We are getting ahead of ourselves however, this all started a year ago. It was a brand new semester and while nobody knew it yet they would soon come to know our name and respect it. While those with darkness in their hearts would learn to fear us. I am not writing this for it become some famous book or to be heard across the world. This is so we can say that we lived, we are human. So no matter what the public may think of us I will only tell the true side of the story. This is how it all began...

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@SimpleWriter@World Traveler@Not Fungus@Ryteb Pymeroce

The new school year started out like any other, everyone had put on their summer uniforms as they got ready to go the only high school in the area. This place was known as Kage private high. It wasn't known for a lot but it did have a few things that the public refuses to see. The students however knew the truth. A teacher or maybe even another student nobody knows for sure, what they know however is that recently their has been a string of murders in the school. The only reason that it hasn't been swarmed by the police and media was because nobody could identify the crime scene. The only thing people saw was a patch of blood in some random spot with a finger. Said finger always held a ring that is why all the students stopped wearing rings in the hopes of not being targets. They called them "The Death Husband" cases, mainly since the only thing that could be confirmed was that it was always females and it was always on the ring finger. Their have been a few male fingers found but females were always a main target. These cases are soon what will bring this bunch of strangers together no doubt because they too were victims and the idea that others will suffer like them will no doubt spring them into solving this case...

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@Killy

It was another day in the offices of the Buriando Precinct the local police department for the city. It was always a busy day another murder here another thief there. They were always short staffed and got minimal funding because they couldn't solve any of these mystery case. The victims were either never found or were done so well that the clues seemed non existent. The only one that seemed to be able to even get a few cases solves was ironically a child of one of their cops. The girl was arrogant but to the chief he didn't give a rats ass, if she solved cases that their detectives couldn't solve then she could be the queen of England for all he cared. The only reason he didn't hire her off the bat was because he knew she had more freedom when she wasn't tethered to the red tape they had to deal with so she only served in an unofficial capacity. A new case graced her through her father it was the case of the "fried piper" as it was called. This case was about a killer who was burning his victims alive. This was done through grease fire meant for french fries. Of course they analyzed the grease residue but it didn't match any known establishment legal or otherwise. They even tried to follow anyone buying the things necessary to make grease but that was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Clearly if she didn't know what to do then they would need to get help from their reclusive consultant

Felix Volpe

It was the start of a new year, and Felix was slightly apprehensive. Who wouldn't be, while attending a school that is the hunting ground of a serial killer. He'd probably be more terrified if he fit the killer's particular tastes.

Though forced to wear the school uniform, he nevertheless refused to wear shoes, preferring his sandals, and swapped his shirt out with his regular green one. Next to him, Raphael walked alongside, similarly flaunting the dress code, but in his case he replaced the jacket with a labcoat. As they moved along, they fell into their regular conversation.

"So, you are working part time at the local clinic?" the fox-themed youth asked, shuffling a deck of cards as they walked.

"Yeah," his friend replied, "I figure it'll help out with getting a college scholarship... plus more experience is helpful when you get over your head again."

Felix blushed slightly, almost dropping the cards from his friends admonishment. "Urgh... it's not entirely my fault..." he replied, "I can't help that trouble likes to follow me like an adorable puppy."

"As loathe as I am to say this, mostly because that was a horrible metaphor, but kick the bloody puppy. Especially with all these serial killers hanging around."

Finally gathering his cards, Felix took an affronted tone. "You're telling me to kick puppies? How could you, you horrible person."

Those casually walking to school could see the hilarious sight of a teen in a lab coat trying to brain his vulpine friend with his bag, as they ran towards school. It was nice for them to have a bit of levity in this dark time.

He wants to repeat those days forever.

The start of something new wasn't always a refreshing beginning. The boy walking to school at the very moment couldn't acknowledge something fresh and new, for that would mean tossing aside the old. He wouldn't acknowledge it, nor could he even accept it. A soulful wound was left when his best friend departed ahead of himself. That's the only reason he was walking all by his lonesome to school.

It hasn't been that long, but it wasn't really that recent either. He's lost in his own head about what he should do now. "What can I do?" he muttered to himself.

It's obvious what he can do. He only needs to do two things. First, he needs to keep his everyday life whole. Second, he needs to catch the bastard who nearly destroyed it entirely. He has to atone. If he never cracked the inviolable law of his friendship, this probably would've never happened. There's no way to know that for sure, but that's all he can believe.

He can only make up for it by doing what Kenji would've done. Destroy the criminal's life. Trap him and force him to self-destruct. He'll do it the way Kenji would've done, if he were to die in his place instead.

