Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…

    “Love you too, dad!” a girl shouts as she waves out towards a man with short, graying hair from the front door of her house. “Hope tonight's talk turns out well!”

    “We can only hope, Kokona!” the man shouts back, waving back at his daughter. He turns and continues his walk towards their beat up car, opening the door and stepping in. “Tell Saki I said hello!” he shouts as he shuts the door and turns on the car.

    “Don’t worry, I will!” the girl, Kokona, shouts back as she attempts to part her purple bangs from her face, to little success. She watches the car slowly drive away into the darkened streets, before she hears it.

Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…

    “Shit!” Kokona shouts, before turning and heading back inside.

    She rushes past the sofa and television to her left and bathroom door to her right. Passing the stairs, she turns right before the dining area and walks up to the kitchen, grabbing her ringing smartphone that was resting on the countertop.

“Hello,” the voice of a similarly aged girl rings out from the phone.   

“Hello, Saki,” Kokona says, awkwardly twirling her left twindrill. “Sorry about that. I was saying goodbye to dad. He wanted me to tell you he said hello.”

    “Oh, well if I leave before he gets back, tell him I said hello too,” Saki says sweetly. “I just left the house, but mom and dad won’t let me use the car, so it’ll be a bit.”

    Kokona laughs. “Saki, you live like two blocks away.”

    “True,” Saki says as if with a shrug. 

    “Excited for tonight?”

    “Always excited for movie night, Koko!”

    “Well you better be,” Kokona says, walking around the counter and into the kitchen towards the pantry, “cause we were actually able to buy popcorn tonight!” She opens the very lightly stocked pantry and pulls out the single bag of popcorn.

    “Woohoo!” the voice of Saki shouts out from the other end of the call enthusiastically. “So … what are we watching tonight? Remember, your house, your pick.”

    “That’s where the other bout of good news comes in,” the purple haired girl says as she places the bag of popcorn into the cheap microwave. “You know how we’ve basically exhausted our supply of horror flicks from here?”

    “Yeah?”

    “Well, the other day while at the store I found a bunch of American horror flicks being sold for basically nothing?”

    “Really?”

    “Yeah,” Kokona says, enthusiasm building, “and not just single entries or cheap one off flicks. I mean whole franchises!”

    “Holy shit! Seriously?”

    “Fuck yeah, seriously! All twelve Friday’s, all eleven Halloweens, nine Nightmares, nine Saws, eight Stabs, nine Texas Chainsaws, sev-”

    “Slow down, Koko!” Saki says with a laugh. “You’re gonna bleed yourself dry if you keep it up.”

    “Nuh uh!” Kokona says as she takes a seat on the counter. “Like I said, they were being sold at bargain bin level. I was able to buy the Alien movies and it only cost my free spending money, and that’s with full English and Japanese translations.”

    “Well it’ll make watching films with Japanese only or English only friends easier,” Saki says.

    “And for poor girls like me,” Kokona jokes, to which both girls laugh lightly.

    After the two calm down, there’s silence over the phone call for a few seconds.

    “So…” Saki starts, awkward but sympathetic, “is it getting better money wise?”

    Kokona lets out a sigh. “Not yet, but if things go well tonight, our debts will be a little looser.”

    “Good,” Saki says before another, longer pause. “How’s your dad doing?”

    “Well he’s gotten better,” Kokona says awkwardly. “He’s stopped drunk crying to me.”

    “Really? That’s good.”

    “Yeah, now he’s sober crying to me.”

    “Oh, sorry.”

    “It’s fine,” Kokona says, parting her bangs again. “It’s just that mom dying hit him hard and he still hasn’t recovered yet. Me neither, and the minimal money he’s making isn’t helping the recovery process.”

    “I get that,” Saki says before an awkward pause. “So… are you sti-”

    “Don’t!” Kokona says, raising her tone. She takes a deep breath, she says in a calmer tone, “Please don’t bring THAT up.”

    “Sorry,” Saki says, a bit downcast, though she pipes back up quickly. “Well I just circled the block. Should be there in two minutes or so.”

    “Good,” Kokona says, also piping up a little, “cause the popcorn's almost rea-”

Ring Ring! Ring Ring! Ring Ring!

    The sound of a ringing phone cuts her off.

    “What was that?” Saki asks.

    “Someone’s just calling the landline,” Kokona says, walking over to the phone on the wall as the microwave beeps. “Probably something for dad.”

    “I’ll hang up and we can continue our chat over text,” Saki says. “I’m like right there anyways.”

    “Okay, see you then,” the purple haired girl says, hanging up her cellphone, immediately going to her messages app to continue her chat with Saki as she grabs and answers the landline. “Hello! House of Haruka, Kokona speaking.”

    “Hello, Kokona,” an incredibly alluring and sexy male voice says from the landline, catching the girl a little off guard.

    “Oh,” she says, slightly flustered at how nice this guys voice is. She chuckles lightly, before asking, “So… how did you get my number? Are you calling for something involving my father, cause he just left.”

    “Oh, I just found this lost cell phone and I’m calling everyone in their contacts to find out who it belongs to,” the voice says.

    “Well,” Kokona says, pulling the phone away to read the number on the screen, “I don’t think I know that number, although I will say that your voice is a bit familiar.”

    “Really?” the voice asks as Kokona’s phone vibrates. “I don’t think I know any Kokona’s.”

    “Yeah,” she says, looking down at her phone, not listening, as she reads Saki’s text.

Saki: So who’s calling you

 Some guy with a lost phone

Saki: Really?

    “Though based on the sound of your voice,” the caller says, getting Kokona’s attention again, “I’d love to get to know you.”

    Kokona lets out an awkward laugh as she looks back down at her phone. “Thanks, I guess.”

    “I mean, you just sound like a sweet, smart, sexy young woman…” the voice goes on as Kokona reads the text.

Saki: What number does the line say?

    Kokona quickly texts the number to Saki as the caller continues. “-and you look the part too.”

    “Thanks,” Kokona says, not really paying attention to what he’s saying. “Well I’d like to get to know you more, but I have plans with my friend.”

    “Oh,” the voice says, “plans this late at night? What are you planning?”

    “Oh, we’re just gonna watch some scary movie.”

    “Oooooh, I like scary movies.”

    “Really? Well that’s one thing we have in common.”

    “What’s your favorite scary movie?”

    “Well, that’s a tough one,” Kokona says, before she looks down at her phone, which is now receiving a text.

Saki: Isn’t that the number for Ayano’s old phone?

    “Wait,” she says, speaking as if she’s just figured something out, “I just remembered who that number belongs to!”

    “Really?” the voice asks skeptically.

    “Yeah. It belonged to a classmate of mine, Ayano Yudasei. She lost it a few months ago, I think.”

    “Oh, well, thanks for the help,” the voice says in a relieved tone. “I’ll make sure this Ayano girl gets it as soon as possible.”

    “Well,” Kokona says, not sure how to end it. “I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

    Before he could respond, she hangs up the landline and immediately begins to dial Saki on her smartphone.

    “So what was all that about?” Saki asks the second she’s connected.

    “I don’t know,” Kokona says with a light shutter. “He asked about the phone, then he started to compliment me, saying he wants to “get to know me better”.”

    Saki audibly shudders. “Gross.”

    “A little, yeah,” she says, before a small smile forms on her face. “His voice was kinda sexy, though, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it from somewhere.”

    “Careful, Koko,” Saki teases, “he might just be like some of those other guys.”

    “Stop it!” the girl shouts into her phone. “It’s not like THAT, okay!”

    After calming down, Saki says, “Anyways, I’m like right at your door so we really don’t need to be on the phone anymore. Oh~”

    “Saki?” Kokona says at the sound of light shuffling fills the phone line for a few seconds, before abruptly hanging up. “Saki?” She heads back to the messenger app and begins to text her.

Saki! What was that?

    As she waits for a response, she turns toward the front door and starts walking towards it. She promptly opens the door and looks outside, seeing no one standing in the driveway or the road, despite Saki saying she was just there. Even in the darkness of night, she’d still be visible.

    “Saki!” Kokona calls out as she glances around the front of her house, but the only thing that catches her eye is the light shuffling off the shrubbery beside the road to her right, probably the result of the light breeze.

    Before she could investigate any further, she smells something, something bitter and smokey. 

    “Shit!” she shouts, turning and rushing back into her house, slamming the door shut as she goes. She sprints back towards the kitchen, a thin stream of smoke flowing out of the microwave. Without thinking, she opens the microwave and takes out the bag of burnt popcorn. She lets out a yelp in pain and tosses the bag onto the counter and she frantically waves her hands.

    “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” she repeats, before quickly turning on the sink and stuffing her hands into the cold water flow, letting out a sigh of relief. 

    She holds them under the water for about half a minute, before pulling them out. She grabs her cellphone and, with her still hurting hands, texts to Saki.

Popcorns burnt, so whatever you’re doing out there better be worth it.

What are you doing out there anyways? Aren’t we supposed to be watching a movie?

    Grabbing and putting on the tattered oven mitts, she opens the bag and pours the burnt popcorn into the prepared bowl. She picks it up, the bowl already a bit hot, and places it on the kitchen table.

    She lets out a sigh, before something to the right of her catches her attention. Turning out to the glass back door, she notices some more shuffling leaves in the shrubbery in her backyard. 

She walks up to the door and flicks on the light, revealing nothing in her yard, but lighting up that piece of shrubbery more, showing that its movements are flowing opposite the wind.

    Before she could investigate any further, her phone vibrates, startling her. She walks over to the counter and picks it up to read.

Saki: Just thought I’d have a little fun before the movie ;)

Are you being serious?

I just fucking burned my hands trying to get out that popcorn!

Saki: Look back out front.

Saki: ;)

    Kokona rolls her eyes as she turns back and walks towards the front of the house again. She opens the front door and doesn’t see anything new. No Saki, no nothing. She’s about to head back inside, before she looks down.

    Folded neatly on her driveway was a pile of clothes. Overshirt, undershirt, leggings and skirt, all folded properly in a pile, a pair of shoes sitting neatly in front of it. It’s the cyan bra and panties laying atop the pile that both shows who these belong to and what they’re doing.

    Letting out a huge sigh, Kokona pulls up her phone and dials Saki’s number.

    “Hello, you’ve reached Saki Miyu. I’m not availab-”

    She promptly hangs up upon hearing the voicemail, and promptly texts her.

Seriously, again!

I burnt my hand and the popcorn just so you can run around my yard naked?

Saki: Fun, right?

Get over here and put your clothes back on. If you mess around for too long, dad will come back and we won’t be able to watch the movie.

Saki: You’ll have to catch me first ;)

    Kokona groans at this, before beginning to walk out of her house.

    She’s not even off her patio before she hears a

Ring Ring! Ring Ring! Ring Ring!

    Rolling her eyes, she turns and walks back inside the house, shutting the door as she goes. “Why is this all happening now?” she asks herself as she picks up the landline.

    “Hello, you’ve reached the house of Haruko, this i-”

    “Hello, Kokona,” the same sexy male voice from before says, causing a shiver to roll down her spine.

    “Uh, hello to you too sir,” she says back, now a bit unnerved. “Uh, weren’t you gonna bring that phone back?”

    “Oh well it’s too late in the night for me to bring it back to that Ayano girl, and I don’t know where to find her even if it wasn’t.”

    “Oh, okay.”

    “Besides,” the voice says, much more sultry, “I want to talk with you more, Koko.”

    Kokona’s starting to get a little skeeved out by this man's persistence in chatting, so she tries to deflect. “I’d love to, but my friend is messing with me right now and I want to get her to stop.”

    “What’s she doing?” the voice asks as Kokona receives a text from the girl herself.

Saki: What’s taking you so long?

Saki: Need some encouragement? ;)

    “Running around my yard ass naked,” Kokona says dryly as she receives a picture text from Saki. It’s a  neck down picture of a girl laying stomach up on the grass completely naked, seemingly at night. The long, cyan pigtails either side of her torso show that indeed it’s Saki. Oddly, though, for some reason there seems to be a few more shadows on her than what should be, though Kokona pays it little mind.

Can you stop that now. That guy called back and I’m on the phone with him.

    “Ooooh, she sounds fun,” the voice says, audibly excited. “Likes scary movies and running around naked. My kind of girl. Hopefully you’re like that too.”

    “Oh, no I’m not,” Kokona says, wanting to get this talk over with as soon as possible. “I’m not that confident.”

Saki: Oooh, Mr. Sexy voice is back!

Shut up and get in here!

    “You’re joking?” the voice says. “With a body like that, why wouldn’t you want to show it off?”

    “Well the thing is, just because I have a-” Kokona cuts herself off as she fully realizes what that man said, her eyes starting to widen. Her head darts around, looking out of each window, the lack of anyone looking in not helping her nerves. “Wait, can you repeat tha-”

    “When we spoke just then,” the voice says, cutting her off, “you didn’t get the chance to tell me your favorite scary movie. I’d like to hear it, please.”

    “Uh, hmmm, um,” she stammers out, starting to slow her steadily increasing breath. “R-Ring.”

    “Japanese or American?”

    “Uhhh, Japanese I guess,” Kokona says, managing to maintain enough composure to hide her feelings of unease from the guy she’s talking to. “I will say I like the American version of the original as well. Has its own charm.”

    “So you’re into American horror flicks too, huh?” the voice asks.

    “Yeah, I’m a pretty big fan of a decent few of the films over there as well. Uh, what’s your favorite scary movie?”

    “If you want, we can play a guessing game,” the voice says. “I’ll give you a few hints and you have to guess. Sounds good?”

    “Okay, I guess,” Kokona says with slight reluctance. 

    “Okay, well it’s the first in a franchise with eight installments, it’s based on true events, and it’s incredibly self-aware.”

    Kokona wracks her brain as she attempts to recollect what movie those apply to. “Uhhhh, no, I’m not sur- Wait!” She snaps as she gets it. “Is it Stab?”

    “Yes,” the voice says with a light laugh. “I love those movies.”

    “Same,” Kokona says, awkwardly laughing back. “Well a few of them, the rest are complete trash. That last one two years ago was soooo bad!”

    “That I agree with,” the voice says.

    “And besides, if you combine that with what happened last year in Woodsboro, I doubt they’ll ever make another one.”

    “A truly sad fate,” the voice says, “especially since all of them have something about them that makes them feel unique among the litany of slasher films.”

    “Eh, not really,” Kokona says with a shrug. “I mean, meta-textual horror flicks have been done to death, especially over there in the States. It's more unique nowadays to just do a straight forward horror flick. Even Stab’s novelty of being based on true events started to ring hollow with four, even if that one is still good.”

    “It’s not the meta nature or real life inspiration that makes them unique,” the voice says. “I’m more so referring to the sheer brutality that’s a staple for all of them, regardless of quality or if it’s based on true events. The violence is so brutal yet it feels so real.”

    “That, I’ll agree with you on,” Kokona says, more focused on scrolling down at all the texts and photos Saki sent during this exchange. Most of it’s just prodding for her to come outside, with a good few pics. What’s off about all of them is that they’re all from the neck down, all either laying on the grass or slumped against a wall or tree, and the bizarre shadows.

Saki?

Is something wrong?

    “It’s the openings that always get me, though,” the voice says, snapping Kokona back into the conversation.

    “Oh, uh, I guess me too, though I only really remember the ones from the first two, but in the end they’re all just major A list American celebrities having an opening cameo before getting killed. They kinda blend in together, especially since they all seem to try and replicate what made the first work so well.”

    “And what made the first one work so well?”

    “Uh, let’s see,” Kokona says, trying to remember the opening scene of the first Stab. But thanks to her stress and even fear of this bizarre situation, she can't recall anything.

