead tomorrow," Rey tries to reason with her. "Just one night. Please."

  "Lydia, Shinta's got a point. If he did kill-" but Karna gets cut off.

  "Ugh, fuck!" she grips on her tangled hair in anger and punches a desk. "I swear if I'm dead by tomorrow, this is all your fault!"

  Lydia walks into the connecting classroom in anger and slams the door, almost breaking the hinges with how violently it was slammed. Shinta looks out the window and his eyes light up.

  "Well at least she's in there now," Karna rubs his ear in pain. "Bratty ass. Anyways, if we're sleeping tonight, what are we doing tomorrow?"

  "Tomorrow, we will solve this nasty situation. As of now, arguing all night will make us more exhausted than anything," Kenji sighs. "We need rest or we'll wear ourselves out."

  Everyone awkwardly shuffles to 'bed' in the cold classroom. Shinta enters the connecting classroom without reluctance and closes the door behind him.