While he was drowning in those poisonous thoughts, he heard two friends exchange a nice conversation that almost reminds him of the destructive relationship he had with his own friend.

" Oh... I just need to reclaim my normal life." Even though he couldn't realize that it vanished alongside his only connection to the world. It's taking almost everything to not regress into a solipsistic stagnation to keep his internal balance in check.

With what's left, he's going after the killer no matter what.

Devin woke up to the sound of his dad banging on his door to wake up and get to school. Rolling out of bed and getting himself ready he was out of bed and out the door in an efficient 24 minutes. Throwing on some headphones and walking to school meant he spent most of his morning on his phone listening to music and scanning the social media of his life.

Few surprises were found as most were about the recent murders that had been taking place at his school. Over the summer break his dad had been somewhat crazy and talking about moving or sending Devin and his little sister to some other school. Of course that wasn't really an option for Devin, but he figured the whole thing was really just bringing up their mothers case again.

The fact that the fingers were found and people had been going missing didn't just freak Devin out, they had him downright angry. He was angry that the police didn't seem to know anything, he was angry at the faculty for not knowing anything, and he was pissed at his fellow students for thinking they knew everything and confusing gossip and rumor with facts. The social media surrounding the missing persons was enough to make him hurl.

Switching to music he threw on some beats and walked the rest of the 15 minutes to school listening to some zone out music and casually giving the nod to fellow classmates as they all made their way into the educational penitentiary that was Kage Private High. When he rounded the gate with the school sign and walked up the front courtyard he saw a few people he shared classes with last year. One or two seemed to notice him and didn't say much while the rest seemed more engrossed in their conversation.

Since last year Devin's evening antics were starting to gain him some street credit. Only problem was the credit was he was just a kid having a tantrum. His schools opinion of him was a roller coaster to say the least. Not too long ago he was the poor kid who lost his parent. Now he was the up and coming hoodlum people avoiding eye contact with and never seemed to want to walk with. Devin didn't much care. He was over the school after last year and wasn't interested. In fact the only reason he was at school was because of one thing.

Whomever was taking people and cutting off fingers needed to be stopped. If no one knew anything someone at this school underneath all the BS just might know who is doing it or be responsible. Hell would freeze over if Devin didn't try and stop it. A bloody finger isn't too far off from a bloody eye...

It was still early when Kyoko had woke up; even by her family's standards. Hers was a well off family, but it was so primarily due to her parents constant efforts. As such, she and her brother had been raised being told time and time again to work all, give it your all and to always look and act your best - and that, from their earliest years. Not only did Kyoko made sure to wake up before her parents, but it as expected so. Being up so early had it's advantages, as Kyoko managed to sneak in an hour of studying before leaving for school.

Kage Private High; not the best - not the worst. She might have been sent to another school, but none existed in the area. It did not matter, as long as you put in the effort. Of course there was the matter of...that rumor. The ''Death Husband'' or some such. People had been talking about it, and evidences had been found. Police was at the school a few times, Kyoko had seen them...but she did not let any of this distract her from her dilligence towards studying. She had to be 1st of her class - she just had to. There was no time for-

Bump

Her books fell to the ground. "Oh! So sorry. Here, let me help you." said the teacher into whom the young student had just bumped into. "Oh...Don't, I'm...Humm...". In her mind that sentence made sense, but she failed the delivery. Again. She could feel the pressure building up, and even though she knew there was absolutely no reason to feel this way there was no fighting it. "Say, aren't you..."

"Sorry!" Kyoko let out, half audibly, before leaving, still looking down.

Later, as she was sitting in the front row of her first class, that incident still weighed on her. Partly because of her failure yet again to communicate with someone, but also because of... that girl, and what happened to her. Surely it was not her fault, though...was it? There was nothing Kyoko could have done to save that girl. It was just out of her control. Yes, that was surely it...

...but why would it not leave her mind?

Mana chewed a pencil as she looked at the notes for the latest case. Truth to be told her mind wasn't on it, her first instincts were to look for any establishments to see where the grease was coming from but that turned out to be a dud, and looking to see who was making it was a fool's errand. She sighed, if anyone at the station was even half as competent as her she could just handle them the case and go do something productive with her time, like continuing her search for the blood eye terrorist. Upon thinking about the case Mana could feel her blood boiling. If she considered that she had hit a dead end with this current case she was in a much worse situation with the blood terrorist. At least she could track the fried piper with enough effort, but the other culprit was practically a phantom.

Deciding that she had spent too much time sitting there doing nothing she grabbed the case files and some of the grease samples they had managed to scoop up in one of the crime scenes. Begrudgingly if she wasn't getting any results she was going to do the same thing as the police and outsource her job. Much like her, there was another person the police tended to consult when they were out of clues. He wasn't much of a detective but was knowledgeable in various subjects to be of some use to them if only he was a little less anti-social it would be easier to deal with him.