    “Maybe it’s because the scenario presented is one that many people fear.”

    “I, uh, I guess,” Kokona says, breathing slowly increasing again.

    “Picture this then,” the voice says in an almost threateningly stern voice, “you’re a teenage girl, home alone, in the middle of the night, and a stranger calls. You have a talk with him for a bit, then he starts getting more and more intense, especially as he makes it clear that he’s watching you, a girl with purple twindrilled hair, and you don’t know what his plans for you are, only that they aren’t good. Feel how scary that is?”

    She’s starting to hyperventilate now as she quickly shots glances out of each window.

    “Okay listen! This isn’t! Fucking! Funny! Whoever you are!” As she speaks, she texts the same thing to Saki.

    “Just having a little fun with you, Koko ,” the voice says tauntingly, before letting out a maniacal laugh, before stopping suddenly. “ That friend of yours has a really nice body, there! I would love to get my hands all over her, and you.”

    “Alright you fucker, listen here,” Kokona shouts between breaths, “I’m hanging up this phone, and so help me I’m gonna-”

    “I wouldn't do that if I were you! You need to keep listening to every word I say! After all, YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT!”

    Kokona slams the phone back onto the wall, hanging it up. Pulling up her cellphone back to her face as she paces the main room, locking both the front and back door as she goes, she texts Saki.

Whatever you’re doing, stop it now!

Saki: Whu?

Either you’re messing with me or we’re both in danger, so FUCKING STOP IT!

Saki: What do you mean? Why are we in danger?

Just get inside and I’ll explain then.

Saki: Okay, okay! It was a bad night to do this. I’ll grab my clothes and knock on the door

Good

    With that small bit of reassurance, Kokona crouches down, out of view of the windows, as she catches her breath.

    After a few seconds, she hears a knock at the front door. Kokona rises to her feet and goes to take a step towards it, when her phone vibrates again. Pulling it out, she sees that Saki’s sent another picture.

    It’s her, still nude and below the neck, with her back against a tree. Her feet are awkwardly pressed together and her knees are spread to the sides. Her heart skips a beat when she sees both of Saki’s hands in frame, laying on the ground. It then dawns on her that, from the angle of the camera, it has to be held by another person.

Ring Ring! Ring Ring! Ring Ring!

    She screams at the phone ringing again. Turning to it, she’s already resolved to not answer it.

    Then her phone vibrates again.

Saki: Phone’s ringing

I know that and I’m not answering it!

Saki: you should

Absolutely not!

Wait

Saki

How do you know the phone is ringing?

Saki: This isn’t Saki

    Now panicking, but brimming with anger, Kokona charges back to the other side of the house. Stopping in the kitchen to grab a chefs knife, she picks up the landline and shouts, “This isn't fucking funny, Saki or whoever you are!”

    “Sure is funny to me.”

    “I am calling the fucking police!”

    “And by the time they get here, I would have gutted you like a fish!”

    “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!”

    “WHAT DO I WANT? ” the voice shouts back. “ What I want is for you to recall the opening of Stab! NOW TELL ME!”

    “YOU ALREADY FUCKING SAID EVERYTHING!”

    “No I didn’t! First there’s the victim home alone, then comes the threatening phone calls, then what?!”

    There are many things Kokona wishes she could say, but is breathing too heavily to get a word out. That and the fact she’s texting someone else

Dad, can you please call the police and head home? Someone’s trying to break into the house and I’m scared. If you’re already with Mr. Ronshaku, can you ask him to bring one of his men with you?

    Besides, that’s all there is to a Stab opening. Lonely girl, threatening calls, the killer strikes. What more could he want?

    Then it hits her, there is something more to it, at least in the case of the original Stab’s opening. Breaths quickening up again, she slowly turns towards the very glass back door of the house, already suspecting what’s there. 

    Still, since she needs to bide time before the police arrive, she slowly starts to approach. Placing her hand on the switch, she hesitates, before flicking it on, and she let’s out a yell at what she sees.

    Standing in her backyard was Saki. Her mouth was taped shut and her limbs were tied tightly against her torso around her ribs with rope, the end of it going up being her, tied to the tree a few feet away. She’s still naked, and the way the ropes were tied left nothing to the imagination. The thing that got Kokona’s attention was her eyes, which were darting around with her limited ability to move, an expression of pure horror on her face.

    “Nice callback to the original, huh?” the voice says tauntingly, getting Kokona’s attention back to the caller.

    “You’re fucked,” she says. “FUCKED!”

    The caller laughs maniacally, which only makes Kokona angrier.

    “You think this is funny? LIKE THIS IS A FUCKING GAME?!”

    “Oh, no, ” the voice says tauntingly, “ but thanks for reminding me. It’s time for the game to begin.”

    “What do you mean?” she asks desperately. “Just let us go. We haven’t seen your face and I know you’re using a voice changer, so we’re not liabilities. Please!”

    “Well where’s the fun in letting you go without you having to earn it?” 

    Kokona lets out a teary yell.

    “C’mon! If you know Stab at all, you know we have to play a game!”

    “WHAT GAME!”

    “Oh you already know the game, Koko. So turn off the back door lights, and we can begin.”

    Kokona looks back out to the tied up Saki, who’s feebly struggling against the rope. Then she raises her head and the two lock eyes.

    “I’m sorry,” she mouths to the panicking girl, before flicking the switch, hiding the cyan haired girl from view.

    “Good, ” the voice says. “ Now take a seat. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

    “Fuck you!”

    “Way too early for that quote, my dear. But anyways, here’s the game. I’ll ask you a couple of questions. Get all of them right, Saki will live.”

    “Please…” Kokona begs, quivering as she slinks behind the kitchen counter.

    “It’ll be easy for you, since you’re such an expert on the subject. I’ll even give you a warm up question. Who is the bad guy in Ringu?”

    But Kokona wasn’t answering, she was just sitting there, teary eyed and hyperventilating.

    “C’mon, you of all people know the answer to this one. Who kills you seven days after viewing her tape?”

    “SADAKO!” Kokona shouts. “Sadako Yamamura. Or Samara Morgan if you’re going by the American films.” 

    “Good job, ” the voice says with a light chuckle. “ Now for the real questions, and we will be sticking with the American films. Who does Jamie Lee Curtis play in the Halloween movies?”

    Kokona stays quiet, catching her breath, before letting out a soft, “Laurie… Laurie Strode.”

    “Correct!” the voice says. “Next question: who is the sole recurring character in the Texas Chai-”

    “LEATHERFACE!”

    “Didn’t need to shout, but correct. Now for your final question, and it’s another callback to the original.”

    “Please,” she quivers.

    “Who is the killer in Friday the 13th?”

    Piping up, Kokona starts saying, “Ja-” but stops herself. “Wait, wait, no. Mrs Voorhees. Pamala!”

    The voice chuckles. “Clever girl, you are, saying the killer of the original film,” he says, to which Kokona lets out a sigh of relief.

    “Unfortunately,” he continues, causing the girls eyes to widen, “I was referring to the franchise as a whole, so the correct answer was Jason.”

    “NOOOO!” she shouts. “You fucking tricked me!”

    “Don’t worry, you still have a way to get out of this, but unfortunately, we have to cut Saki out of this script.”

    The muffled but loud, pained groans from a girl are heard, and Kokona stumbles to her feet. She rushes towards the back door, fumbling with the light switch for a few seconds until the light turns on.

    It’s too late, and all she’s able to do is look Saki in the eyes as they flutter shut.

    Looking down, she sees the slice along her gut, from the bottom of her sternum to her public angle, with the skin and muscle peeled out of the way, leaving the cavity wide open. Her small intestines pour out of Saki’s open gut, piling at her feet with the massive pool of blood around her. The ropes holding her up keep the poor girl standing with her arms pressed against her chest even in death, staring right at the poor girl inside.

    The sight of such real and disgusting gore, especially done to her best friend, causes Kokona to scream, but that just goads the caller into laughing again.

    “Aww, what’s the matter? We’re not done yet!”

    “Why are you doing this?” she asks, tears streaming down her face. “WHAT DID WE DO TO YOU?”

    “I’m asking the questions here, Koko! ” the voice says angrily. “Speaking of which, FINAL QUESTION! Your answer determines whether you live or die.”

    “I’m begging you…”

    “Here it is, and it’s another callback to the original Stab. Which door am I waiting at? Front or back?”

    Kokona’s head quickly darts back and forth between the two doors, either option being just as likely to be safe or certain death as the other. The back has obvious evidence of the caller being there, but there was easily enough time for him to run up front.

    So which was it?

    “And one last thing,” the voice says smugly, “I won’t tell you if you’re right or wrong. YOU have to find out.”

    And with that, the caller hangs up.

    Knife in one hand, landline phone in the other, with no intention of heading out to potentially certain death, Kokona slinks back behind the kitchen counter, and just starts sobbing, both in fear of her predicament and the death of her friend.

    It was probably only seconds, but it felt like hours before she heard the distant sound of a car, as well as vibrations coming from her cellphone, still on the counter. Slowly, she picks it up and reads it

Dad: Kokona, I’m right there. The police are on their way. Come out to the car

    “Dad!” she shouts, getting up and rushing towards her front door, pocketing her cell phone and holding onto the knife. Sure enough, through the door she could see the dim car lights that could only belong to their car.

    “Dad!” she shouts as she unlocks and opens the door, seeing Mr. Haruka closing the car door and walked towards her. “Dad!” she shouts as she start to run toward him..

    “Don’t worry sweetie,” he says to his panicked daughter, “you’re safe now!”

    Just then, a dark figure jumps out of the shadows towards Mr. Haruka, wrapping its right hand over the man's mouth, the left stabbing a shiny blade into his chest.

    “DAD!” Kokona shouts as she stops in her tracks, watching helplessly as this figure stabs her struggling father three more times, the last in the center of his chest, twisting it roughly as it enters, causing him to let out a breath and his arms to go limp.

    The killer lets go of his head, and Kokona watches in shock as the man who raised her falls to the ground, dead.

    She stares down, unable to take her eyes off the corpse, until the killer steps over the body, and she looks up.

    He’s completely clad in a black hooded cloak that’s tattered and frilled, so dark it's basically invisible in the night. The only thing not black was the mask this killer was wearing. Pure white, its face consisted of black, bean shaped eyes, a small nose, and an elongated mouth, in a mockery of the famous scream painting.

    The killer stares Kokona down, before raising his knife, blood coated blade pointed to the right. He wraps his free right hand tightly around the blade, before sliding it along, wiping the blade free of red. 

    Then the killer charges towards Kokona, who screams and backs up onto the porch towards the door. 

    He attempts to swing at her, but trips on the porch step and only ends up slicing into her pajama shirt.

    Kokona attempts to slide back into the house, but the killer stumbles to his feet and charges the door before it’s closed. 

    Whoever this is must be strong, since they’re able to keep the door partially open, enough to allow their shoulder in, against Kokona’s full body weight. She struggles against the killer’s strength, but she knows it won’t be enough.

    Fortunately for her, the killer slides out his shoulder and attempts to use his free hand to grab at her. Seizing the opportunity. Kokona slams the door on the killer's arm, and a feminine cry of pain is heard as the killer slinks back outside, allowing her to close and lock the door.

    She slinks down against the door to catch her breath, but it’s only for a moment.

    Suddenly, she hears the killer pounding against the door, forcing her to her feet and back.She looks at the door, praying that those cheap hinges will hold, when she realizes.

    She turns towards the back door. Since she could hear the killer behind her, the back door is safe, so she begins to rush towards it

Crash!

Crash!

    Suddenly a rock is thrown from the darkness that shatters the glass door in an instant, causing Kokona to scream and halt in her tracks.

    No question, the killer threw that stone, but the killer was just pounding at the front door, although it seems to have stopped. Still, there was no way he’d be able to move that fast.

    Her head darts rapidly between the two doors, seriously wondering which one was safe and which one meant death.

    Then it hit her.

    “Of course,” she says quietly between breaths, “this is Stab, and there’s always two killers.” She looks to her front door. “One at the front,” she turns towards the shattered remains of the glass door, “and one at the back.”

    Her eyes then turn to the stairs.

    “I got it,” she says, bending down to pick up the rock with her free hand, before walking up the stairs. “Hide in my room until the police come.”

    She inches her way up the stairs and towards her room, the door shut. Holding the knife between her teeth, she slowly slides the door open a little, before rearming herself.

    She slowly opens the door fully and starts to step into her dark room, shutting the door behind her and turning on the light, failing to notice the broken window until it’s too late.

    Bursting from her closet, hunting knife ready, he jumps towards Kokona. 

    She screams and turns to avoid the blade, it stabbing into her left shoulder. Letting out a yelp of pain, she cocks her right hand and slams the rock into the killer's face, a crack and a masculine grunt heard as she races back to open her door.

    The killer gets to his feet, but is promptly smacked in the head by Kokona forcefully opening the door on him. She rushes out of the room and shuts it behind her.

    Running out of options and fairly desperate to stay alive, Kokona begins to walk down the stairs, pulling out her phone and dialing 110

    “Hello, police,” she says, barely keeping it together, “I’m Kokona Haruka and I’m currently being attacked by a masked psychopath in my house in Buraza town. My father, Aiyuki Harkura and best friend Saki Miyu are already dead and I’m injured and am about to make a run for it.”

    She slowly edges down the stairs onto the ground floor, letting out a cry as she sees her father’s dead body now displayed on the table in front of the television. She turns and begins to slowly walk towards the broken back door.

    “I don’t know who’s doing it or why, all I can say about them is that they’re wearing a Ghostface mask.”

    Just then, bursting out from behind the counter, is the killer, who charges at her.

    Screaming, Kokona tosses her cellphone at him. It hits him square in the head and he goes falling backwards, sliding along the shards of glass.

    Not stopping, Kokona takes this opportunity to book it through the back door before the killer can recover. She turns left and runs around the house and back towards the road, thankful to now be hearing the faint but audible sounds of police sirens in the distance.

    She lets out a sigh of relief at her salvation coming, and she’s halfway along the length of her house when she looks up, and promptly screams.

    From the second story, knife prepared to strike, the killer jumps down on top of her, and she screams again, feeling the blade entering her upper back. 

    The two collapse to the ground, Kokona desperately crawling away, determined to get to her feet and continue to run for her life.

    Unfortunately, she’s only on her hands and knees by the time the killer is back on his feet, and he’s on her in an instant.

    He stabs Kokona in the back, her letting out a yelp of pain. A second stab forces her to the ground, and he forcefully turns her onto her back.

    Staring down the killer now on top of her, Kokona uses the only thing she has left, the chef's knife she’s still got in her left hand, which she stabs upwards.

    Unfortunately, the killer grabs her wrist, stopping it in her tracks. He then twists her arm, forcing her to drop it. Using her other arm, she attempts one last thing.

    She claws at his face, trying to force him off her, but all this accomplishes is pulling his mask off.

    Her eyes widened in recognition of his face.

    “You…” she says weakly, already feeling the effect of blood loss. “..why…?”

    The killer doesn’t say anything, instead just raising the knife above their head, allowing Kokona one last scream, before bringing it down

—

Scream: Lovesick

—

Chapter Text

Beep! Beep Beep! Beep!

SLAM!

    A very drowsy girl slams the snooze button on her alarm clock, which is blaring 6:00 am, and turns to try to get some more sleep.

    Unfortunately for her, a male voice calls out from downstairs, “Ayano! Wake up! I’m gonna be leaving soon and I don’t want to say goodbye to you over the phone like the last time I was out!”

    Letting out a loud groan, the girl, named Ayano, shouts back, “Okay, I’m coming!”

