Yu Lin awoke from her slumber. The sun was shining through the small rectangle window with small silvers bars. She washed her face using some warm water and a basin. Afterwards she sat and waited. It wasn’t long when someone came to her cell.

“Oi,” the investigator, who was carrying the snacks, said as the two guards behind her glaring down at Yu Lin, “get up. We have somewhere to go.” she hissed. Yu Lin stood up from her spot and followed the investigator out of the jail.

Yu Lin was now back in the room she was yesterday where Principal Ro asked her and the others multiple questions. She sat down where she sat yesterday. The investigator stood by the wall, with the rest of the other investigators, as the two guards stood behind her, as if to keep her from running away. It wasn’t long when more students started to enter the room.

Nie Fu entered first, who avoided her gaze as he sat down, followed by Su Me, and then Sanji. Si Zhong entered not long after as she sat down glaring at Yu Lin the whole time. Principal Ro entered last as he pushed Kumamono, who sat in a wheelchair, in. Yu Lin looked at Kumamono to catch her looking away, her pupils trembling. Principal Ro put Kumamono next to Nie Fu as he took his own seat. Yu Lin kept staring at Kumamono, who just stared down at her lap.

“Report.” Principal Ro said. The investigators hit their fist to their chest and put their other arm behind them.

“Investigator Ma reporting,” the male investigator said as he stepped up, “the poison that was found was Kunyu poison. Kunyu poison takes a couple hours before it starts to kick in, but when it does then the person will feel fatigued and be unable to do things themselves unless they receive treatment. The poison however is not life threatening as it can not kill a person, however does damage the body heavily.” the investigator said as he placed the small bottle on top of the table and then stepped back into his spot.

“Investigator Yun reporting,” the female inspector said as she stepped up, “the snacks yesterday were tested and they were found to be poisoned.” she announced as another investigator placed the snacks on top of the table. Afterwards the two stepped back into their places. Principal Ro stared at the snacks and the small bottle before looking up at Kumamono.

“Student Higurashi, did you eat some of these snacks two days ago?” he asked, his eyes gave off a small illumination. Kumamono bit on her lip.

“... yes…” she muttered quietly.

“Did student Du offer you some?” Principal Ro asked. Kumamono’s eyes traveled from one side to the other.

“I… uh… I’m not sure…” she replied. Yu Lin look to see Principal Ro’s eyes illuminate just slightly. “Things were quite… hectic… I don’t remember…” Kumamono hung her head lower.

“It doesn’t matter whether she remembers or not. Evidence has been found already.” Si Zhong said. Yu Lin turned her head to look at Si Zhong who was basically snarling at her.

“Are you saying that I am the perpetrator?” Yu Lin asked.

“If you aren’t the perpetrator then who is it?!” Si Zhong yelled.

“I was gone the whole day that day. Someone could’ve gone in my room and placed the poison there.” Yu Lin said.

“Nothing like this happened until you came here. Who else would do this except you?” Si Zhong hissed.

“Then let me show you something else.” Yu Lin stood up from her seat and she immediately felt firm hands on her shoulders. The hands weighed down on her but she did not back down as she looked at Principal Ro.

“What are you going to do?” Principal Ro asked.

“Prove my innocence. You will at least let me try won’t you?” Yu Lin said. Principal Ro narrowed his eyes before looking at the guards and waving his hand back. Yu Lin felt the hands go off her shoulder.

“Go ahead.” Principal Ro said as he continued to look at her cautiously. A small bowl appeared in Yu Lin’s hand and she threw it to investigator Yun.

“Check to see if its been tampered with.” Yu Lin said. The investigator observed the bowl before walking back to Yu Lin and setting it in front of her.

“It’s an ordinary bowl.” she replied. Yu Lin nodded her head before another bottle appeared in her hand.