Mana reached his address, knowing him it was easier going to his house rather than making him come to the station. Besides, she had given him a secret mission; investigating the calling card Mana had received from the blood eye terrorist. If he could find clues to both the blood eye terrorist and the fried paper she could deal with two annoyances in one visit. Though she would be fine with just something that could point her towards the terrorist's identity or how he operated.

Present Day

Even now, Mom insists on getting up early to make me breakfast. This is after I showed her all my self taught cooking skills from living in a dormitory my four college years, not that I could discern her criticism of it through that ageless glower. It's been a year since I graduated from the local university and moved back home, drawn into Mom's embrace again like our tied blood relation strings us both.

At least my workplace is closer than needed for a car ride. My job has been simple so far, sitting at the computer recording inventory of all our donations, and manning the front desk for any visitors inquiring about the services our charity provides. Sometimes I've been assigned as an assistant for whomever Boss entrusts recent hires to, so I follow senior case workers to beneficiaries in the community in order to distribute goods. And the pay's good enough for one more year before I head off to earn my master's degree. If there's any regrets to be had, my resume might gain little traction from even fibs like "Assistant Case Manager" or "Inventory Specialist," paid for costs of opportunities farther from my hometown.

As I walk by the church, reflecting on my sources of dependence, I remember something I lost instead in one of them.

Past Winter

When the funeral procession began for Raven Harlan I hadn't been present, mentally. I barely shuffled up the aisle in time with other attendees, my eyes dipped towards the feet of the coffin bearers. They were especially fixated on one bearer's purple high tops partly tucked under their slacks, still clashing with the surrounding black ensemble. I was wondering whether to express penitence for Raven myself as someone nudged then pulled me to my seat.

My body knelt in prayer for the Office of the Dead while my mind continued to wander. That moonlit night, I hadn't hidden nor taken Raven's necklace, not until the police arrived and collected it themselves as evidence. Presumably it was returned to the Harlan family after the investigation, in its broken, renounced state. Should I be praying for Raven's redemption, or would that even be respecting my willful friend's dying wish? With the times I skipped church myself while in college, I would need to reassert my own wavering faith first, already divided and tested among other significant figures in my life.

The only hint I had gotten from Raven before of any dissent, was once playing basketball against her. She suggested allowing me to make a quick prayer before she could contest my shots. I naturally retained my limited finesse, and we had stopped playing together once Raven wanted stronger competition. And now, she who once dared to overcome any larger challenge, I had found in some dark alley left for dead by everyone, even me.

I opened my eyes slightly glancing side to side, and I noticed her mother in an opposite pew, face under a veil. Her family sat beside her, and judging by their various states of bowed to near upright heads not all of them were religious. It occurred to me the one coffin bearer among them wearing the purple shoes might have done so out of pragmatism.

Father Harlan, himself in brilliant white vestments, proceeded to preach about the unknown journeys people must take after having arrived at every known destination. And one by one as some others rose to their feet in acknowledgment, offering their own thoughts and prayers, I realized most everyone except me was believing the same thing. Raven was still with them in spirit, on another path parallel to theirs. While I, I had just felt alone in the darkness since that night. No other light could shine brighter than the one I used to feel with Raven. The void beside me wouldn't be filled by anyone else.

Between then and preparing for today, I had thought of composing my own prayer to Raven and for Him to have mercy. But now I didn't want His light to shine upon me and bless me with any presence. I was alone and lost the only presence that I witnessed possess the individual drive she had, but she had still left me an example of strength. Perhaps it was this strength that separated us after high school, and I should cherish it as her parting gift.

I held back a bitter smile for hours, up to the Final Commendation and Farewell. As the coffin was treated with holy water and incense, suddenly the church doors opened from behind, and a man rushed down the aisle towards the altar. Raven's mother nearly lifted her veil to witness with the rest of us, this man trying to open the coffin lid and pleading Raven's name, before Father Harlan shoved him away then two other priests escorted him back outside.

The interruption had little impression on me though. Father Harlan announced that the Rite of Committal at the cemetery would be restricted to family only, before officially ending the funeral service. I became conscious of Dad tugging my sleeve and Mom frowning at me, as we made our way to the reception afterwards.

It was just my luck to meet an old "friend" and their family, as mine took aside hers for a chat. I had only joined her clique in church and school back then out of social necessity, and though there were some genuine people I liked hanging out with, she hadn't been one of them.

"Hey Angela, been a while. I'm...sorry for the loss, knowing you and Raven were close back then."