    She sits up on her bed, rubbing her eyes, before very drowsily standing up, sliding into the gray slippers beside her bed. Stretching, she walks over to the other side of the room, where her school work/computer desk is, and rubs her eyes again as she reads the date on her calendar

Tuesday, September 27th, 2022

• Dad’s business trip

    Taking a pencil from her desk, Ayano crosses out the box of today's date. She then glances right to later in the week.

Wednesday, September 28th, 2022

• MY 17TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

• STAB DAY

    A small smile creeps on the brunettes face, since at least there was one good thing to look forward to this week, especially what’s to come two days after.

Friday, September 30th, 2022

• The two year anniversary

    “Ayano!” the voice from downstairs calls again, “Your toast will get cold if you stay up there!”

    “Coming!” Ayano shouts back as she walks out her bedroom door, one arm stretching to the air, the other scratching her butt.

    She comes downstairs to the sight of a man in his early fifties with visibly graying black hair dressed in a fancy suit, briefcase in hand.

    “Good morning, dad,” Ayano says, taking a seat at the small kitchen table, where her buttered toast and cup of milk lay waiting for her. She immediately picks up the cup and takes a drink

    “Morning, kid,” the man says, ruffling the girl's head. “You really need to get a haircut, I mean look at those bangs.”

    “Dad, stop!” Ayano says, laughing lightly. “I just woke up. I haven’t done my hair yet.”

    “Well you better. I don't want you going to school with this mess on your head.”

    “Don’t worry, I won’t,” the girl says, putting down the glass and picking up the toast to take a bite.”

    “I trust you will,” Ayano’s father says, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Well, I’d better be off, you know the drill. Credit card’s on the counter, but DON’T just order pizza for dinner like last time. Remember to lock the doors as you leave and when you return, and keep the key on you. Friend gatherings are fine, but no parties. And if you have a guy over, at the very least use a condom.”

    That statement causes the girl to choke on her toast, to which her father pats her on the back. “DAD!” she shouts, turning to him, visibly embarrassed.

    “I’m just saying, you're growing into a young lady and things like that are going to crop up more and more. I mean, tomorrow, you’ll be seventeen, which reminds me.” He pauses as he walks over to the counter to grab something. Turning back, he hands Ayano a small cardboard box with a pink ribbon wrapped around it. “Since I can’t be here tomorrow, I’ll give you this today.”

    Taking the book-shaped box, Ayano says, “Thanks dad.”

    “Happy Birthday, kid,” he says, before placing a kiss on her forehead.

    “Love you, dad,” she says as he walks towards the door.

    He gives her a wave, saying, “Love you too, sweetheart,” and with that, he opens the door and walks out.

    With her father gone, Ayano finishes her breakfast before heading upstairs to the bathroom, though not before stopping to place the gift on her bed. She slips off the light blue pajama shirt and pants and takes a quick shower. Once done with that, she heads to the mirror to check her roots, seeing the barely visible and impossible to notice black. Satisfied by what she sees, she then ties her hair back into a long ponytail that goes down to the bottom of her neck. She brushes her teeth, applies some light makeup, and takes one of the pills from the bottle on the sink.

    Taking a deep breath, Ayano leaves the bathroom and heads back to her room. After drying herself, she gets dressed for school. Cheap, gray undergarments, navy, knee length dress, white and navy seifuku, a red scarf, and black thigh high socks.

    She then glances at the clock.

6:43 am

    “Yeah, I have plenty of time,” Ayano says, walking up to her computer desk. Sitting down, she opens her laptop and turns it on, placing the cheap headset on her head. Once she’s logged in, she types Listentome.com into the search engine. This website, some site where people can live talk with an audience without giving away any personal information or even show their face, is a site Ayano has grown fond of using, especially after these last two years.

    She logs in to her account

Username: Yan-chan

Password: ************

    She takes a deep breath, before clicking on the button saying “Start Talk”. After a few seconds, the listener count goes from zero to around fifty, and it slowly increases as Ayano starts talking.

    “Hello everyone,” she says in a sweet voice, “it’s me, Yan-chan. I hope you all are having a good morning so far.”

    The in-site chat fills with “of course I did,” and “it is now that you’re on,” and the like.

    “So, this is going to be a special week for me. Tomorrow, for those of you who are new, is my birthday. Yay!” Her chipper tone starts to subside as she moves on. “And as those of you who are regulars of me should know, tomorrow also marks the twenty sixth anniversary of the conclusion of the Woodsboro Massacre of 1996, as well as the twenty seventh anniversary of the murder of Maureen Prescott, both of these events being the basis for the 1998 American slasher film Stab, the successive murder sprees spawning two more movies based on true events, and five more, completely fictional, sequels of varying quality. Despite that,” she says, getting a bit chipper again, “I’m a major fan of these films, even the shitty ones like five, six and 2020’s Stab.”

    The chat starts to get filled with stuff like, “C’mon, six wasn’t that bad,” “Thanks for reminding me of that god awful film!” “#RedoStab8” “TBH, I only know those movies thanks to the Kill Count” “Didn’t a couple of crazy fans kill a bunch of people last year?” and other stuff along those lines

    “However, most of you know that already, so, like I did last year, I wish to invite you all to a watch-along, or in this case, listen-along, as I watch the original Stab tomorrow night. I could really use some positivity, which you lovely people give me every talk, especially since Friday marks the 30th.” Ayano pauses, taking a breath. “It being the second anniversary of my mom getting arrested for a murder she committed in 1989. These past two years have been hard for me and my dad. My brother too, even though I haven’t seen him much since I was little. So if you can, please stop by tomorrow, I could really use your positive energy.”

    It’s then when a notification pops up on the site saying, 

Someone wants to join your talk.

Do you accept or decline?

    Ayano clicks accept and says, “Hello! Who is this?”

    “Hello, Yan-chan,” a sexy male voice calls out

    “Oooh, Mr. Ghostface, it’s good to hear you.”

    “It’s good to hear you too”

    Ayano laughs, blushing a little. She then addressing some of the people in the chat asking who that is. “Oh, this is Mr. Ghostface, for those who are new. He’s been a regular chatter with me for the past few months. He’s a Stab fan like me, as evidenced by the fact he only talks with the authentic Ghostface voice. Hey, GF, give them the line!”

    “Do you like scary movies?” Mr. Ghostface asks in a deliberately exaggerated threatening tone, causing Ayano to laugh.

    “See? Perfect! Ha ha ha! So, Mr. Ghostface, why have you decided to chat today?”

    “Just wanted to pop in and say hello, give you that positivity you so desperately need in these dark times.”

    “Awww,” she says, holding her hands to her heart, “that’s so sweet, and a surprise coming from you.”

    “What?!” Mr. Ghostface says as Ayano starts giggling.

    Talking to the chat, she says, “Mr. Ghostface here only likes the Stab films because of their gritty and realistic, but intense violence. I, meanwhile, like them because of the stories leading lady, Sidney Prescott.”

    “Oooooh, I love when you talk about her,” Mr. Ghostface says, to which most of the chat agrees. 

    “I mean, what’s not to like about her frankly improbable story. Having her mother be murdered by her psycho boyfriend, insane friend, and unhinged half brother, only for the boyfriend and friend to try and kill her a year later, and then two years after that the boyfriend's mother and a nutcase who she thought was a friend come after her in college, then for her half brother and his hot piece of ass try to kill her in Hollywood two years after that, and that’s only counting the stuff that was adapted into the first three films, with 2011’s spree orchestrated by her own cousin, to last years spree thanks to two deranged fans. Sid’s been an inspiration for me these past two years, showing me that no matter how hard things get, as long as you have the will to fight, you can push through it.”

    The sound of clapping comes from the speakers. “Inspirational,” Mr. Ghostface cheers, before switching the topic. “Oh hey, speaking of things getting hard, have you talked to that boy from school you’re crushing on?”

    “Hah! Noooooo,” she says, awkwardly spinning the strand of hair on her shoulder with her finger. “He still doesn’t know I even exist.”

    “C’mon, Yan-chan, just go for it and talk to him.”

    “Oh, fuck no! I might embarrass myself, and he might tell others about what a loser I am.”

    “A loser? Are you kidding?” Mr. Ghostface says, but as he’s continuing to talk, Ayano gets a text.

M'Waifu: Hey, Ayano, me and the girls are waiting at the front of your house.

Greeny: GET YO ASS DOWN HERE!

    “Oh, shit!” she says, cutting Mr. Ghostface off. “Sorry, I need to leave now. Lost track of time. Hope to talk to you guys again soon! Goodbye, Mr. Ghostface!”

    “Goodbye, Yan-chan!” he calls out as Ayano ends the talk. 

    She shuts her laptop, grabs her school bag, and rushes back downstairs and out the door. On the road just outside her house are three girls standing beside their bikes in a triangle formation.

    Closer and leading the three is a girl with green, waist length hair, with two strands going down the front to just past her chest (one barely covering the pink with a marijuana leaf plastered on it), a slightly dizzy expression, and visibly red eyes.

    In the middle and slightly further away is a girl with knee length pastel pink hair held together at the top with a red bow, slightly downward slanting eyes, red lipstick, and a sweet expression.

    Taking the rear and forming the other close end of this triangle is a visibly shorter girl with shoulder length red hair that’s tied in a ponytail sticking out the right side of her head, bright red glasses and a bright red headband around her forehead.

    “C’MON! Hurry up!” the green haired girl shouts, waving Ayano over.

    “Calm down, Midori,” Ayano says quietly, heading to the side of the house to retrieve her own bike. She then rides up to the three, waving hello to pinkhair and redhead. “Morning Mai. Morning Yui.”

    “Good morning,” the redhead, Yui, says with a nod.

    “Took you long enough to get up,” Mai, the pink haired girl,  says in a joking manner.

    Gritting her teeth, Ayano asks awkwardly, “How long did I keep you waiting?”

    “AN HOUR!” Midori says dramatically.

    “Five minutes,” Yui corrects, already hopping back on her bike, the others following suit.

    The four start to ride their bikes down the street, a light breeze blowing through their hair with a nice fall morning smell (or in Mai’s case, the smell of pot blowing out of Midori’s hair). 

    “So what made you three decide to go to school together today?” Ayano asks.

    “Oh, me and Yui spent the night watching Evil Dead II at Midori’s place.”

    “So you got high?”

    “I didn’t,” Yui says proudly, “I had to be the sober one to keep those two from either fighting or fucking.”

    “HA!” Midori says, before turning angrily back to Yui. “Then care to explain why the stash under my fridge was gone when I woke up today, huh?”

    “No comment,” the redhead says, pushing up her glasses.

    “Sounds like you girls had fun,” Ayano says, growing a bit downcast.

    “We were planning on inviting you,” Mai says, “bu-”

    “But with your dad going away today, we figured he wouldn’t want to leave you alone while stoned,” Midori cuts her off.

    The four turn the corner, now facing their high school, Akademi High, and all stop in place at what they see.

    “Holy shit,” Yui says.

    “What happened?” Mai asks.

    “Why would the police be at our school?” Ayano says at the sight of two cop cars parked in front of the front gate with their lights off

    “Fuck!” Midori shouts, letting her bike fall to the ground. “Uh, smell me! Do I have the scent on me. Shit, uh, Mai! We’re around the same size, let’s swap clothes!” she shouts as she starts to unbutton her seifuku, only stopping when Yui grabs her hands.

    “Midori,” she says sternly, “everybody in Buraza Town knows you’re a pothead, and you can easily afford to pay off the fines.”

    This calms the green haired girl a little, but it still doesn’t take away the fear of the cops being present at the school.

    “We should probably get going,” Ayano says, “after all, we’ll be late for class if we doddle for too long.”

    The other three murmur in agreement, Midori picking up her bike. The four girls walk the rest of the way to Akademi, anxious as to what’s going on

“What happened?”

“The police questioned me, probably because me and Saki were friends first year.”

“She was in my last class yesterday.”

“Completely gutted!”

“Both of them, Kokona’s father too.”

“The sick fuck stripped her of her clothes before butchering her!”

“Jesus!”

“Her dad was apparently out of the house when it started, and when he came back, the fucker stabbed him to death!”

“Cops are saying whoever did this called her shortly before just to scare her.”

“This is right out of a scary movie!”

    Stuff similar to this are heard as the four park their bikes outside and walk through the gates to Akademi High.

    “Damn,” Mai says as they walk towards the school's main building, a square with a hollow inside that serves as a courtyard, “this is much more serious than I thought.”

    “Tell me about it,” Yui says, to which Midori nods in agreement.

    Ayano, however, was tuning the girls' talk out. She was more focused on the gossip around her, from the people who actually have a clue of what’s going on. She starts piecing words together. Own house, gutted, phone call, stabbed, scary movies-

    As they enter the building, head to their lockers at the front, and swap their outdoor shoes with their black school ones, she realizes something.

    “Is it just me,” she starts quietly, as they leave the lockers and head out to the courtyard. “or does this kinda sound like-”

    “HEY!” Midori shouts, facing towards the left hand corner on the far side of the yard, where three students, two guys and a girl, were leaning against the walls as the four girls approached. 

    One the wall to their left, the girl and one of the guys leaned. Further from the corner was the girl, wearing the uniform that all the girls were wearing, with the differences of shorter, white socks and a red bandana around her neck. She has chin length black hair with a pink fringe (with a strand laying on her forehead), as well as emerald green eyes.

    Closer to the corner is the guy, sporting black slacks and a white button-down shirt, with a gakuran tied around his waist, as well as a red headband to match the red tips on his tall, black, spiky hair, and amber eyes. .

    Against the other wall is the other guy, who’s sporting the same clothes as the other, although he’s actually wearing his gakuran, though unbuttoned, and has a red armband on his right arm. He has spiky navy blue hair that’s tied into a ponytail that goes over his left shoulder and is sporting a pair of round glasses, a red bandana around his head, and a pair of headphones around his neck, connected to a device in his pocket. He also has a light stubble.

    “Hello,” the girl says with a wave and a sweet smile.

    “Morning Midori,” the guy with the red tips says. “Mai. Ayano, Yui.”

    “Good morning Ryuto,” Mai responds as she walks up and takes a seat in the grass in front of him and the girl. “You too, Pippi,” she says as Midori sits beside her, laying her legs on top of hers.

    As Yui walks up and leans on the wall besides the boy in the glasses, she asks him, “So what’s all of this about, Gema?”

    “Yeah,” Ayano says, sitting in front of the two, besides Midori and Mai, “Everyone’s in a frenzy. Why are the police here?”

    “For questioning,” the boy, Gema, responds. “Anyone who knew either of them, had a reason to dislike them, as well as people who don’t have alibis for where they were last night. Even us club leaders were all questioned.”

    This gets a snort out of Midori. “Did mommy question you?” she asks jokingly, snickering.

    “Actually no,” Gema says. “They didn’t want her to give a biased report, so I was questioned by someone else, though she did provide an alibi for me.”

    “Soooooo, what did happen last night?” Mai asks.

    “You don’t know?” the girl with the pink fringes, Pippi, asks, to which the four girls shake their heads. She shuts her eyes and sighs before answering. “Last night, Kokona Haruka and Saki Miyu were murdered in Haruka’s home, where her father was also killed.”

    “Jesus,” Yui says, shuttering.

    “That’s not the half of it,” Ryuto says. “Saki was found in the backyard, tied up to a tree branch and kept standing even in death, and apparently she was ass naked.”

    “Kokona was found basically crucified against the wall garden on the side of her house, shirt torn open, pants and underwear pulled down to the ankles. Both were almost completely gutted, and Koko had a few more stabs on her back and chest.”

    “Mr. Haruka was on the table by the television,” Gema interjects, “and all he suffered were a few stabs to the chest.”