“As you all can see, this is Heyan water which is basically just boiled Heyan broth.” Yu Lin said as she threw the bottle to investigator Ma. “Please check it.” she said. Investigator Ma pulled the cap off before inserting a silver chopstick inside. After a moment he pulled it out, and the chopstick did not change in color. He took a small sip and grimaced at the bitter taste. He waited a while before returning the bottle back to Yu Lin.

“There’s nothing unusual about it.” he said. Yu Lin nodded as she poured the Heyan water into the bowl. The Heyan water was clear but gave off a strong bitter smell. Yu Lin looked at investor Yun after she was done pouring. Yu Lin looked at another female investigator. She saw her nametag.

“Miss Tu, Please come and put your hand inside of here.” Yu Lin said.

“Huh? Me?” Investigator Tu pointed to herself. Yu Lin nodded and investigator Tu walked over. She placed her small hands inside. After a few seconds she pulled them out. She looked at her hands and saw nothing. She frowned. “Uh, there’s nothing.” she said.

“That’s right.” Yu Lin said as handed investigator Tu a cloth. After that she reached over and pulled the plate of snacks over as Investigator Tu dried her hands. “Now touch these snacks.” Yu Lin ordered. Investigator Tu frowned as she grabbed a handful of the flower shaped snacks. She then set them back down on the plate as she shook off the crumbs.

“Now?” she asked. Yu Lin nodded towards the Heyan water. Investigator Tu frowned before submerging her hands inside the water. After a minute she pulled them back out and held them up. The inside of her hands were now stained a dark green tint. Yu Lin turned and faced the rest of them.

“It seems that an ingredient from the snacks below when mixed when Heyan water causes the skin to change to a green tone,” Yu Lin said as she placed her hands inside the Heyan water, “if I did make the snacks then shouldn’t my hands turn out the same color?” she said as she pulled out her hands. Her hands were still the same shade of dark grey except for her pointer and thumb finger which had a green stain.

“If you are saying that, how come there’s a stain on your fingers?” Principal Ro questioned.

“Yesterday I picked up one of the snacks to help the investigator here. That’s why my fingers are like this.” Yu Lin responded as she slid the bowl of water in front of Kumamono. Kumamono stared at it her eyes blinking quickly. “Put your hands in.” Yu Lin’s words were cold. She looked up at Yu Lin before looking away. Her hands slowly traveled up as they rested inside the bowl. After a minute she pulled them back out and on her fingers was a light green tint stain. Yu Lin looked around the room and observed their reactions. Most of them had their eyes widened while others just stared on.

“That couldn’t be…” Sanji said under his breath. Kumamono continued to look down not saying a word.

“This does not prove anything!” Si Zhong yelled. Yu Lin turned her head back.

“No, it proves a lot.” Yu Lin hissed back. “It proves that I am not the perpetrator. If I was the one who made these, then my hands should be tinted completely green, but they are not.”

“You could have wore gloves when you made food.”

“Don’t you know that it’s hard to make food with gloves on? Not only that but the investigators did not find such clothing in my room.”

“You had poison in your room! That is enough evidence!”

“I was gone for a couple hours already. Someone could have broke in and planted the poison there.”

“Our locks were made by special blacksmiths. No student could have broke in easily.”

“You’re right, no student could have broke in easily. But, what about an administrator?” Yu Lin narrowed her eyes at Si Zhong. “You guys have access to our room anytime you guys want, right?” Si Zhong’s face flushed red as she slammed the table with her palm.

“Are you saying that one of the teachers did this?!” she yelled.

“I am not saying anything at all, but you do bring up a good point.” Yu Lin turned the conversation around.

“You,” Si Zhong hissed as she glared at her, “Just because you got caught now you want to drag us administrators into this too?! How dar-”

“Then get everyone tested.” Yu Lin said before Si Zhong could finish. “The only sure way to figure out who did this is to test it out like how I just tested just now. That’s the only sure way to find out who the perpetrator is.” Yu Lin turned to face Principal Ro, “isn’t that right, principal?” He looked at her with troubled eyes as he stood up from his seat.