"Yeah hey...well you know, trying to move on by being here."

"Oh definitely, I wouldn't want what happened to her for anyone else."

"Uh yeah..."

"...So, are you done with university? Got a job?"

"Mm hmm, I work here at the charity now actually."

"Oh cool, I'm just starting out as an entrepreneur. And I found a boyfriend."

"Well, guess that's better than living with parents."

"Can't beat the free room and board though."

"I actually cook for them, dinner usually, since I got used to it in college."

"Oh, so you can cook..."

Her boyfriend swooped in, "A friend of my girlfriend is a friend of mine. We can invite you out to eat sometime, if you want--"

"I can cook too."

"Uh, sure babe..."

"Thanks, but I'd like some alone time for now. Wouldn't want to add to your list of needs for each other," I cut in, my "friends" then looking at each other in confusion.

"Thought so," I finally let go my smile.

@SimpleWriter@World Traveler@Not Fungus@Ryteb Pymeroce

As the new school year started everyone went and headed to their homeroom classes. The young victims of blood eye had the odd fortune to have the same class. Although they of course were placed in different parts of the room. It wasn't long before the first bell rang signaling the start of class. They were soon treated to the sight of their homeroom teacher coming in. She was a young lady Still in her prime as she was in her early 30s but damned if you could get her to say the exact number of years. She wore a business suit with a business skirt and a nice dark blue blouse that matched said skirt. She had long brown hair reaching to her shoulder blades with no ring on her finger though if this was because of the killer or because she simply wasn't married you can't be sure. She then introduced herself as Mujitsu Kazuta (first name Mujitsu) and she passed out the syllabus for what they would expect in the coming year. Once that was passed out she went on explaining their schedules and what they would be doing, as if it were any other school day.

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@Killy

As she traveled with her grease samples to find the second consultant to the police. She had to make a trip out to the sticks. She had to take a train to the suburbs near the edge of the city limits. When she got their it was another half our before she found herself at the local doctors office. The local doctor was a doctor that liked to bend the rules if it meant helping the patients but their was only a single patient she couldn't help and he lived upstairs. When she opened the door a blond girl with a white lab coat opened it. She looked to be in her early 20s still very young for being a doctor but then again she lived out where their was hardly a need for a local doctor. She sighed as she saw her come over and said "Another visit for Shiba I take it. You remember the rules your father told you?" she asked since she remembered her first visit to seeing this particular consultant. No loud noise, and don't force your way in unless its to hand him something. Once she was given the rules she walked upstairs with her and told Shiba that he had a business visitor. In moments she heard the sound of him moving to the door. He then slipped a piece of paper under the door Can I help you? the note said

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@Aurrorian

As she soon made her way to the charity office she soon saw that everyone was already busy at work. That was mainly due to the fact that not many people would want to work for a charity organization. She was soon found by her boss as he told her "Hey Angela Thank god your here. Listen we are just swamped organizing an event at a local school but of course we are having trouble getting it set up. Can you head over and act as their temporary counselor? They have people that need someone to talk to" He said being careful not to say that she was going to help victims of missing person cases since that seemed to much for a rookie to handle. However, he had faith she could handle it unlike the rest of them she was still young enough to understand how the teenage mind works and what to say. Most of them were already hitting their 40s of course. He then gave her the address to the private high school she would be heading to before he left to help someone else get the supplies ready for said event.

Felix

---

As Raph had ended up in a different class, there was no one there to stop Felix's usual shenanigans. Activating a recording device he found in a second hand store, he tuned out the lesson to focus on more important things, at least in his opinion.

While the blood eye case was the most important thing to figure out, there was literally nothing to go on. The letter had been a dead end, the only thing they could find was the sender was local, which was obvious. Testing it for poisons had come up with nothing. Inwardly, Felix shuddered, remembering the sessions where him and Raph tried to figure out what chemical concoction could cause the effects. On the upside his chemistry and biology had improved from the insane torture sessions Raphael calls research.

Currently he was occupied with defeating Nemesis, his arch enemy in Card Gaming. So far he hadn't met her in person, as he never really cared for IRL competitions, but every time he went online they were always topping the rankings. Raph called him petty for spending obscene amounts of time on trying to beat someone who was obviously a shut-in NEET with too much time on their hands, but it was the principle of the matter. He was currently looking over the notes he took on her past matches, looking for stuff to exploit.

Oh, there was also the Ring Killer... but that could wait until maths.

Suigin was almost late for class at the sluggish pace he walked. His neutral face belied his true thoughts. He was considering skipping class to go hunt for the killer, but he believed he should at least go to school for one day. Just to remember why he's doing this.