    “How do you guys know all this?” Mai asks.

    “Isn’t it obvious,” Midori says, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and gesturing towards the three with the other one, “they were the ones who did it.” She then starts laughing.

    “Hey, we know what we know because somebody,” Ryuto says, gesturing to Gema, “is the son of one of Buraza Town's finest deputies.”

    “Riiiiight,” the green haired girl says, laying on the ground, head right beside Ayano.

    “Uhhh,” the brunette says shyly, “am I the only one who’s noticing some parallels to another, more famous crime from the late nineties?”

    “Oh, absolutely not,” Gema says, shaking his head. “Like half the police force are aware of the parallels between this and the other killing I’m sure you’re referring too.”

    “What are you referring to?” Mai asks.

    “The killings of Casey Becker and Steve Orth in Woodsboro in 1996,” he says, before turning to Ayano, “or…”

    “The first murders of the original Woodsboro Massacre,” Ayano finishes, “the inspiration for the original Stab movie.”

    The others turn their heads to her, tension forming within the tight circle.

    “Oh,” Yui says, wide eyed.

    “Damn,” Ryuto says

    “It's just so unbelievable,” Pippi says.

    “Like a scary movie,” Mai adds.

    “Like the Stab movies,” Ayano says.

    “Oh it gets worse,” Gema says, lowering his voice. “I overheard mom talking with someone who was on the line last night. Apparently, before she was killed, Kokona was able to get a call out, and from what she said,” he gestures them all to get closer, before he whispers, “the person who attacked her was in a Ghostface costume.”

    An eerie silence fills the area, especially as some of the closer groups of students turn their heads towards them, with either looks of concern or confusion, depending on how familiar they are with the Stab films

    Ayano’s eyes widened at this, her by far being the biggest Stab fan in the whole school, probably all of Japan. 

    This doesn’t go unnoticed by the others in the group, who turn back to her.

    “And wasn’t tomorrow the anniversary?” Ryuto asks, to which Ayano nods.

    “Does that mean there will be more?” Mai asks.

    “Of course there will be!” Midori says dramatically, raising back up to a seated position. “Everybody run! Everybody hide! ‘Cause Ghostface has come to Buraza Town!”

    “Midori, be quiet,” Mai says, leaning closer to her. “People are staring.”

    “Calm down, sweetie,” she says, flicking Mai on the nose, before leaning closer to her. “Unless you think people will be suspicious of you?”

    “Why would people be suspicious of her, Midori?” Pippi asks.

    “Yeah,” Yui jumps in, “especially since I know neither of you could’ve been there, doing that, since you two were smoking joints and swapping spit at your place last night.”

    “Well, where does that leave you, Yui?” Ryuto says jokingly.

    “Oh yes, because I totally went over and sliced up Kokona and Saki last night,” the redhead says sarcastically. “All jokes aside, I waited before they were passed out to start hitting it.”

    “KNEW IT!” Midori snaps.

    “Besides,” Yui says, “If it were any of us, it’d be the Stab superfan over here.”

    “Hey!”  Ayano says. “Just ‘cause last year's killers were Stab fanatics, doesn’t automatically mean all of us are serial killers.”

    “I’m just saying,” she says, pressing up her glasses.

    “She does have a point,” Ryuto says. “I’m not saying it’s you, but if it had to be any of us, it’d be the one person we know for sure has a Ghostface costume and knows the Stab franchise like the back of her hands.”

    “Well where were you last night?” she asks, causing both him and Pippi to get flustered.

    “Well … uh… me and Pippi, were, uh…”

    “We were gaming,” she cuts him off loudly, “online gaming, I mean. We were up late last night, so it couldn’t be us.”

    “Sure it wasn’t,” Midori says, rising up, walking to Pippi and placing a finger on her gut, “and you’re telling me you didn’t do this to poor Saki.” She slides her finger across her gut, causing Ryuto to grab her arm.

    This was when Ayano starts to tune the group out, turning around towards the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Sitting on the edge, hand wrapped around his chin as he looks down at his reflection in the fountain water, is a slightly older boy, sporting the uniform all the guys are wearing, him having his gakuran fully buttoned. He has short, dark hair and gray eyes and is pretty as hell.

    At least that’s what Ayano thinks, turning out the news of the grizzly murders to just stare at him, a light blush forming on her face.

    Taro Yamada, the boy she’s been crushing hard on since she moved there almost two years ago.

    To her annoyance, he’s not alone, and it’s the person she wants the least to be there.

    Sitting beside him is a girl with long, bright orange hair tied as two twintails going down either side of her head. The scrunchies holding them, as well as her bow and thigh highs, were salmon colored with white polka dots.

    Also, at least according to Ayano, she has a really annoying voice, which she hears as she talks loudly to him.

    “I mean, come on! All this trouble just to find out who did all that? I mean, come on! Do they really think asking everyone a couple questions is gonna find this guy? Seriously. Are you even listening, dummy?”

    She pushes Taro against the chest, snapping him back into reality.

    “Ow, hey, I’m listening, Osana,” he says, rubbing his chest. “Forgive me for not being into talking about what happened.”

    “Whatever,” Osana says, pouting as she turns her back to him. “When are Raibaru and Budo gonna get back anyways?”

    “I don’t know?” he says, throwing his hands into the air.

    Evidently, the group notices Ayano’s staring, as Midori says, “Panties getting wet, are they, Ayano?’

    “What?!” she says, turning back to their friends as they start laughing. “I’m not… I would never-”

    “When are you going to talk to him, Yan-yan?” Mai asks genuinely.

    “Yeah,” Yui adds, “you’re not exactly going to win him over by staring at him all the time.”

    “Might work,” Ryuto says, “since you’re basically displaying your heart on your shoulder as brightly as Gema’s arm band.”

    “I don't know,” Pippi says, crossing her arms, “boys have a tendency to be rather oblivious.”

    “Even if I could fess up the courage,” Ayano says, slightly downcast, “Miss “I’m mean to the people I like” over there is talking his ears out, I’d never get a word in, even if she or her herculean and amazon friends let me get close.”

    “Speaking of Osana,” Yui says, pointing back towards the front of the courtyard, “look who’s paying a visit.”

    They all turn to where she’s pointing, seeing someone who’s very much not a highschooler, teacher, or even cop, stomping into the courtyard towards Osana and Taro. He has messy, shoulder length black hair and glasses with thick frames. He’s wearing a white t-shirt and black sweatpants, and is looking very pissed.

    “Oh shit,” a female voice says as many of the other students turn to face him.

    “Osana!” the man shouts getting everyone, including Osana’s, attention. “We need to talk.”

    Looking very uneasy, the girl says quietly, “Oh god,” before shouting back ,”Aka, now’s not the time for you to be showing up here!”

    “Like I care,” the man, named Aka, says as he reaches her. “You have something to explain to me.”

    “I don’t have to explain anything to you, you fucking creep!” she shouts back. “Especially since you won’t leave me alone.”

    She goes to turn, but he grabs her seifuku and pulls her closer.

    “Listen here, bitch!” he shouts. “You do as I say, got that!”

    “Get your hands off her!” Taro shouts, giving him a weak push as he does.

    “Listen here, boy,” Aka shouts, letting Osana go from one hand and pushing Taro back into the fountain, “don’t tell me who I can’t put my hand on! She’s mine, and I do-”

    “HEY!” Ayano shouts, rising up and, despite her friends protests, charges towards the twenty year old man. “Leave them alone!”

    A smirk forms on Aka’s face as he lets Osana go and turns towards the girl. “Or you’ll what?”

    “Or…” Ayano, stutters, her bravery at seeing the boy she likes be harmed already rapidly fading, “or I’ll-”

    “What’s going on here,” a powerful male voice calls from one of the doors to the courtyard.

    Everyone turns and sees two people, a Herculean boy and an Amazonian girl, walking up to them.

    The boy easily towers over all the students and at least half a foot taller than Aka. He has dark, feathery hair and a white headband. The girl is just as tall, if not slightly taller, and despite her impressive physique, has a really sweet face. She has bright orange hair, much brighter than Osana’s, that are styled in two ponytails with pink scrunchies with white polka dots, as well as a purple ribbon. Both of their usually cheery and excitable demeanours have shifted to more stern ones at the sight of this man.

    Raising his hands, Aka starts to back away, saying, “Nothing, I was just talking, I don't want any trouble, now.”

    “Bet you don’t,” the amazon says, folding her arms over her chest.

    “Sorry,” Aka says, turning and walking away.

    “He’s still giving you trouble?” the boy asks them.

    Rushing up to hug the girl, Osana says, “Thanks for that, Raibaru.” She turns her head to the boy. “You too, Budo.”

    “Don’t worry, Osana,” the amazon, Raibaru, says as she pats her friends back. “He won’t touch you as long as we’re here.”

    “We sure scared him, didn’t we Rai?” Budo says, to which Raibaru nods with a triumphant smile.

    Rubbing the back of his head, Taro turns to Ayano and says, “Thanks too, I guess.”

    A wide awkward smile forms on her face. She raises her arm up stiffly to wave at him, before quickly turning around and taking a few steps away, hearing their conversation.

    “So why did the police question you two,” Osana asks.

    “Yeah, I thought neither of you knew them that well.”

    “Yes,” Budo says, “but they said that, since Kokona and Saki had to have been held up to be tied in that position, and that Mr. Hakura was a bit of a heavy fella, they reasoned that the person who did this had to be able to carry or hold their dead weight.”

    “Naturally, the amount of people at this school who can do that is a bit limited,” Raibaru continues, “me and Budo being among them.”

    “Were you questioned, Osana?” 

    “Didn’t need to be. I was texting with this dummy,” she pauses to smack him on the chest, “all night until I fell asleep, and they checked the times on my phone to be sure.” She raises her arms up and points to herself with her thumbs. “I’m airtight, bitches.”

    “UNLESS IT’S BOTH OF YA!” Midori, her and Mai now standing, shouts over to them, getting everyone's attention, which causes Yui to walk over and smack her on the chest. “Ow! I’m just saying. We’ve all seen the movies! Yah know, EVERYBODY'S A SUSPECT!”

    “Okay, okay, calm down now!” the commanding voice of a girl entering the courtyard says. She has long black hair, glasses, and is sporting a pure white seifuku and skirt, both with red trimmings. 

    “Am I wrong?” Midori says to the crowd.

    “Quiet Midori,” the girl says. “Anyways, I have word from the faculty and the police. Everyone is to head to their homeroom classrooms immediately. Inform your teachers if you have or have not been questioned by the police yet, regardless of if you have an airtight alibi. Classes will be held back until the entire student body has been questioned. Do I make myself clear?”

    “Suuuure, Kuroko,” Midori says sarcastically. “Shouldn’t someone who’s actually important tell us that-”

    “Midori, shut up,” Mai whispers, to no effect.

    “-like Miss Pretty Perfect President, you know, someone with actual authority.”

    “As vice president of the student council, I have just as much authority as President Saikou, and as such you have to listen to what I say.”

    “Where is Megami anyways,” Gema says. “She wasn't there with the club leaders as we were questioned.”

    “President Saikou has been held from class today,” Kuroko says. “After lasts nights crimes, he’s afraid his daughter could be in danger, and is keeping her safe at home until a personal bodyguard is hired.”

    “How long will it be?” Raibaru asks.

    “From what she told us, her father found someone who suits their needs, and he and his family are flying her from the United Sates as we speak, and should arrive later tonight. But enough of that, everyone get to their classes, now!”

    With that, the students begin to disperse. Ayano waves goodbye to her friends since she shares a homeroom with none of them, and walks into the school building.

    As she walks, the halls fill up with students getting to their classes, most still gossiping about what happened last night. Walking right in front of her are two girls, sisters, the left one with long purple hair and the right one with ping hair in two long, thick pigtails with black scrunchies, who talk loud enough for Ayano to hear.

    “Sucks what happened to those two girls, didn't it, Sakyu,” the pink haired girl says.

    “Yeah,” the purple haired girl, Sakyu, says with a shrug, “but at least that leaves less competition for the boys for us, Inkyu.”

    “Oh yes,” Inkyu says, “though if this is basically a scary movie like everyone’s saying it is, doesn’t that put us in danger?”

    “Doubt it.”

    Grimacing, Ayano harshly turns and walks up the stairs to the next floor. As she enters the second floor hall, she overhears a quick exchange between the leader of the science club, a guy with messy silver hair named Kaga, and his vice president, Homo, who has short gray hair with neon blue and green streaks in it.

    “And they’re saying I’m a suspect,” Kaga says bombastically, “just because I said that the girls were acting stupid based on what the cops said happened.”

    “Exactly,” Homu says quietly, “these people don’t think. Everybody knows you lock the door and call the police immediately when someone attempts to break into your home.”

    Ayano speeds past them, only to bump into someone, sending both to the ground.

    “Oh, sorry Oka,” Ayano says to the girl, who’s just as tall as Budo and Raibaru, though more bony than muscular, and sports shoulder length, messy, dark navy blue hair and shadows around her eyes.

    “Sorry,” she stammers out quietly, “I…uh…” and with that she takes off, disappearing into the crowd.

    Confused, Ayano rises to her feet and starts walking again, only to bump into someone else.

    “Ow, watch it!” the girl shouts, “Oh, well look. It’s Miss Stab Fanatic.”

    “Sorry, Musume,” Ayano says trying to edge around her and her posse of four. 

    This girl, Musume, has tanned skin and long, wavy blonde hair. She has heavy eyeliner and make up, sporting bright red lips, and is decorated in multicolored scrunchies, armbands, and a bright blue jacket tied around her waist. The other girls in her group are similarly dressed and made up.

    With a smile on her face, Musume says, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy that your favorite movie’s come to Japan?” The other girls laugh, and her, with a wide grin, leans closer to her. “Or by chance, did you bring it here yourself? You know my dad was making good money from Haruka's debts, and someone just cut it off!”

    “I’m just trying to get to class,” Ayano says. “I’m not trying to cause any trouble.”

    The girl thinks for a second, before saying, “Fine, but tell us where that tall ass freak went.”

    Ayano points in the general direction Oka took off too, and the girls head off, though not before flashing mocking faces and rude gestures towards her.

    Relieved, Ayano continues walking to class without incident, determined to get through the day quickly, trying to keep thoughts of what happened out of her mind.

    “Yudasei ,” her teacher says as she enters the classroom, “have you spoken to the police yet.

    “No.”

Chapter Text

Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you.

    “Mommy! Mommy!” a dark haired nine year old girl sitting by the window shouts to her mother in the aisle seat. “Look at all the pretty lights!”

    Outside the plane window was the night sky utterly filled with colorful lights and their mesmerizing patterns, as well as beautiful mountain ranges in the near distance surrounding the city.

    The mother, a beautiful woman in her forties with dark brown or black hair who’s in the midst of making sure the baby chair on the middle seat holding a two year old boy is secure. “Yeah, they sure are,” she says, far less enthusiastically than her daughter. She has a stoic look about her, along with an edge most people lack. She also has a deep, lonely look to her eyes, despite the family around her. 

    “This is so exciting,” a voice from in front of the daughter says, belonging to another girl, two years younger, who’s also sporting dark hair, “Tokyo is so pretty.”

    “I got a better view than you, Hals!”

    “Nuh-uh!”

    “Yeah-huh!”

    “Nuh-uh!”

    “Yeah-huh!”

    “Nuh-!”

    “Kids!” a man sitting besides the seven year old says loudly, causing the two to quiet immediately. He’s around fifty, has short, wavy, gray hair with dark roots, and is handsome with piercing eyes and an authoritative tone to his voice. “Don’t argue, we don’t want to disturb anyone when landing.”