“Du Yu Lin has been freed of all accusations until further notification. This case will now be shifted for the investigators to deal with. Please deal with this case as quietly as possible, we don’t want to alert other students. I trust that you will do your best to find justice for student Higurashi.” Principal Ro said as he stood up from his seat.

“We have heard and we will obey.” the investigators lightly punched their chests as they bowed.

“That wi-”

“Wait a moment!” Yu Lin interrupted Principal Ro. She looked at him to see him staring down at her.

“What is the matter?” he questioned.

“This is a bit unfair for me don’t you think?”

“What do you mean student Du? You have been proven innocent and has been freed from this case. What more would you want?”

“I was not freed because the investigators here did a good job, or that the administrators proved my innocence. I was treated unfairly and abused by the school here.”

“Treated unfairly? When?”

“I was tied up as a suspect and ultimately treated as a perpetrator. My privacy was entered and the investigation was clearly biased against me as no other rooms were search. Not only this but I had to prove my own innocence. I thought it innocent until proven guilty, unless this academy runs on a different basis.” Yu Lin said. Principal Ro bit his lip before letting out a breath.

“I apologize on behalf of our system. What can I do to compensate?” he looked at her with slightly threatening eyes. Yu Lin felt the corners of her lips tugging upwards but she forced them to keep straight.

“Move me to the white section.” Yu Lin answered without hesitation. Everyone looked at her their eyes bulging out of their heads.

“Just what ar-”

“Let’s speak privately now student Du.” Principal Ro said before Si Zhong could finished as he made his way towards Yu Lin. He set a hand down on Yu Lin’s shoulder and the surroundings around Yu Lin changed as she was back in his office. She watched as he pulled his hand away and wipe it against his light purple robes.

“Please help me.” Yu Lin said as she held her tied hands out. He sat in his chair and flicked his wrist. The ropes around her disappeared and she set her hands by her side. “Thank you.” she said. He looked at her, his eyes trying to tie a rope around her neck.

“Why did you request such a thing as compensation?” he asked, his aura pressing down on her shoulders. Yu Lin felt blood travel to the inside of her mouth from her chest. She swallowed it down, showing no weakness.

“I thought it was only fair to do so.” she replied.

“Fair?”

“Yes. From the test that I have taken to enter this school, which someone of the red section would not even began to answer correctly, I believe that I deserve to be in the white section. I was going to work my way up there and believe that I would have gone up there after this upcoming ranking test. I just didn’t have a chance to do so because of this incident, and I didn’t want to wait until the next one.” Yu Lin grabbed onto her trousers as she felt the pressure grow heavier on her shoulders. She dare not fight back.

“I see…” Principal Ro continued to stare at her as he folded his hands and placed it in front of his face. “Is that it?”

“No,” Yu Lin swallowed hard, “buy my silence. If you do this, I will not mention a word about this to my master. You know how he is when he’s angry. Not only this, but you can’t afford to lose him, or can you?” Yu Lin said. The two stood like that for a while as Yu Lin continued to endure the pressure of his aura which grew stronger after what she said. After a while the pressure slowly disappeared as Principal Ro placed his hands on top of the desk.

“I understand. I will make preparations to move you into the white section. Expect to be there within a week’s time.” Principal Ro said. “You may return now.” A piece of paper appeared in front of Yu Lin and Yu Lin caught it before it fell to the ground. Yu Lin let out a small sigh of relief before looking up at him.

“If I may, can I ask you a question?” she cautiously said. Principal Ro raised an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

“Who… who are you protecting?” Yu Lin carefully watched his reaction. Principal Ro’s hand slid off the desk as he stared back at Yu Lin.

“Just… no one. Return now student.” he said. Yu Lin saw no expression on his face and yet she knew underneath that face was a different story. She simply bowed before leaving, not wanting to risk anymore chances.

When she reached her dorm room she looked up to see Kumamono sitting there waiting for her.