The class was mind-numbingly boring. It was just a female teacher introducing herself and explaining the schedule and what the class will consist of. While he started to yawn, his thoughts retreated to the back of his head. He focused on the memory of his dead friend and tried to pull out any clues he could think of from that scene.

Bloody eye. Same thing as some other cases he heard about in this city. No possible way it could've been something external. It had to have been something internal for sure. Drugs? Poison? Kenji wasn't the type of person to use drugs. He smoked cigarettes, but he used nothing else. 'Could it have been external if someone ran an icepick through his eye all the way to his brain?' He attempted to guess at the cause, but all it led him to was the surety of it being internal damage.

"Almost like a hemorrhage or a hyphema; however, those shouldn't be fatal," he muttered aloud from an enlightenment. His mind went back to the classroom when he received the syllabus, but he didn't let go of that train of thought. He doesn't know what kinds of poisons or drugs could induce a hemorrhage or hyphema. He doesn't even know if that's actually how the victims died, but that's all he has to go on. The cause could be something even more elementary than that.

'So, I have a guess on the cause, but I don't even have any idea on who the culprit could be. Going outside should serve as a nice matrix for balanced schemes.' He just needs to wait until the school day is over.

The Death Husband cases? Not once did those banal crimes even enter the very peripheral of his mind. He ascertained his objective and then fully turned his thoughts towards the class. He let out a content sigh and began to enjoy the remaining sense of jubilation.

It would never stop bothering Mana that Shiba lived so far away from the police station, or the city in general. Mana had little to do while she waited in the train, it would be fruitless to try to think of a possible clue there. Helping her out of a dead-end was the entire reason she was visiting Shiba after all. Instead, she decided to pass time by playing a card game on her phone instead, most of the players there didn’t seem to know what they were doing so it was pretty easy for her to rack up wins. Out of all the players she had been against ever since she started playing the game only one has given her trouble and even broke her win streak multiple times.

The brat (because only a brat would have enough free time to do nothing but play) managed to drag the game long enough so that the time for her to get off the train had finally arrived. With some reluctance and while biting her lip Mana forfeited the match, she needed to have her mind on the case and not be thinking about card games when she arrived with Shiba. Though she swore she was going to get the upper hand next time. Knocking on the door she gave a polite smile to Dr. Sakura and nodded after being asked about the rules. This time Mana did have something to show him so she could force her way into the shut-in’s room.

Once upstairs, she sighed at seeing the piece of paper slip from inside the room. He had to learn to talk with people more. Grabbing the piece of paper Mana pulled a pen from her pocket and began writing a brief summary of the ‘fried piper’ case. Asking him to open the door so she could show him the grease samples, not that she didn’t plan on opening the door herself if he declined to open it. Below the case summary, she added in small letters “Did you find out anything about the calling card?”

Devin kicked off his shoes and changed into his school kicks just as the first warning bell rang out a crossing the grounds. He took his one book out of his locker and threw his backpack as a trade locking the small holding cell and making his way into class which was already mostly full of students eager to catch up with friends, but at the time clearly disinterested in the primary purpose for school and classrooms.

Why did my last name have to be Coal. He thought as he sat in his first row seat facing the front of the rooms speaking space. When he had sat down the area immediately around him seemed to get a little quieter. This was pretty common for anyone whose mother had been murdered and was nursing a somewhat bad rap at school. Devin ignored it as he saw some of the fellow members of the pity party were in his class as well.

He saw Sandada Kyoko, Suigin Ikotsu, and Felix Volpe had all been assigned to his classroom as well. "Fu*king great." he muttered to himself. The last time they had all been in a room was when the most recent murder involving the blood eye terrorists had happened. The whole thing turned into a media circus with newspaper photographers crashing a school assembly memorial and the school surprising them with photos of their murdered love ones. Flipping open his book to a random page and pulling his phone out Devin returned to what actually mattered. The article on his phone was about cities most recent serial killer.

He barely looked up when the teacher came in and started class. His phone tucked just under the handouts and sidelined by his book. Her name was Kazuta, something or whatever, frankly the fact that anyone would want to start working in this town meant Devin figured she wasn't right in the head. If he had any say in it he sure as hell wouldn't be living in this town.

Still lost somwhere in her mind, Kyoko barely noticed the arrival of more of her peers until, eventually, in came their teacher and class began.

Like most, focusing solely on the class was harder than usual but Kyoko made it a highest priority to do so - as with everything else academics. Even for her, though, it was hard to remain focused as the image of that girl periodically came back to her mind every so often. It was for that reaosn that, in an attempt to change her mind, she noticed the person sitting beside her in the front row; Kevin Coal.