    “Besides,” the mother says, leaning over make sure her son is still sleeping, “you could wake up Randy, and no one on this plane needs to experience that.”

    The two girls settle down as their mother tends to the toddler.

    “Still, this must be exciting for them, honey,” the father says, looking, between the seats back at his wife. “It’s the first time they’ve been out of the country, and it’s to such a beautiful place.”

    “It’s my first time out of the country too,” the woman says sternly, “and you don’t hear me screaming up a storm.”

    Her husband gives her a look, to which she sighs.

    “I still don’t like this.”

    “I know, I know, timing and all. It couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

    “It’s not just that we’re heading there now,” the woman says, glancing around at the other passengers, then her three children. She leans closer to the middle seat and starts whispering. “Two highschoolers brutally murdered at night in one of their homes, and then you’re hired to be a bodyguard for one of their classmates, with you being allowed to bring your family, which includes me…”

    “I get your concerns, I’m a bit weary myself. I mean, I still have the scar, but you know money’s tight, and what Mr. Saikou is paying me-”

    “Ah, yes, Mr. Psycho, that doesn't alleviate my concern at all,” she says, laying back against her seat.

    “I couldn’t say no,” the husband says, “and it gives the kids a unique experience at their age, something about them they can talk about with friends in the future, stuff that doesn’t involve everything that’s happened to you.”

    “Doubt any of their friends will care about a trip to Japan when they learn who their mother is.”

    “But even if the worst comes to worst,” he says, reaching his arm back to her, “I know you’ll be able to get out of it.”

    The woman doesn’t move for a second, before leaning forwards and grabbing her husband's hand. 

    “It’s not me I’m worried about,” she says, “I know I'll survive.” She glances towards the sleeping toddler and the excited nine year old looking out the window. “I’m worried for them.”

    “I know, but if you survive, I know they will too.”

    This actually coaxes a smile out of the woman, before being cut off by her daughter.

    “Mommy, look! The airport,” the girl calls out, pointing out the window.

    Out the window, the ground grows closer and closer with each passing second.

    “Don’t lean against the window, Tats,” the woman says, pulling her daughter back to her seat.

    A few seconds later the plane lands, the sudden bumping waking the toddler up, who starts crying, to which his mother picks him up and starts rocking him.

    The plane pulls off the active runway and pulls up to the taxing gate. As it does, a flight attendant announces over the speakers

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Chōfu Airport Airport. Local time is 8:44 pm, September 27th and the temperature is 67° Fahrenheit”

    As the plane comes to a stop, its passengers rise from their seats and begin to make their way out, unloading their carry-on as they go. 

    Due to this family being a bit closer to the front of the plane on the starboard side, they’re among the first to rise, though the wife takes a bit of time to pick up her son and collapse the baby seat. Once that’s done, the whole family heads  down the aisle and off the plain towards the terminal.

    “Welcome to Japan kids,” the husband says as they walk off the jet bridge, to their excitement.

    “Where are we going to go first!” the older of the two girls shouts as the younger jumps up and down rapidly.

    “It’s too late to do most things,” the man says, to the two's chagrin.

    “Besides,” the wife says enthusiastically, “we have to meet dad’s employer.”

    So they head down to baggage claim and wait for their stuff to arrive down the conveyor belt. It’s only a matter of minutes before the girls' shared suitcase slides off the ramp onto the belt for them to claim, as is the other suitcase just for toddler stuff.

    However, both of the adults’ suitcases fail to appear, and they both get a bit concerned as their daughters get annoyed.

    “What’s taking so long?!” the younger girl says as her sister groans loudly.

    “Probably just bogged up,” her father says.

    However, it’s twenty minutes, well after the last bag headed down the ramp.

    “Okay, somethings wrong,” the woman says, glancing around the airport with what looks like suspicion.

    Just as she says this, their last name is called, wanting them to head to customs.

    Seeing as they can’t leave the airport without their stuff, the family heads to customs and sure enough, both the man and woman’s suitcases were sitting on the desk.

    “You wanted to see us,” the man says as they walk up to the desk.

    “Yes, sir,” the attendant says, opening up the man’s baggage, pulling out a black. locked hard-sided container. “You are aware that possessing firearms is, in fact, illegal here in Japan, right?” he asks, to which the man nods. “And despite that, your suitcase contains a Colt 1911.”

    “Yes,” the man says professionally, “I’ve already declared it back in LA.”

    “I have that on record,” the attendant says, “but what reason would you bring a firearm into our country despite possessing them being illegal.”

    “Well you see, I’m a hired bodyguard, and the man who’s paying me to protect his daughter has enough connections in the government gave us an exception to the law. The seal has been taped onto the side of the case.” He then points to the side of the case, where the special exception sticker is.”

    “I understand,” the attendant says, sliding the gun case back into the man's bag, “I get that you’re a necessary exception. I was more so concerned about your wife.” The attendant then starts to unzip her bag.

    Handing the toddler to her husband, the woman walks up to the desk as the attendant pulls out a similar case.

    “You happen to be carrying a Glock 17 in your checked luggage. I see the sticker on your case, but I can’t help but wonder. It makes sense for your husband to be carrying a weapon, but why do you need to?”

    There’s a brief pause.

    “Because I’m Sidney Prescott.”

    There’s a look of recognition on the mans face, as he racks his brain for where he’s heard that name before. Then it clicks for him.

    “I see,” he says, stuffing the case back into her luggage. “Apologies for the inconvenience.”

    They take their luggage, and Sidney takes her son back from her husband, and they  all begin to walk away from customs and towards the exit.

    “Well that could’ve been worse,” the man says, “and being able to have your gun should quell your nerves.”

    “I know, Mark,” Sidney says. “Still, something just feels off about this.”

    “I get that, bu-” Mark starts, but he cuts himself off when he and his wife catch a glimpse of someone.

    Standing a few feet from the door is a man dressed in the fanciest suit, a chauffeur, who’s holding a sign.

Prescott-Kincaid

    “That’s us,” Mark says as the two girls charge in the man’s direction, followed closely by their parents.

    “Mr. Kincaid. Mrs. Prescott. Children,” the chauffeur says with a polite bow. “Mr. Saikou has requested that I bring you to the estate as soon as possible, so could you please follow me.”

    He leads the family out of the airport where, parked right by the door, a shiny, silver limousine lays in wait, causing both girls' eyes to beam.

    “Wow,” the older of the two says, “is this really ours?”

    “Looks like it, Tatum,” Mark says as the chauffeur opens the trunk for them to put their luggage in.

    “It’s so pretty,” the younger of the girls says, reaching out to touch the limo, only for her mother to stop her with her free hand.

    “Hallie,” she says sternly, “don’t touch things you don’t own, especially without the owner's permission.”

    “Sorry Mom.”

    So they load their checked and carry-on luggage into the trunk of the car, only bringing the baby chair, which Sid promptly secures atop the middle seat in the back of the limo for little Randy to sit on, while Tatum and Hals sit opposite sides of him.

    “Don’t drink too much soda,” Sidney says as she and Mark slide closer to the front of the limo, seeing the girls eyeing the mini fridge on the other side of the door on Hallie’s side. “It’s late where we are, and you two are going right to sleep when we get to Mr. Saikou’s house.”

    “Awwwww!” the two girls say in unison.

    “How long will this take?” Tatum groans.

    “Won’t be long at all,” the chauffeur says as he gets into the driver's seat. “Buraza is just west of Tokyo. Won’t even be an hour.”

    “That’s good,” Sidney says, turning back to her daughters. “That way we will be able to explore the city and be back in time for supper while dad’s doing his job.”

    “I can’t wait to see the city,” Hallie says, practically bouncing in her seat.

    “Me too,” Tatum says, “I wonder if it’s as pretty down here as it was up there.”

    “Oh definitely,” the chauffeur says. “Pretty lights, vibrant colors, and gorgeous architecture and landmarks, although you’ll probably get enough of the first two in Buraza Town by itself.” He gives a hearty chuckle at his own joke, which only confuses the other adults in the car.

    “Why?” Mark asks.

    “You don’t already know? Well after World War II, most of the American occupiers left to return to their homes. However, many in western Tokyo stayed behind, growing to adore the lands and their newly found friends over here, and after nearly eight decades of living together, the cultures mixed in a bizarre fashion, to the point of being rather isolated from most of Japan. It’s almost as if a heightened or exaggerated version of our culture mixed with one of yours, so if you notice anything odd about the way people act here, that’s why. And when hair dye became popular in the late sixties, it became popular to completely dye your hair a specific bright color, but that trend didn’t die, and people still do it to this day. Hell, even whole families will choose one specific color and have that be what they all dye it as. The Najimi’s go for a nice orange, the Ruto’s a dark navy, the Gurin’s a bright green, and they went as far as giving their daughter the Japanese word for green as her first name, Midori. Even the Saikou’s do it, with them going for a nice silver color. So when you’re doing your business around the town, don't be surprised to see almost every child and most adults sporting bright hair colors.”

    “Good to know,” Sidney says.

    “Oh, can I dye my hair?!" Hallie says, visibly excited.

    “Maybe at some point,” Mark says, before turning back to the driver. “So if this town is a cultural mix of American and Japanese, does everyone who lives there speak English?”

    “Yes,” the chauffeur says, “Everyone is as fluent in English as they are Japanese, with the former having taken over as the primary spoken language here.”

    “Wait,” Sidney says, realizing something, “if American culture has ingrained here, does that also apply to American movies?”

    “Yes.”

    “All genres?”

    “Yes, they actually re-released all eight of the movies based on your life all over Japan a year or so ago, Mrs. Prescott, with full Japanese dubbing and original English versions.”

    “Great,” Sid says sarcastically, laying down against the seat.

    “Well, here we are,” the chauffeur says as they begin to drive up an incline. After around a minute, the girls see through the window as they pass a fancy looking gate, which closes behind them. The limo comes to a stop, the chauffeur stepping out of the car and walking up to open the door for Sidney and Mark.

    Upon stepping out, they’re beholden to the sight of a massive and beautiful mansion. At least three stories high and a bit wider than Woodsboro High’s football field. Beautifully decorated, it encompassed the best of both American and Japanese cultures, with its castle-like roofing, columns and almost pure white walls for the former and wide, open windows, sliding doors, and major emphasis on the nature surrounding the building for the latter.

    Despite its beauty, Sidney looks on with suspicion, and the only thing on her mind is, “This is at least twice the size of John Milton’s mansion.”

    “Sid, it’s fine,” Mark says as their children are released from the car, then walking up to their parents' sides to gawk at the mansion.

    The front door then opens, and a few of the household staff walk out towards the limo to unload the luggage and the two year old from it.

    As one of the staff passes Sidney and the young Randy, two more open the grand entrance doors fully. Emerging from the house were a man and woman Sidney’s age, him sporting a pure black business suit with what appears to be a blue undershirt, and her a pretty, somewhat revealing black dress, both holding glasses of wine. As the chauffeur said, they both sport silver hair, his short and slicked back, and hers going down to her calves with fringed bangs and a protruding ahoge.

    They walk up to the Prescott-Kincaids, before bowing at the head.

    “Hello Mr. Kincaid, and Mrs. Prescott,” the man says in an incredibly formal tone. “I am Ichiro Saikou, and this is my wife, Sayuri.” He gestures towards the woman with his free hand.

    “A pleasure to meet you,” Sayuri Saikou says in a slightly sultry voice.

    “The pleasure is all ours,” Mark says, also bowing at the head. He then raises his hand to the two. “I’m Mark, and this is my wife Sid-”

    “Yes,” Ichiro Saikou says, taking Marks hand, “I’m fully aware of who your wife is. My son made us watch those Stab films a dozen times, we’re well aware of who Sidney Prescott is.”

    “Utterly dreadful,” Sayuri says, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. Turning to Sid, she says, “No offense.”

    “None taken,” Sidney says, completely deadpan. “If you think watching them was dreadful, try living them.”

    This gets a chuckle out of the rich folk. “But anyways,” Ichiro says, taking a sip of wine, “Mr. Kincaid, with our formal introductions out of the way, it’s time we begin your assignment.”

    “Of course,” Mark says, nodding. “I’m here to protect your daughter from danger until the person who committed those crimes is caught.”

    “Correct, and I trust you will do whatever it takes to keep Megami safe until this crisis has resolved.”

    “Of course,” Mark says.

    “This very conveniently timed crisis,” Sidney says under her breath. 

    “That’s good,” Mr. Saikou says with a smirk and nod, before he and his wife turn inwards and back up “Time for you to meet your protectee, my daughter and heir to Saikou Corp, Megami.”

    He and his wife step out of the way, revealing a girl, around eighteen, with the same silver hair as her parents, going down to her thighs and sporting the same fringed bangs and ahoge. She’s wearing a fancy, tight, black dress like her mother, although hers is much more concealing. Covering her arms are fancy black gloves. She has a look of utmost confidence and maturity for her age.

    Bowing at the waist, she says in a formal tone, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kincaid.”

    “The same to you, Miss Saikou,” Mark says, “and don’t be afraid. I’ll ensure that no harm comes to you.”

    As Megami raises, her father walks up behind her and places his hand on her shoulder. “You will trail my daughter every time she’s outside the manor, keep an eye on suspicious characters, and ensure that nothing comes to harm a hair on her head.”

    “I will, don’t be concerned.”

    As her husband continues his talk with the family, Sidney eyes each of them with suspicion. So these are the people insistent on her and her husband being here? Due to how formal they are, it’s hard to tell how potentially unhinged they could be. Picking out potential killers is a bit hard. At one point, she catches that Megami girl glancing at her, but Sid can’t read much from it.

    “-and with that, I think we should show our guests to their rooms,” Ichiro says. “Wouldn’t you agree, Sayuri?”

    “Of course,” the woman says.

    The Saikou’s turn, the patriarch gesturing for the Prescott-Kincaids to follow, which they do, house staff taking their luggage.

    They enter the Saikou mansion, and it’s just as beautiful inside as  out, if not more so. Entering the foyer, Sidney looks up at the two stories above, at the railings of the halls open to it. 

    “That way is the kitchen, which leads to the bar, with a staircase down to the wine cellar, with only the finest beverages there is in all of Japan. And over there is the Televi-”

    Cutting himself off, Mr Saikou lets out a groan at the sight of another silver haired person, a teenage boy, who’s fancy clothes are a bit messy, him laying on the couch on his phone.

    “Kencho!” Sayuri says in a stern voice. “Why were you up front with us to great our guests?”

    The boy lets out a ground, lazily raising his head and hand and give a halfhearted, “Hey,” accompanied by an appropriate wave, before resuming whatever he was doing.

    Letting out a sigh, Ichiro gestures towards the boy, saying, “Mr. Kincaid. Mrs. Prescott. My other child, Kencho, the spare.”

    “Let’s show our guests to their rooms, dad,” Megami says, leading as they walk through the room.

    They all make their way out of the room, Sidney trails as she hears something coming from the boys phone.

“-and it is beyond obvious how the original Stab film influenced both horror media and the world at large, even to this day.”

    She taps one of the staff on the shoulder and holds Randy to her. “Can you bring my son to the room’s with the others?” she asks, to which she nods and takes the baby and joins the others. She then turns and walks towards the couch, seeing the teenage boy laying on the couch, listening to some sort of audio show.

    “Excuse me?” she says, startling the boy.

    “Ah, what the hell!?” he says, turning and throwing his arms to the side.

    “What are you listening to?”

    “This?” Kencho asks, holding up the phone, to which Sidney nods. “It’s a Listen To Me stream, by someone who goes by Yan-chan.”

    “Who?”