“Yu Lin,” Kumamono’s voice was hoarse and her eyes were glassy, “are… are you alright?”

“Kuma, you don’t need to say anything to her!” Sanji said as he suddenly appeared from the corner.

“Sanji? Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“I had a feeling you weren’t just going to rest in your room.”

“But you were wrong… we were both wrong!”

“We should go now. Involving ourselves with her wouldn’t be any good… you know…”

“Sanji!”

“Kuma! Stop… she will soon be gone from here anyways. I… I already did everything… it’s too late to take it back.” Sanji looked down to the ground.

“No. But… I…” Kumamono bit her lip as a tear slowly trailed down her face.

“I’m alright. If you don’t have anything else to say then please move. I have to get ready for class.” Yu Lin narrowed her eyes at them. “Unless you have something to fess up to?” Kumamono looked at her with guilty eyes and opened her mouth.

“I a-”

“We have nothing to say.” Sanji started to push Kumamono back to her room.

“Wait! Sanji!” Kumamono yelled but Sanji didn’t listen.

“Wait,” Yu Lin said before they could enter her room. Sanji stopped and turned around. Yu Lin looked into his green eyes. “If you do have anything to confess, then please tell me. I don’t want our friendship just to end because of this one simple misunderstanding.” Sanji looked away before looking back.

“Be careful… that is all I can say to you.” he said before pushing Kumamono into her room. Yu Lin stared at him before entering her room. She took a quick bath before heading to class. When she entered the classroom people turned to look at her, but she paid them no mind as she sat down.

-

After class she started to head towards the cafeteria when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see Chang Su looking at her.

“Let’s talk for a moment.” Chang Su whispered. Yu Lin nodded her head and started to follow Chang Su. The two walked behind the building and Chang Su looked around to make sure there was no one else around. Yu Lin leaned on the wall.

“What do you want to talk about? Make it quick I am hungry.” Yu Lin said. Chang Su turned around and looked her nonchalant face.

“You are in danger,” he whispered, “once you are targeted you are never going to survive until they get you out of here.”

“Who is targeting me?” Yu Lin asked. Chang Su’s eyes darted around the before he leaned into her ear.

“The Dragon Lair’s members.” his voice was barely audible as he quickly backed away.

“Dragon Lair’s members? Who are they?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out myself. I have to head back now. You take care of yourself.” Chang Su said before walking back towards the Orange section. Yu Lin bit the inside of her lip before heading back to the cafeteria. The line was shorter now and she grabbed some food. After eating she started to head towards the library to see if she could find Wei. She had something she needed to confirm.

On her way she found Wei sitting on a ledge in the corridor. Yu Lin pressed her lips together before pulling out her goard of Heyan water. She pulled off the top and started to drink the Heyan water as she continued walking ahead. As she got closer to Wei she pretended to trip.

“Ah!” she let out a yelp as her gourd went flying forward onto Wei.

“Ah!” she heard Wei yelp. Yu Lin got up from the ground to see the Heyan water all over Wei now.

“I’m sorry.” Yu Lin said as she walked up to her as she tried to wipe the Heyan water off of her robe.

“No. It’s alright.” Wei said as she smiled and picked up the gourd. She handed the gourd to Yu Lin. Yu Lin extended her hand out to grab the gourd and as she took it from Wei she looked at Wei’s hand. Wei’s palm and long fingers did not have any tint of green on them at all. Yu Lin looked at her other hand and also saw nothing. Yu Lin looked up to see her smiling at Yu Lin.

“Thank you.” Yu Lin said as she gave her a small bow.

“Your welcome.” she said back as she continued smiling. “Now if you'll excuse me, I will go change.”

“Of course.” Yu Lin gave her another small bow as she left. As she walked away Yu Lin turned her head to look at her figure. She watched her until she turned the corner. Yu Lin narrowed her eyes before turning back to the front. She bit her lip. ‘If not you… who?’ she thought to herself before also walking back to her room.