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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@Not Fungus@Ryteb Pymeroce@Faerrin

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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@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.

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.

Present Day

Boss got straight to the point for today, and I simply nod at this unprecedented turn of events. Me, finally trusted 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.

---

Sitting in class with his head on his desk, Felix internally cursed the Blood Eye killer again. Before, he had been content to let things lie so long as they didn't create a big impact on his world, but now that he had started trying to track the guy down, everything became exposed to his range of vision. Currently he was pooling the known information of the Death Husband caee in his mind.

The killer either had training or some aid in catching people unaware, as the sites with the finger shows no signs of immediate struggle. Their fixation with the rings is interesting, implying they have some history with them. Either a widower who has gone mad, or a spurned lover who wants to take their spite out on others. Probably an idea to check the teachers personal files and social media at some point to eliminate potential suspects. He doubted it was a fellow student, it was way too clean for a psychopath of his age group to perform.

As he thought, he absentmindedly answered the teachers questions with correct answers rather than the wrong ones he normally gave out.

Mi Yu-na. Artist, musician, vice president of the Student Council. Rich girl. The lucky one. She had a lot of titles, but she dismissed the ones given to her by the other students. And she probably wasn't being the best role model. One earbud was in, blasting one of her favorites bands: ONE OK ROCK. She was tapping the rhythm out on the desk absentmindedly. Whenever the teacher looked at her hoping she'd answer, she just pretended she wasn't paying attention. Someone else was answering them, which was unusual. But a lot of unusual things were happening lately. Her brain was focused on combating these new killings. It tore off the scab of healing after her mother's death. Was she depressed? No. She was determined to find this blood eye and bring them to justice. Her fingers grabbed up her pen as she started to tap the beat on her notebook. She started writing a rough draft of new policies to keep students safe, as well as her own notes on her personal investigation.

Soft whispers of the lyrics of the next song left her as she thought. It had to be an adult. Somebody with experience in wielding sharp objects. That could range from medical officials to chefs...and it had to be someone either connected to the victims or knew someone connected to the victims. Or perhaps there was even an accomplice. There was a lapse in thought as a favorite song of hers came on. 'The Day' by Porno Graffitti. It was a welcome break from her stressed thoughts. And it also brought up some good memories of her brother taking her to their concert in Osaka. They did a tour with Uverworld and Flow. It had gone late, but it was during the summer so it didn't matter. She remembered that her brother had given her an open seat to rest in, which had turned into her falling asleep. Koya had carried her home.

She shook herself out of her nostalgia as a new song came on. Her mind drifted back to the cases...mostly female fingers with rings. But what had kept her brain stuck for the past few nights were the male fingers. There had to be a reason there were fingers from men. Some had speculated that it was nothing, but that hadn't sated her. She knew it was an important detail, but she couldn't figure out why. Tap tap. If it was just females, it would be easier. The evidence would have pointed to either spurned love and jealousy, or a grudge against unfaithful girls masquerading as otherwise. Perhaps it was the same but with males? Tap tap tap. Maybe the killer was bi? It wouldn't be too far-fetched. And it seemed too thought out and methodical to be a crime of passion. Those cases were usually easily solved because the killer didn't think it through. No, they were dealing with a cold-blooded killer. Or at least, it was assumed the victims were dead. Maybe that's what they wanted the public to think? Maybe...tap tap. Her mind drifted down a spiral of speculation as she tapped out the beats of her music.

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.

In the middle of the class, his thoughts were taken back to a previous exchange he had with his best friend when he was still alive. He recalled it only because of his staunch resolution to find the killer combined with the fact of his death. A time before their conflict was brought to a head.

"Hey, what would you do if I ended up dead?" he remembers asking. He can still see the belligerent grin of his blonde friend.

"I'd laugh." Kenji delivered that response soon after he closed his eyes in thought. "You?"

"I'd laugh."

His mind was taken back to the present when the teacher called on him to answer a question. Suigin answered the question as he only half-listened to what the teacher was saying. He was still feeling a bit tired from not getting that much sleep recently.

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, for what it's still worth.

@Faerrin@Not Fungus@Ryteb Pymeroce@Aurrorian

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.

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...

---

Felix was startled out of his thoughts by the scream. This also had the effect of waking up the person he had taken to calling his imaginary friend, as no one else could see Ren moving about. The fox plush poked his head out of Felix's bag and shook the fluff from the bag off.

"Hey, that could be the Finger Fetish guy at it again, lets go do some investigating!"

Felix ignored Ren, as responding to him always made him feel crazier. Judging from the sound of the scream, and the particular cadence, it had to have been up in the music room. He made his way there while trying to tune out Ren's inceassent chatter.

Slipping into the Music Room, he placed his bag on the floor and began to search for clues. Ren also slipped out the bag, though to most people he appeared to still be in the bag. Felix looked through the lockers hoping to find something to identify the latest victim while Ren was distracted by the sparklies.

"Oooh, look at these shiny shards. They are so preeetty." Ren cooed, as he became hypnotized by the glass.

Felix just sighed, "Shut up Ren."

Present Day

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 two 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 three 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 three 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.