    “We don’t know for sure, although many on the message boards agree that she’s probably the anonymous daughter of Ryuba Aishi, who was arrested two years ago for a murder she committed in the eighties. She’s a major fan of the Stab films, apparently being born on the anniversary of the original killings, though I think she’s lying about that for attention.”

    “Oh,” Sidney says, surprised. So despite Richie and Amber’s spree last year being influenced by their Stab fandom, there are still people who are openly major fans of the franchise. Curious, she asks, “Do you mind if I-”

    “I guess,” Kencho says, taking a seat back down on the couch, allowing Sidney some space, which she takes and starts listening.

“-But god, after everything that’s happened to Gale and especially Sidney, I just really wish those two would have some fucking peace for a change. If there’s no more Stab movies, so be it, their lives matter more than that.”

    Sidney starts to listen intently, absorbing every word, and this girl’s admittedly pretty voice gets imprinted in her brain forever..

    Of course, she would have no idea that this Yan-Chan girl was a nearly seventeen year old girl, sitting with her feet laying on the computer desk, in the midst of eating a pizza with her shirt off. 

    “It’s truly tragic what happened last year,” Ayano says into the mic, pausing to take a bite, “and I’m hopeful that the rumors about what happened in Buraza Town were exaggerations, and if not, I can only wish for the continued safety of Prescott, Weathers, Kincaid, the Carpenters, Reed, and the Meeks-Martins.”

    She slides her feet off the desk onto the floor, and places the pizza slice back on the paper plate. She then turns and grabs the wrapped box from her father.

    “And I know I shouldn't open this until tomorrow, but with fear running rampant all over western Tokyo, I want to give you something nice to hold onto, so you’re going to listen to me open my birthday present.”

    She pulls a pair of scissors from her pencil cup and cuts the ribbon. Once she pulls it off, she slices the tape with one of the scissor blades and opens the box and pulls out a decently sized book, the cover image being a khaki fabric with a police badge on it where the title is.

    “In my hands is a really special book, which I will read the first chapter of for all of you.”

    She looks back down at the book, and starts to read the title out loud.

A Shiny, Blue Heart:

A Tribute To 

Dwight “Dewey” Riley

By. Gale Weathers Riley

    Between the title and the author, at  the bottom of the badge, are two years.

1971-2021

    Hearing this from a couch not so far away in a mansion, Sidney becomes utterly transfixed on these words. After her initial suspicion of this Yan-Chan character, believing she may be behind this, Sidney now feels an urge to find this girl. Thanks to her prior experience with major Stab fans resulting in her gut getting stabbed, it warmed her heart to see someone that, despite being a fan of the film adaptations of her trauma, this girl actually understands the difference between the films and the people who lived them.

    As Yan-Chan starts reading Gale’s book, and even though Sid already read the free copy Gale gave her when it came out, she’s moved to tears, hopeful that her trauma has finally come to an end.

    However, as this is going on, in another, much seedier part of Buraza Town, a young man enters his home.

    “Oh shit!” a young girl with orange hair hastily tied in two tails in purple pajamas says to the person she’s talking to on the phone. “He’s back.”

    She rises up and heads to her bedroom door, shutting and locking it, and just in time too, as the man heads up the stairs and starts pounding on her door.

    “Kyoufu!” he shouts.

    “Go away, Aka!” she shouts back. “Just because mom’s away doesn’t mean you have the right to disturb me in my room!”

    Aka slams his fist onto the door again, before turning heel and rushing into his own mess of a room, sliding off the white shirt as he walks up to a wall covered in candid photographs.

    Hearing him enter his own room, Kyoufu walks back to her own bed and sits down. “See,” she says, “he’s fucking nuts. I don’t know what he does when he’s out of the house. He has no job, so whatever it is can’t be good.”

    “Damn,” a muffled girly voice says from the phone, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t hear that.”

    “It gets worse,” Kyoufu says, shuddering. “One day when he was away, I snuck into his room, and it’s fucked. On one of his walls are dozens of photographs of this girl with orange twintails, and she looks like a girl from the high school.”

    “Yikes!” the caller says. “He sounds like a real problem.”

    “He is, Miss, uh, what was your name again?

    “Kirby.”

    “Well Miss Kirby, mom tolerates his bullshit, but he's only getting worse and I can’t stand it. I’ve started locking my doors every night, I'm scared he might do something.”

    “Well if there's one thing,” the caller says with enthusiasm, “you might not have to deal with it for much longer.”

    “I wish,” Kyoufu says, before she realizes what the caller said. “Wait, wha-”

    The caller abruptly hangs up.

    Back in Aka’s room, after failing to notice the faint sounds coming from the closet due to him sticking more pictures of that girl on his wall, someone bursts out of the closet and charges him. Aka only notices the other person’s presence when he feels the hunting knife enter his right cheek and poke out through the left, him letting out a scream loud enough for Kyoufu to hear from her room.

    He kicks the black robed figure, sending him flying back onto his bed, and he races out of his room, stumbling as he goes. He rushes through the upstairs halls, reaching the door of his sister, and begins frantically pounding on it.

    Kyoufu lets out a scream as she darts to the other side of her room, petrified.

    “Kyoufu! Let me in!”

    “Go away!” the girl screams, fearing tonight is the night the worst had come to pass. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

    “I’m not joking! LET ME IN!”

    “NO!”

    “Please,” Aka shouts, eyes darting around the hall. “I'm begging you!”

    Kyoufu says nothing, instead crouching in the corner farthest from the door, whimpering, silently begging the wood’s strong enough to hold.

    “KYOUFU!” Aka shouts, before feeling a hand on his shoulder. It forces him to turn around, leaving him face to face with the mask of Ghostface, letting out a scream before the killer stabs him in the gut.

    The poor girl listens to her brothers screaming and the pounds against the door, no doubt him trying to break it down and get to her.

    All she could do was sit there and listen to his screams of pain, certainly the result of him hurting his fists from the punching.

    She sits there, begging to every existing deity out there for the door not to break, when she notices her brothers screams are getting weaker, and after a few moments stops altogether with the pounding. They’re replaced by a faint groaning, the sound of something sliding against her door, and what sound like footsteps running away from the door, as well as what sounds like liquid flowing down a surface.

    She slowly raises to her feet and begins to walk towards the door.

    “Aka,” she says, hearing nothing from the other side of the door. As she reaches it, she looks down and sees a little amount of a red liquid seep between the door crack.

    “Aka,” Kyoufu says as she reaches for the door and begins to turn the handle. She suddenly finds some heavy weight against the door that forces her back as it swings open.

    Falling to the floor in front of her is Aka, wide eyes staring up at the ceiling through his glasses, at least a dozen bleeding stabs to his bare chest and stomach, a puddle of blood fills the floor around his lower body, and it starts to expand into Kyoufu’s room.

    A few seconds after his body falls to the floor, his limp head turns to the side, facing the poor girl and staring at her with his cold, dead eyes.

    All she could do was scream.

Chapter Text

Beep! Beep Beep! Beep!

SLAM!

    Waking up in a start, Ayano leaps out of bed and rushes to the calendar, crossing off the box of September 28th, aka Stab Day, aka her sweet seventeen.

    She runs back to her bed and grabs her phone off her nightstand, seeing a text from her father.

Dad: Happy Birthday Ayano!

Dad: Wish I could be there with you, and I hope you enjoy your present.

Dad: Love you!

Love you too, dad!

    She adds a few heart and kiss emojis, before checking the time on her phone clock, and her eyes widen.

7:34 am

    “Shit!” she shouts, darting to the bathroom, now having under an hour to get to Akademi High, since class starts at 8:30. Since she obviously doesn’t have time to shower, she uses one hand to spray some of her mom’s old powerful deodorant and the other to brush her teeth.

    She rapidly slides out of her night clothes as she runs back to her room, just as quickly slipping back into her school uniform. She manages to get it in under a minute, but looks very disheveled. Not a problem right now, she’ll fix it later.

    She rushed out of her room, though not before stopping to sniff under her arm, and heads downstairs. Luckily, her parents brow beat it into her to pre-make lunch the night before, and she promptly stuffs the paper bag into her school one.

    Still, she needs to eat something, so she slides a piece of toast into a toaster and waits. The next two minutes are agonizing, her anxiously tapping her feet until the toast shoots up. Taking it, she stuffs it into her mouth, slightly burning it, as she slides on her shoes and rushes out the door, not even locking it behind her.

    She grabs her bike and hops on, riding it into the street. A bit calmer, she uses one hand to take the half eaten toast out of her mouth and lets the wind cool it, taking smaller bites. 

    Once done with that, she pulls out her phone and heads onto twitter. Thankfully, she hasn’t logged out of her Yan-Chan account, so all she needs to do is write the tweet, albeit one handed.

Sorry, but no pre-school chat today.

Overslept. I’ll make it up to you lovely people when I get back.

    The gate to the school comes into view as she puts her phone away. Standing by the entrance is Yui, who’s in the midst of texting someone. 

    “Hey, Yui!” Ayano shouts, starting the redhead a bit. “Where’s everyone else?” she asks, noticing a suspicious lack of students around, even if classes are under an hour from starting.

    “First, don’t do that!” Yui says, stuffing her phone into her school bag, “second, happy birthday, Ayano, and third, because most people are holding their children back an hour. You didn’t get the group text?”

    “Overslept,” Ayano says, rubbing her eyes, before gesturing to her haphazardly put on uniform, “if you can’t tell. Wait, why are you here then?”

    “With classes being delayed and thus less people on campus,” Yui says, pressing her glasses up, “I’m hitting the computer lab so I can work on my coding without being distracted by classes or the others messing about, playing video games.”

    “Speak of the devil,” Ayano says, peering behind Yui at the sight of a slightly frazzled Ryuto rushing towards.

    “Did I miss anything?!” he shouts as he reaches them, panting for breath. “I overslept and I-”

    “Same,” Ayano says, light smile forming on her face.

    Ryuto then looks up and only sees his brunette and redhead friends. “Where are the others?”

    “Does anyone actually bother to read our group chat!?” Yui asks.

    “I was only checking for birthday messages,” Ayano says. “And I was in a bit of a rush to get out.”

    “Oh, shit, I almost forgot,” Ryuto says, before coming up and giving her a hug. “Happy Birthday, Ayano.”

    “Yes,” a female voice calls from behind them, “happy birthday, Yudasei.”

    Turning, the trio see Musume  walking towards them, though without her usual posse. A nasty smile flashes on her face as she approaches.

    “And if I remember correctly,” she says, posturing as if she were thinking, “today’s also the day those two boys from that movie killed a bunch of their classmates twenty five years ago.”

    “Twenty six,” Ayano corrects angrily. 

    “Well isn’t that a coincidence, huh?” Musume says, getting right into Ayano’s face.

    “So?” she spits back. “Many people are born on days where terrible things happen. August 6th and 9th, December 7th, September 11th. Doesn’t mean anything.”

    “I just find it a little strange that you share a birthday with the climax of the first of, how many, FIVE killing sprees in America. And how the films based off those events happen to be your favorite, and how two of our peers wind up dead just like the kids in those movies…”

    “Are you suggesting I did this?” Ayano asks, both offended and defensively. 

    “I just find it a little strange,” she says, smiling.

    “What I find strange is you bothering us instead of hanging out with those friends of yours that are suspiciously not here yet,” Ryuto jumps in.

    “Yeah, don’t you have better things to do than make baseless accusations?” Yui asks.

    The tanned girl pouts, before walking around Ayano and towards Yui. Musume then snatches her glasses and pushes her to the ground. Putting the glasses on her face, she says, “Jesus, if you’re this blind, it’s no wonder you can't see the obvious signs!” 

    “Just leave us alone,” Ayano says, walking beside Yui, who’s tugging on the red band around her neck, and begins helping her up. “We never did anything to you, and if you’re so convinced it’s me, wouldn’t it be stupid to antagonize me and my friends by doing this shit? Or just being a bitch in general?”

    Musume glares at Ayano, and she glares right back. The two stare each other down for a good few seconds, before Musume grumbles loudly, taking off Yui’s glasses and chucking them at her. “Whatever,” she says as she begins walking away, though not before giving Ayano and Yui a good shove each.

    She then pulls out her phone and starts texting someone. As she walks, Musume bumps into Homu, who’s also on the phone, as she walks into the building.

    “Well,” Ryuto says after an awkward pause, “I’m gonna go hit the computer room. With all this extra time, why not kill it doing what I love. Also might as well keep Pippi’s seat warm”

    And with that, he heads past the gate and towards the entrance.

    “Soooooooo,” Ayano says, turning back to Yui, “where’s everyone else?”

    “Huh?” Yui says, still discombobulated by the shoves.

    “Where’s Pippi? Aren’t those two always together?”

    Yui sighs. “Does anybody read the chat,” she says under her breath, putting her glasses back on. “Pippi said her mom’s holding her back an hour, at least until the police assure her everything's fine.”

    “Midori?” 

    “Didn’t answer, but probably taking the time to get high.”

    “Gema?”

    “Said his mom is giving him instructions on how to use pepper spray.”

    “Mai?”

    “Said she’s walking to school today, since she lives so far away and can’t count on Midori to be sober enough to pick her up.”

    “Goddammit,” Mai says as she walks along the street, in the midst of texting on her phone. “C’mon! Send!”

    As she walks out of the residential area and towards the commercial zone, she starts cutting between alleyways. These motions she’s done dozens of times before, it’s basically muscle memory, even when she’s half distracted by her phone. 

It’s also why she  could walk with confidence through a potentially dangerous alleyway, well that and the overall low crime rate in the area. Even a potential serial killer isn’t dampening her resolve to get to Akademi as quickly as possible.

“Midori,” she says through gritted teeth, typing what she speaks, “sweetie, please pick up. You’re going to be late! And send.”

She walks as she waits for a response, getting madder with each passing second, until finally getting a ding.

GreenGF: Calm down, Mai Waifu, I got time.

Midori please, today is not the day to be pulling this shit.

GreenGF: Lav Yah!

Love you too, even if you’re making it really hard to atm!

    Midori then sends a vid of her making a kissy face, before blowing a stream of marijuana smoke at the camera.

    “Damn her!” Mai says angrily, though she is smiling. “She’d be a lot more annoying if she weren’t so cute.”

    She then hears a groan. Turning to the dumpster, she sees a man covered in a black blanket, who’s gesturing to her to be quiet.

    “Sorry,” Mai says awkwardly, picking up her pace. 

    She glances back down to text her back, when it starts vibrating.

Ayano Y. is calling…

    She decides to answer the call from her friend, despite forgetting that Ayano’s currently listed as YanYan in her contacts.

    “Hey, YanYan,” she says, holding the phone up to her ear. “Happy Birthday! How’s it been.”

    “Hello, Mai,” the familiar voice of a Ghostface voice changer calls through the phone, although slightly echoey for some reason.

    “Oh,” Mai says with a light giggle, “because today’s the anniversary too, right? And you’re messing with me by using the Ghostface voice app you showed us.”

    “Sure about that, lassie?”

    “Oooooooh, are you gonna say you’re watching me now, YanYan?”

    “As a matter of fact, I am!”

    Mai laughs. “Funny, but you can stop now, Ayano.”

    “It’s rather windy today, isn’t it?”

    Mai shivers lightly as she says, “A bit, yeah.”

    “And I see you decided to rock a nice bright purple today, huh?”

    This causes Mai to stop dead in her tracks. In fact, she was wearing bright purple underwear, and now that she’s thinking about it, she does feel a bit of a stronger breeze walking through the alleyways, and the light dancing of her skirt could give anyone here a view.

    She slams her free hand behind her, against her hindquarters to prevent a further Marilyn Monroe reference, turning her head to see if anyone’s following her.

    “Okay, this is not funny anymore!” she says, seeing no one walking behind her.