His was a strange name, foreigner for sure, although Kyoko did not judge based on those details. However, she was not above judging others on certain occasions...such as when someone was pretending listening to class while checking their phones. The young girl aspired to many things, and in the more immediate she wanted to be chosen s a member of the student council. So, she had to act the part in order to be noticed. It was for that reason that on the first occasion she had, whether it be during a pause or some sort of free time where people could talk or work together, Kyoko mustered all of her courage to put on a serious face and, from her seat, slightly tilted towards him and said;

"Mr.Coal. Ph-Phones are n-not permitted w-w-hile c-class is o-ongoing..."

Her voice was trembling, her face was lightly red and she did not look directly at him - but she delivered the intended message.

And that was mission success enough for her for now.

@World Traveler

Felix Volpe

---

"Yes... don't bring out your phone." muttered Felix, overhearing the girl, Kyo-something, try to admonish her neighbour. It was only a 4/10 on the Raphael scale of admonishment, would've been a 5 but the stutter lowered it. Unsurprisingly Felix was also on his phone, having a nice battle with Nemi-chan.

It was amusing to play against someone with equal or greater skill, though he had to admit most of the fun came from the psychological battle. Nemi-chan was prideful, super prideful, which admittedly was backed up by their impressive intellect if the games he had played against her were any evidence (they were). However, that pride was also a weakness against someone like him, who has a habit of provoking anger in others. Thus the Nemi-chan. This brought them to the current game, where he was intentionally drawing it out while he set up his plans, either to time out as a draw, or to get Nemi-chan angry enough to make a mistake he can capitalise on. Unfortunately (for them) the game ended in Nemi-chan's forfit, probably because they ragequit. He decided to send them a consolatory message.

'Better luck next time, Nemi-chan, your favourite Kitty will play you anytime! X

It privately amused him to use the name Kitsune, as his was capacious as a fox, but lazy like a cat. Anyway onto the murders around school...

Felix began thinking, and drafting, various theories and conjectures about how the murderer was doing this. The main thing he got to was that it had to be a hidden room, but surely something like that would show up in the school plans, even as deadspace. In fact, why would there be a hidden room in a school, it's a school for crying out loud. Unless it's used by a secret society after hours, yes, maybe it's a cult whose goal was based around preventing people wearing rings! But why... maybe rings stop their evil masters from possessing peoples brains and turning them into meatsuits! My god, that explains why Raph is such a stick in the mud. Wait... Raph's always been like that.

...

Felix decided that he probably needed someone to bounce his ideas off of. That or to start taking anti-psychotics again, but those made his brain too slow.

@Killy

@SimpleWriter@World Traveler@Not Fungus@Ryteb Pymeroce

The class continued as it should as if it were a normal day. The teacher kept lecturing the class and talking about the school year and what tests and exams they should expect. Standard fair for the first day of the school year after all. Soon enough however they heard an ear piercing scream. It caused everyone to stop for a moment but the teacher told everyone to stay calm joking about how it was probably just their cheer squad trying to be more vocal during practice. The excuse was flimsy but it was all to avoid a panic. Everyone was of course curious and right before the bell rang for the end of the homeroom period to be over and get everyone to their next class as if nothing had happened.

If the investigators were smart however they would try to find the source of said scream. When they did they would find the closest thing to a crime scene since the start of the serial murders, or kidnappings since no body was ever found. Their crime scene was in music room at the end of the hall to the second floor of the classroom building. The room had a bunch of instruments lying against the wall and all looking fairly used recently for a practice. Their were a few lockers nearby filled with cleaning equipment or the items of the music room classmates. At the north edge of the room was the grand piano, lying on the seat meant for the pianist was a finger holding a ring on its finger. From how skinny it looked it was obviously a woman's finger which fits the killers MO. The Window next to the piano was opened however since the crime scene was fresh they would find a few shards of glass hidden under the piano however broken glass made no sense as their was no broken windows...



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@Killy

As she would send the paper back to him he would look it over it would seem he would have no choice but to let her in. He would then write back "wait one moment please he then stood up and unlocked the door to his room. She would see entire stacks of books almost reach the ceiling each one organized by subjects. If one didn't know better they would think they were support beams. He then took the samples before he gestured to a chair next to his computer. It was next to his closed window of course and as he took the samples he placed them nearby knowing he would need to borrow Sakura sans lab to test these. Once she sat down he gave her a paper filled with the specifics of his analyzing for the threat letter from the terrorist. He then went to his laptop which was on a desk of course it was also covered in books but he was able to use it fairly easily. Then a robotic voice came to life, he was able to type and have the laptop speak for him. It then said "The killer was smart their were no prints to be found and the magazine letters come from ones that are to common to be traced back anywhere. However, the one thing that stood out was that the papers have faint traces of ocular fluid on top of the target names. This is extremely difficult to obtain without causing pain meaning that the killer knows how to handle eyes, either it means he is a skilled optometrist or that has access to warehouses that store human body parts the computer explained. Of course Shiba didn't speak a word and his hands moved as quick as you would expect a shut in to be able to.