    Wait, the man in the black blanket by the dumpster, who’s boot covered feet she could still see.

    “They’re awfully cute,” the voice says mockingly as Mai starts to take a few steps towards the dumpster. “As is the rest of you’re nice body.” That she could clearly hear from two separate locations, from the phone and a bit in front of her. ”SHAME IT’S ABOUT TO BE CUT UP!”

    She hangs up immediately as she reaches the other side of the dumpster from the man, which is something she’s about to regret.

    She stops in her tracks as the man covered in the black blanket, no, cloak, begins to rise, one hand obviously being held to his ear. Mai’s breathing intensifies as the man rises to his feet and starts to walk out from beside the dumpster, now fully in view. He slowly lowers his hand from the hood, revealing the very familiar case of Ayano’s old phone, and just stands there for a second.

    The figure's head suddenly turns to face her, showing her the mask of Ghostface, her barely having the time to scream before he raises his other hand, holding a hunting knife.

    While she doesn’t have the time to avoid it, she raises her hand to stop the blade. It stabs right through her left hand, the blade poking out, and there’s where she screams. 

    She kicks the killer in the shin, him letting out a grunt as he’s knocked to the ground. Thanks to the blade in her hand, she’s partially pulled with him, but the knife slides out before she falls. 

    She turns around and attempts to get to her feet, but the killer is a bit faster, and just as she’s up, he runs up to her and stabs her in the back, bringing her back to the ground. He gets another stab in before she elbows him in the chest, pushing him off her.

    Not wasting her chance, Mai gets back up and breaks out into a sprint, screaming as loud as possible, all the while the killer pursues.

    “Akademi High is a prestigious high school,” Ichiro Saikou tells the Prescott-Kincaid adults in the back of the limousine sitting across from him, Megami sitting beside him and the three kids seated in the back. Gesturing to his oldest child, the Saikou patriarch says, “Wouldn’t want anything less for my daughter.”

    “Good faculty, good students,” the chauffeur calls from the divider separating them from the driver, “good reputation. Only scored a minor bump in 1989 with the death of Sumire Saitozaki, but that’s been resolved now so that hit should be corrected.”

    Wait,” Sidney says, “someone was killed at the high school?”

    “Sid, calm down,” Mark says. “I doubt it means anything, and it happened years before Billy and Stu’s killing spree.”

    “And before what happened to your mother,” Megami says calmly, causing Sids gaze to shift to her. “It doesn’t mean a thing relating to what happened to you.”

    “It won’t,” Mr. Saikou says, changing the subject. “Besides, once we drop Megami and your husband off at Akademi, he’ll bring me home then take you and your kids on your tour of Tokyo, so even if anything happens, you’ll be away from it.”

    “That’s a relief,” Mark says, before turning to Sidney. “See, nothing will happen to you or the kids, you’ll be in the city having fun.”

    “I can’t wait to see the Pokemon center,” Hallie shouts, bouncing in her seat.

    “Can we go to the Ghibli Museum today?”

    “Calm down, kids,” Sidney says.

    “You have the debit card I gave you, right?” Mr. Saikou asks.

    “Yes,” Sidney says, nodding, “and your whole family has mine and Mark’s phone numbers in case anything goes wrong with his work.”

    He nods. “So, Mr. Kincaid,” Ichiro says, turning to him, “when you arrive at Akademi, I want you to shadow my daughter, but keep your distance so you don’t interrupt her routine. Only get close if something happens.”

    Nodding, Mark says, “Trail her, keep my distance, and only get close if anything happens. Got it.”

    “If anything happens,” Sidney says coldly, “anything like a person in a Ghostface costume tries to attack her.”

    “Sidney.”   

    “Relax,” Ichirou says, laying back against the seat, “while I did hire your husband to protect my daughter, I did it only to assuage her fears. Nothing is going to happen.”

Bang!

    Suddenly something collides with the side of the limo, the sounds of a screaming girl accompany it. The limo comes to a stop immediately.

    “What was that?” Tatum asks, scared. 

    “Nothing dear,” Mark says as he, Sidney, Ichiro, and Megami unbuckle their seat belts. “Tatum, Hallie. Stay in the car with your brother.”

    Sidney, being closer to the door on the side of the impact, is the first one out on that side and the first one to see the commotion.

    Admittedly, that’s mostly because the pink haired girl rushes right up to her and places both hands, one of them feeling strangely wet, on her face.

    “Please help me!” she screams as Mark comes out of the limo and softly pulls her off his wife, leaving a bloody hand print on Sid’s cheek. As Mark turns the girl around and walks her a bit away from the limo, she sees two red slashes on her upper back and two red streaks going all the way down her seifuku, drips of it coming out from the bottom of her skirt.

    “Are you okay?” Mark asks the panicking girl, before turning to Ichiro, who’s walking around the front of the car towards the two and he looks visibly disgusted at the sight of this wounded girl. “Someone call an ambulance, she’s hurt bad! Three visible stab wounds, possibly more injuries.”

    Several passersby pull out their phones, either to call 110 or record this display. One woman, roughly nineteen with bright pink hair, approaches Mark and tells him she’s training in triage and can help patch the girl up. Mr. Saikou turns completely around, places his hands on his temples, and takes a few steps away. The chauffeur opens the driver side door, see’s the girl, and immediately gets on his phone. Meanwhile, Megami heads around the back of the car and walks up behind Sidney, stopping to tell the kids to stay in the car. 

    While her expression doesn’t change from the slightly subdued frustration her voice shows a bit of concern. “What happened?”

    “She’s hurt, stabbed probably,” Sidney says, turning to Megami, getting to her feet, and walking a bit towards the silver haired girl to give the in training nurse space to patch the girls back. “She’s wearing your school uniform. Do you know her?”

    Megami peers around Sid towards the girl. “Looks like Mai Wakahara, but she’s apart of the outcasts, so we don’t know each other much.”

    “Uh huh,” Sidney says, nodding slightly, “and is there any reason anyone would do this to her?”

    Megami shrugs. “Unless he’s some guy mad at her for not being into men, I can’t say.”

    Sidney slowly turns back around towards the commotion, listening as her husband talks to this Mai girl as this good Samaritan covers the girls back stabs with cloth, the chauffeur helping to wrap up her stabbed hand..

    “It’s okay, it’s okay. Help is on the way. You’re going to be okay,” Mark tells her, as her breathing starts to subside and she visibly calms down a little. “Now who did this to you.”

    Mai only shakes her head. “I don’t know, couldn’t see his face. He was wearing a black cloak and a white mask.”

    The world goes silent as Sidney focuses intently on those four words, black cloak white mask. She turns towards the building on the other side of the road. She walks across the street towards the crowd on that side, to the slight concern of Megami, seeing this forty year old woman walking away with intense focus, before beginning to follow her at a slight distance.

    “Where did that girl come from?” Sidney asks the closest group of bystanders and students, one of them pointing in the direction of a nearby alleyway between two shops. Nodding, she begins to slowly walk towards it, pulling her gun out of her holster, scaring enough of the crowd to stand back and move out of the way.

    “Sid!” Mark calls from back beside the limo, having watched her walk away. “What are you doing?”

    Sidney walks up to the alleyway, staring it down. At the far side, a suspicious looking black cloth that looks like it’s hanging on the wall catches her eye, and she squints to get a better view. 

    “What do you see?” Megami asks, walking up behind her, evidently not catching the cloth.

    Sidney doesn’t answer, instead keeping her eyes locked on that black cloth, that now seems to be moving slightly in a familiar manner. She continues watching for a good minute, until she sees it.

    The figure moves a bit further into view, revealing the Ghostface mask.

Bang!

Bang!

    “AH! HOLY SHIT!” Megami shouts, covering her ears with her hands as Sidney shoots at the killer twice, before charging into the alley after him as he slips behind the wall.

    “SID!” Mark shouts, getting up and heading towards the alleyway after her, withdrawing his own gun. “What's going on?!”

    “Mr. Kincaid,” Megami shouts as the man runs up to and past her, “you have to stay by my side to protect me!” But he doesn't, he continues after his wife. Letting out a loud groan, she heads after him.

    “Megami!” Mr. Saikou shouts, watching his daughter disappear into the potentially dangerous alleyway. “Get back here! You don’t know what’s there!” He chases after her.

    Sidney turns the corner she saw the Ghostface disappear behind, seeing the cloak sliding away down the right alleyway, and continues to give chase.

    “Sid!” she hears Mark shout in concern, which she ignores, continuing her pursuit.

    She makes a right turn and continues her charge, entering a big empty space between the buildings, which was lined with dumpsters. No killer in sight. Still, she does a three sixty scan around the area to confirm.

    With Ghostface gone, her eyes are drawn to the ground, a blood trail leading her beside one of the dumpsters. Laying on the ground is a discarded cellphone that’s also stained in blood.

    “Sid!” Mark calls, causing her to turn and see him running towards her, the two Saikou’s right behind him. “Whats going on?” he asks as he reaches her. “Why did you run in here? Why did you shoot your gun?!”

    “I knew it,” Sidney says, anger slowly bubbling. Looking up at her husband, she continues, “The killer’s come back!”

    “What?”

    “I heard what that girl said about who attacked her. I SAW the Ghostface mask.”

    “Sid,” Mark says in a calm voice, “you’re just overreacting. Whoever attacked that girl isn’t after you, and you were probably seeing things when you saw that mask, you’re trauma made you see it. And even if it was a Ghostface costume, whoever is using it might have just been using it for convenience.”

    “They knew we’d come here after their first attack,” she says, looking Mark in the eyes. “How I don’t know,” she says, before looking over his shoulder and towards the Saikou father and daughter, “but I’m about to find out.”

    She forces herself free of her husbands grasp, she raises her gun at Mr. Saikou as she walks towards him.

    “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” he shouts, raising his hands and backing away slightly, while Megami takes a few steps away from him. “Calm down!”

    “Why did you hire Mark? Why did you need him to protect your daughter?” She takes a quick glance at the girl. “She looks physically capable enough to defend herself. Better than I was at her age.”

    “How dare you threaten me?” Ichiro says, now more angry than scared. “I’ll have you know that I-”

    “Oh, do you think your status will protect you? Do yourself a favor and look up what happened to the director Roman Bridger. Now tell me!”

    “Listen, ma’am,” he says, lowering his hands and taking a few steps to her, “My daughter has been asking for a private security guard for a few years, and Monday nights attacks finally convinced me to hire the highest rated one around, and that just so happens to be your husband. Nothing more, nothing less.”

    “Just calm down and stop pointing your gun,” Megami says, her normal formal tone returning. “You saw me and father with you in the car, so it’s impossible for either of us to have attacked that girl.”

    Unconvinced and knowing better, Sidney says, “There’s always two killers. Either of you could’ve sicked the other on that girl and have me as your alibi.”

    “Sidney,” Mark says calmly, placing his hand on hers, making her lower the gun, “just calm down. I mean we don’t even know if this is at all connected to you, so there’s no need for accusations.

Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…

    Startling everyone is the sudden vibrating of the discarded, bloody cellphone, the screen showing that it’s getting a call from an unknown number.

    Used to this shit by now, Sidney turns away from the Saikou's and walks up to the phone, picking it up.

    She hesitates for a second, before pressing the answer button.

    “Hello, Sidney,” the now very familiar voice of Ghostface says through the phone.

    “Hello,” Sidney says, already done with this guy's shit, “was that you just then.”

    “Of course that was me, and I’m glad to see you here too.”

    “So why don’t you show yourself?”

    “Where’s the fun in that, Sid?”

    “Listen,” she says sternly, “I’ve been through this shit five times already, and the nine people who’ve tried to kill me before are all dead, so just show yourself and we’ll get this over with.”

    “Oh it’s way too early for that, Sidney. You of all people should be aware of that, since this, by now, is our sixth first encounter.”

    “What do you want anyways? Are you another pair of fan’s upset with the recent movie?”

    The caller just laughs. “While that movie was terrible, it’s not what I’m doing this for.”

    “Then what is it?”

    “Well you know how many American horror films are remakes of older Japanese ones?”

    “You’d have to tell me, I’m not very keen on scary movies.”

    “Figures, ” the caller says with an audible shrug. “Well, we’re working in reverse this time. Welcome to the Japanese reboot of Stab, and I must say, I’m beyond thrilled you’re here to be a part of it.”

    And with that, the caller hangs up, and a silence fills the air.

    Sidney turns around to the other three, a cold expression on her face.

    “Well,” Mark says, realizing just how wrong he was, “guess that answers it."

Chapter Text

Ringringringringringringringringringringringringringringringringringringringringringring

    “Oh, class starts in half an hour,” Ayano says, standing up from her computer chair, Ryuto and Yui seated either side of her. “We should probably stop now so we can get to class on time.”

    “Thirty minutes?” Ryuto says, not even glancing up from his screen. “That means I got at least twenty five minutes.” He leans closer to his computer, focusing intently on his game.

    Rolling her eyes, Ayano turns to her other friend. “What about you, Yui?”

    The redhead had already logged out of her computer, probably for a while now. Now she’s sitting with her chair facing the other two and is smiling, even lightly giggling, at something on her phone. Hearing her friend, she snaps back into focus and looks up at her. “What?”

    “I’m heading back down to the courtyard to see if the others are there,” she says, having logged and shut off her computer. “Care to join me?” she asks, holding out her hand.

    Yui quickly looks back down at her phone, evidently texting a response to someone, before putting it away and grabbing Ayano’s hand, allowing her to pull her to her feet. 

    “Why not,” the girl says, “might as well see what’s taking Mai so long.”

    “Midori just texted me that she’s on her way like ten minutes ago,” Ayano says as the two walk out of the computer lab, “so she’s probably with her.”

    “Probably. Where else would she be?”

    The two girls walk out of the computer lab, leaving Ryuto to his game. As they walk, the halls are a little more crowded, though it was clear that most of their fellow students have yet to arrive. As they walk towards the stairwell, someone else walks into the third floor hall.

    It’s Homu, who’s talking with someone on the phone. “...but did you get it done?” She pauses for the other person to respond. She lets out a sigh. “Are you serious, Kaga? I had to stay up almost all night to do this shit, and you can’t even get your part done. I mean, why are you even the leader of this-”

    “Hello Homu,” Ayano says with a wave cutting her off and confusing Yui. Walking up to her, she continues, “Couldn’t help but overhear your little chit chat.”

    “Oh,” Homu says, a bit taken aback, “greetings, Yudasei, and happy birthday. I was on the phone with Kaga, leader of the science club. We’re working on a personal project, and I’d really appreciate it if I got to resume our conversation.”

    And with that, Homu walks off, talking much more quietly as she does.

    “What was that about?” Yui asks as she catches back up with Ayano.

    “You heard what she said, right?” she asks as the two start to walk down the stairs. 

    “Yeah. So?”

    "A bit suspicious, don’t you think?”

    Yui sighs and presses her glasses. “You don’t really think it’s Kaga and Homu, do you?”   

    “I’m just saying,” Ayano says with a shrug. “In all the movies, all the Ghostfaces, even Professor Ulyana Fargold from Knife and Clock of Doom, were pretty stupid in the long run. So this time, as a subversion of the usual idiocy of the killers, they’re the intelligent scientific students with minimal connections to the two murdered girls. And they STILL end up making the same mistakes in the end. Eh? Eh?” Ayano says as she elbows Yui’s side with a wide smile on her face. “How’s that for a plot twist? Eh?”

    Yui lets out another sigh. “Ayano, your obsession with those movies is really starting to make me a little anxious about even being next to you. I mean, you’re the Stab fanatic, so it might be you.”

    “Oh c’mon,” Ayano says, dropping the smile, “you know I don’t the ability to take a life. Remember back in May when I was home alone and called you to come over and kill a spider that was in my shower?”