Felix

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It says something about Felix's sanity that he immediately ran towards the scream. He didn't really care for detentions, though Raph would probably be pissed with him for that. Judging from the slightly deadened sound of the scream, it had to be in one of the rooms with soundproofing. This was something the boy knew from the Old Man's sexual escapades, sound proofing doesn't stop noise. He internally shuddered at the memory, but put it aside as he headed for the music room.

The first one on the scene, he immediately looked around. What was the murderer's obsession with rings? Is the killer an overly dramatic fan of Lord of the Rings? No, if that was the case they'd be hoarding the rings...

As he was pacing with his thoughts, he noticed a glimmer of light underneath the piano. What the, why would glass be underneath the piano? From the spread, it seems like it came from the window... which is still in one piece.

"So the point of entry was a window, just not the one in this room... or would that be that version of this room?" Felix muttered as he used his shirt to pick up one of the shards and compared it to the window. "But that would imply..."

Present Day

I simply nod at this unprecedented turn of events. Me, finally trusted by Boss to act by myself for work, not only that but to do some counseling? I essentially shadowed my seniors in the previous cases we worked, looking over my shoulder while they did the talking. Now this is no chance to mess up, Angela.

Recalling my college courses, I think about how textbook my approach should be, balanced against what my peers had indirectly taught me in the field. Most of the clients we interacted with were adult heads of household however, their children or wards usually away from home like at school. It hits me then that Boss may have assigned me to counsel at a school, because I would be closer in age to the students compared to my coworkers. I clap my face in reassurance as my ride share pulls up, and minutes later I arrive at Kage Private High.

I sign in at the administrative office, then a secretary leads me towards the counseling office, where I introduce myself to the sole counselor of the entire school. A bit curious that a private school has little budget for no more than one, and the dark circles under their eyes shows the load they have to carry. But one statement by them unexpectedly clarifies the true pressure they face,

"I appreciate the help from you and your organization, Angela. It's...the recent case surrounding this school, the Death Husband. Students just keep coming to me with their fears, and for comfort if their classmate went missing."

My heart skips a beat. Of course, I remember now hearing the school name before on the news. My mind instantly flashes to Raven, and I wouldn't be surprised if my own eyes darkened in intensity. But, this isn't Blood Eye, and I can't let my past trauma cloud my exchanges with the inevitable students that arrive for counseling later today.

A scream in the distance probably makes everyone in the room break into a sweat. The secretary tells me to wait inside while they confirm the situation, so I do until a flurry of movement later outside, I notice the secretary in the main office across the hall urgently dialing the phone. I use the bathroom excuse to leave the counselor, and after meandering close enough to confirm the call was indeed for emergency services, I hurry off in a vague direction I think the scream came from.

I don't ascend to another floor of the large school building in case I get called back, but the closer to the location I get the more I could tell it was somewhere above. I stand unsure of my agency in the hallway, classrooms to either side and definitely opposite the direction of the bathroom, when the bell rings. Immediately, someone with two distinctly spiky hair growths bursts out of a classroom door and sprints for the staircase, followed by three other students trailing them in succession. Considering it broke the usual pattern of the rest of the students filing out of their classes in a steady stream towards their next class, I could draw the nearest conclusion as to what they shared in common with me at the moment.

"Raven would've been brave confronting a murderer like that. At least, I think she was with Blood Eye..." I mutter under my breath before moving again with the crowd. The tide directs me towards the stairs so I go with it, catching a glimpse of one of the four earlier students before finally following them under my own volition. I end at an unusually quieter spot on the second floor sparse with students, except for the four grouping around a door down the hall. I slowly approach them and peer through the doorway into what appears to be a music room.

"Um, excuse me, are students supposed to be up here?" I ask, before realizing my dumb question.

'Already..." Devin thought as not one, but two fellow classmates nagged him about using his phone. With attitude he shoved the small device in his backpack and simply crossed his arms and zoned out while the teacher started to go over what Devin already had read the moment it was handed to him. The monotony of syllabus day was interrupted by a piercing scream that seemed to go beyond echos in the hallway. Having almost fallen into a trance the noise shot him up straight and made the whole classroom go silent. Felix seemed to shoot up and leave while the teacher only pretended to stop him. It took a few seconds but the teacher got the class back in order and seemed to shoot a dagger look at Devin when he motioned to get up. Sitting back down in his desk he let the class drone back on and return to teaching students about what it means to be late or absent from class.

After class ended and Devin was released into the hallway he cut left towards his next class, but then took the stairs instead of going to his second period which was on the first floor. While clearly a powerful scream it was also clear it came from above. He didn't need to push his way through the sea of other students as the face he had on told those that saw him that Devin was in a mood. As soon as he was at the second floor he saw that the music room door was cracked open. This was weird considering the music room didn't have classes in it till the afternoon when the part time music teacher was in school grounds. Making his way over and walking into the room he was met with the same thing the others were.

Once inside Devin saw that Felix hadn't just ran off to play hooky. 'And yet my phone was such a disturbance' he thought with an eye roll. Walking into the room and seeing the yardstick next to the chalk board he grabbed it and started looking around the room. He took his phone out and started to snap some pictures of the obvious parts of the crime scene which included the finger as the center piece.

The glass under the piano and the finger were the most obvious parts there was no liquid found around the glass so it wasn't likely a vase or cup plus no flowers or anything else for that matter seemed out of place. "There any glass in a piano?" Devin asked Felix not being too familiar with the instrument. While he was making his way around the lockers to see if there was anything else, specifically anything made of glass that made sense he heard an adult voice asking if students were supposed to be here.

"It is a classroom." Devin said while looking over at the white haired woman. He didn't want to be interrupted and was thankful that Felix had been mostly quiet while they both walked the room mostly independent from each other. "I don't think unaccompanied adults without visitors passes are though." he said with a somewhat dismissive tone. He then returned to the room and, using the yard stick, started opening any lockers that were partly open already.

Mana slowly entered the room as she inspected the books that at this point could very well act as support beams for this place. The room might be in an even worse state than the last time she visited, much to her disdain, she wasn’t sure if the fact that the hoard of books was ordered by subject made the whole thing better or worse. While taking a loot at the room Mana decided to give a quick look at her phone, maybe one of the guys at the station had found something useful for once. Instead, she saw her little rival had sent her a consolatory message. Mana bit her lip as she put her phone back in her pocket, how did he dare to even think of that as a win? She was five moves tops of getting another victory!

Thankfully the sound of Shiba's text to speech program brought her back to reality. It was one of the already many weird things he did that she already had gotten accustomed too, at least this way was faster than writing things on paper, and she was somewhat sure that at this point the program's voice spoke faster than his natural voice. “Ocular fluid, huh?” Mana repeated the words as Shiba mentioned them. Of course, even his calling card had to have some eye motif into it, she smiled. The terrorist couldn’t resist giving them a small clue, and she was going to latch on to that until she found him.

Finally, with some direction in which to take the calling card investigation, Mana stood up “Well then, let’s go look for the warehouse today” she said firmly, making it clear that she wasn’t asking Shiba if he wanted to go. “We’ll go looking at who has access to warehouses with corpses in them, and if there have been any strange incidents.”

A scream drew his attention. And not just his attention he belatedly realized, but the whole classrooms attention and maybe even the whole school from how mind-numbingly loud it was. It was a truly bloodcurdling thing that had absolutely no right to be in a peaceful setting such as a high school. Of course, somebody had to go run towards it, probably intending to play detective. Suigin would've huffed in annoyance had the scream not already cracked his peace. As such, he merely stayed in his seat and waited for the class to end before he actually went to investigate the cause behind that scream.

The bell rang and he left at a normal pace. He knows this school better than anyone. Even better than his former friend who loved to play hooky and sneak around the school...

He shook those intrusive thoughts from his mind and continued to where the scream would be. Nearing closer to the music room, he noticed a door ajar. He slipped right into the opening and saw two people already at the scene. His eyes took in the sight of a ring finger laying on the piano seat.

"Was that really it?" he muttered to himself in a baffled tone. Even as he saw the short redhead pick up a glass shard from his peripheral vision his thoughts were more focused on something as worthless as this actually attempting to tear apart one of his bastions of peace.

He could feel foreign emotion akin to anger come over him temporarily, but someone who's clearly not a student barged into the room. He doesn't recognize her at all, so she isn't school staff. He immediately put her out of his mind and focused on more important matters. He heard the other student respond to her calmly, so he really didn't need to respond to her.

He can't take on a mystery like this with annoyance bubbling in his core. He took a deep breath through his mouth and let it out through the same orifice. "Now, let's finish this up quickly. Still have classes."

Suigin sighed and cooled his immense frustration before going over towards the lockers. He pulled them open not too quickly nor too slowly. He needs to check everything, find out the cause of this crime, and return to his goals. "Death Husband...really, how annoying."