    Yui shudders. “Still haven’t got that image out of my head.”

    “All our towels were dirty, don’t blame me that I’m awful at doing laundry.”

    Yui was about to make another comment, when they hear the sounds of footsteps rushing up the stairs. 

    It’s Pippi, who seems to be in a rush, her black hair slightly frazzled. 

    “Heya, Pippi,” Ayano says with a wave, Yui doing one as well.

    “Hello Yui. Happy birthday Ayano,” she says, stopping to give them a wave. “Where’s Ryuto? I need to tell him something.”

    Gesturing up the stairs, Yui says, “Computer Lab.”

    “Thanks,” she says, before rushing up the stairs.

    “Someone’s in a rush,” Yui says as they reach the ground floor and head into the hallway.

    As the duo leave the stairwell onto the ground floor, they pass the sisters, Inkyu and Sakyu, in the midst of gossiping.

    “...right in his hallway,” Sakyu says, “stabbed to death in his own house.”

    “Wasn’t his sister in the house?” Inkyu asks, seemingly genuine concern in her tone.

    “Not just there!” the purple haired girl says, hyping it up. “She was on the other side of the door as he was getting stabbed. Heard the whole thing, thought he was trying to break into her room for whatever reason.”

    “Yuck!” Inkyu says, shuddering.

    “Freaked out even more when she found out what was actually happening. Apparently they checked her into the psych ward.”

    “Do not envy her,” the pink haired girl says, leaning back against the wall.

    “What are you talking about?” Ayano asks, stopping in front of the sisters.

    “Oh, just chit chatting,” Inkyu says. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

    “Why do you care, Yudasei?” Sakyu asks.

    “Because what you said sounds interesting,” she responds, intrigued. “You two are the school's gossipers, what happened?”

    “You don’t know?” Sakyu says, much less hostile. “Well, last night…”

    “Hey, Gema!” Yui shouts, looking further down the hallway, where the spiky haired leader of the outcasts, was waving towards the two.

    “Hey Yui! Happy birthday Ayano!” he calls out to the two.

    Turing back to Ayano, the redhead says, “We should probably stop bothering them.”

    “That would be appreciated,” Inkyu says in a faux happy tone.

    “Doubt she’ll be in the dark for long,” Sakyu says under her breath as the two walk towards their friend.

    As they walk, Ayano continues to eavesdrop on the girls' talk.

    “Anyways,” Inkyu says, turning back to her sister, “Osana’s probably relived this happened.”

    “That’s assuming she didn’t kill him herself,” Sakyu says, to which both girls start giggling.

    “Morning Gema,” Ayano says as she and Yui walk up to him, no longer paying attention to the gossiping. Knowing his mothers profession, she asks “Hear of anything interesting?”

    Gema does a quick scan around the area. Taking each girl by the hand, he pulls them into a nearby janitorial closet. Shutting the door, he starts by asking, “Where have you two been both last night and earlier today?”

    “Last I was working on code,” Yui says immediately.

    Ayano, not wanting her secret Listen To Me to be out, even to her friends, simply says, “Watching movies. And Yui and I were up in the computer lab with Ryuto for the past hour or so. Pippi’s up there with him now.”

    Gema nods and pulls out his phone, texting someone.

    “Why do you need to know this?”

    “Have either of you seen Midori at all?” he asks, looking up at the two.

    The two shake their heads.

    “Hasn’t arrived yet,” Ayano says.

    “Well I’ll need to see her ASAP.”

    “Why!” the two girls say in unison, causing Gema to shush them.

    Letting out a sigh, he says, “Okay, I’ll give it to you straight. Last night there was another attack.”

    “What?!” Ayano says as Yui’s eyes widen.

    “Fatal as well. Aka Nishin was murdered in his own home last night.”

    “Jesus,” Ayano says, before realizing something. “Wait… who’s that?”

    “The guy who’s been harassing Osana,” Yui says, before turning back to Gema. “Why does that matter? Do you think it has something to do with Kokona and Miyu?”   

    “That’s what mom thinks,” Gema says, “and many at the station agree with her. It’s why she held me back today.”

    “Damn.”

    “It gets worse,” he says seriously. “A lot worse.” The two girls lean in closer, silently prying him for answers, before he relents. “As mom was driving me here, she got a call on the radio. Another attack, in broad daylight, shots fired by someone who’s not police. This one is for sure connected to the killings of Haruka and Miyu.”

    “Why?” they both ask.

    “Because both the attacked person and another witness claimed they saw a figure in a Ghostface mask.”

    “Holy shit!” Ayano says, starting to hyperventilate. “This is really happening. This is just the beginning. This is actually happening.”

    “What?” Yui asks.

    Turning her head dramatically to her, Ayano says, “Stab’s come to Buraza. And on the fucking anniversary to boot! There’s no way this will be the end! We just became the characters of a Stab movie!”

    “Calm down!” Gema says, grabbing onto her shoulders. “Mom’s interviewing the witnesses right now. She’ll make sure whoever is doing this will be caught.

    “Won’t happen,” Ayano says with confidence. “I’ve forced you two to watch the Stab films enough to know how this works. The killers won't be caught until their grand finale, whenever and wherever that is, where they’ll reveal themselves and get killed by Sidney … or Ashley in the sequels after Hollywood Horror.”

    “Ayano,” Yui says, audibly annoyed, “this isn’t a fucking movie. We’re in real life.”

    “That’s exactly what happened five time now, and now it’s gonna happen a sixth time.” She turns back to Gema, asking, “So do you have any more details?”

    “I can’t say right now,” he says, opening the closet door, “I have to find Midori. I'll tell everyone then.”

    The two follow him out of the janitor's closet into the slightly more crowded hallway. Gema turns back to the stairwell entrance, where Ryuto and Pippi emerge and walk towards them, her seeming to re-button her seifuku.

    “This better be important,” an annoyed Ryuto says as the two walk up to the trio.

    “It will.” Gema says, glancing at his phone. After a few seconds, there’s a notification sound, and after reading, he glances back up at the group. “Midori’s about to arrive. Let’s head to the gate.”

    With that, he leads the group back out towards the front gate.

    Evidently, whether it be the Basu sisters gossiping or connections to the police or media, most of the student body was discussing last nights murder of Aka Nishin, it now being the second night time murder in a row. Still, none of them knew that the killer was wearing the same costume as the one who killed Kokona and Saki, and no one besides the broom closet trio seemed to know about the other attack, so there's that.

    Among those talking about the murder were Ryuto and Pippi.

    “Two nights in a row,” he says, rubbing his head, “and someone who was on campus hours earlier.”

    “Yeah,” Yui says, “when he was trying to force Osana to help him get his dick wet.”

    “Where is she anyways?” Ayano asks.

    “Police collected her from her house and brought her to the station for questioning,” Pippi answers, cutting off Gema.

    “Yes,” he continued, “mom sent the call before dropping me off. Probably wrapping it up now, assuming she didn’t do anything, obviously.” He then turns to Pippi and asks, “How did you know about that?”

    “I overheard Raibaru and Budo talking about it to the other karate club members as we arrived here. Well I say talk, but for Raibaru it was more of a rant.”

    Ayano attempts to suppress a smile at this news. She doesn’t necessarily dislike Osana, hell they’ve literally never spoken to each other and had it not been for yesterday's encounter with the now deceased Aka, she probably wouldn’t even know she existed. Still, on principal she does harbor some negativity towards the girl, in no small part that, despite her harsh rebukes, it’s an open secret that she’s harboring major feelings towards Ayano’s own crush and her own friend since childhood Taro Yamada.

    Well, an open secret to everyone but Taro, as it seems, since rather than talking about her feelings, she sees it fit to act like a total bitch to him.

    Still, even with her behavior, Osana has a decade head start at building a relationship with Taro, while Ayano’s only known him for two years and never talked to him before yesterday, both because of how shy she is and because he’s an upperclassman. 

    However, with Osana being interrogated by police, now could be her time to catch up even a little bit in that regard, so as the group walk towards the entrance of the school, Ayano’s keeping her eye out for him. 

    At their usual spot by the fountain, she spots Budo and Raibaru in the midst of conversation, although Taro isn’t with them. She considers asking them, but quickly decides against it. 

    She’s so distracted by looking for her crush that she doesn’t see the almost six foot tall, navy haired girl until she bumps into her.

    “Oh, sorry Oka,” she says as she and her friends stop, Oka being caught from falling by Gema.

    “Oh, no need, I’m fine, uh,” Oka says quietly and rapidly, stammering all the way. “I … uh…”

    The five look at the girl as her dark eyes stare down each of them, her looking very nervous being with them. 

    “Are you okay, Oka?” Pippi asks.

    “No- I mean yes- No I mean,uh.”

    “You seem scared,” Ryuto adds.

    The girl's eyes widen as she turns to face the red haired boy straight on. In a flawless, quiet, creepy and intense tone, she says, “We all should be. Dark times are coming to this school, I know it will.”

    “What?” the three girls say in unison.

    But before anyone can ask more, Oka takes off, much to everyone's confusion.

    “She’s so weird,” Yui says.

    “Agreed," Gema says, leading the group back towards the entrance.

    The five swap their shoes again and head out to the front entrance of the school, where a considerable amount of students are gathered, either walking into the school or loitering outside chatting with each other. 

    Not among them is Midori, who was evidently delayed.

    “Guess we should just wait here,” Pippi says, walking up to and leaning on the campus wall beside the gate, the others joining her so as not to block the walkway for their peers.

    “What is taking her so long?” Ayano asks.

    Snickering, Ryuto says, “Maybe she ran into Mai and they snuck into an alleyway to-”

    Yui and Pippi simultaneously jab him in the gut to shut him up, while Gema shakes his head. 

    “I wouldn’t say something like that.”

    “What do you mean?” Yui says.

    “Are you actually gonna tell us what’s going on or are you keeping with the cryptic shit?” Ryuto asks.

    “I’ll tell you,” Gema says defensively, “I just need to wait for Midori.”

    Seeing the talk going back to the attacks which will inevitably start going in circles again, Ayano turns away and towards the gate and the students entering the school. Still, looking at all these peers only continues to beat the issue in her head.

    In this crowd, there’s a decent chance a killer is hiding within. Hell, since they’re definitely emulating the Stab films, there’s almost certainly two, and either of them could be in front of her, or even behind her. 

    Also among this crowd are an unknown number of people who will die in the coming days. While she wasn’t very close to many outside her friend group, it would still hurt to see any of them die. Hell, she’s only spoken to both Kokona and Saki a handful of times and what happened to them still hit her like a truck. 

    Then there’s one person, any person, who is the killer's primary target, aka the main protagonist of this Stab fanfiction. Again it could be anyone, a total stranger, one of her friends, or even herself. Whoever it is will almost certainly have to become the Japanese equivalent of Sidney Prescott, that’s for sure.

    Then her eyes lock onto him, walking alone and looking down at a book as he walks beside the other end of the gate.

    Taro Yamada.

    Evidently, he decided to head to school by himself today, since Osana’s being questioned by the cops.

    Her seeing him not being with her gives Ayano that last boost of confidence, and she’s moving across the crowd before she even thinks about it.

    She walks a few feet ahead of him and pulls out her phone to mime texting, making sure to walk a fair bit slower than he is. 

    Sure enough, after a couple seconds, she feels his book press against her back, followed by the feel of his body bumping into her.

    “Oh!” they both say in unison, Ayano turning around and Taro looking up from his book.

    “Ah, sorry about that,” Ayano says, her confidence immediately going down the toilet now that she’s actually looking into his eyes, now getting flustered and bright red.

    “Oh it’s fine, uh,” Taro says, before fixing his gaze on the girl, eyes widening slightly in recognition. “Oh wait, it’s you, the girl who stood up to Aka yesterday. Uh, Ayna, Ayu, Ayashi… uh.”

    “A-Ayano,” she stammers.

    “Ayano, yes,” he repeats, snapping a few times as if trying to recall something. “Yudasi right.”

    Ayano nods aggressively, a smile forming on her face.

    “Oh right,” he says, before remembering something else. “Isn’t today your birthday?”

    She lets out a small squeak. He actually does seem to know a bit about her.

    BEST! BIRTHDAY GIFT! EVER!

    Regaining her composure, she says, “Yes it is. Thanks for remembering.” She bows, and for a split second flashes a goofy smile at Taro finally noticing her existence.

    “You’re welcome,” he says as she straightens up. “With what’s been going on here, it can’t hurt to give some happiness, especially to someone as cute as you are.”

    “Yeah,” Ayano says in a giggle. He actually thinks she’s cute! Ayano has to actively resist jumping up and down, pumping her fists into the air with glee. There’s a pause for a few seconds, her really considering just fessing up and asking him to maybe hang out or something, and she’s gotta make up her mind fast, since the longer she delays, the more Taro’s expression shifts from affable and kind to confused. 

    Fessing up enough courage, she goes for it. “Soooo… uh … I don’t really have any plans for after class. Dad’s outta town on business. Would you maybe like too-”

    “THERE YOU ARE! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN I CALLED!?”

    Ayano being so distracted by the boy in front of her, she evidently hadn’t noticed the two cop cars pulling up to the front gate of the school. Upon parking, one of the cops, a middle ages man, steps out and opens the back door, to which the orange twintail haired girl bolts out and charges towards the two.

    Shoving Ayano out of the way, causing her four friends to rise and head over to her, Osana stomps in front of Taro, shouting, “WHY WEREN’T YOU AT THE POLICE STATION!?”

    “I didn’t know you were there!” Taro says, raising his hands and backing up. “I just assumed you decided we weren’t walking to school today.”

    “We always walk together to school!” she shouts, crossing her arms and pouting. “Not that you seem to want to, considering I have to drag your ass with me each day.”

    “You keep coming over early,” he says defensively, “you never give me the chance to get up on my own. Why are you so mad today?”

    “ Why are you mad today? ” Osana mimics, before smacking Taro on the back of the head. “BECAUSE I WAS JUST TAKEN IN BY THE POLICE TO BE QUESTIONED FOR SOMETHING I DIDN’T EVEN DO, DUMMY!”

    “OW! Sorry!” he says, rubbing the back of his head.

    “If you were to be verbally and sexually harassed for months, only for your abuser to end up dead and you a suspect for it, I’d imagine you’d be a little pissy about it too!”

    “Wait,” Taro says, realizing what Osana just said, “what happened?”

    “Aka Nishin is dead,” Gema says as he and Yui assist Ayano in getting back to her feet, Pippi and Ryuto either side of them.

    “Murdered last night in his home,” Yui says, shifting her gaze from Ayano to Taro, “and from what I’ve been told, it might be connected to what happened to Kokona and Saki.”

    This causes Taro’s eyes to widen a little. “Oh,” he says quietly, before turning back to Osana. “Sorry.”

    The girl lets out a grumble, crossing her arms again and turning away from him.

    “Apparently there was another attack,” Ayano says, getting Taro’s attention away from Osana and back to her.

    “Really?”

    “Yeah,” Ryuto says.

    “This shit’s legitimately scary,” Pippi says, shivering, “like it’s all out of-”

    “A scary movie,” Ayano finishes. “Like Stab.”

    “How do you even know about it?” Taro asks, confused and slightly concerned.

    “Mom got the call as she drove me here,” Gema says, before peering over Taro’s shoulder. “Speaking of which, look who’s here.”

    They all turn back towards the front gate, where two people walk towards them. A woman in her forties with navy hair and in a navy police uniform, holding the green haired and visibly stoned girl.

    “Aw c’mon,” Midori groans, “you let me smoke joints at your place all the time!”

    Pulling the girl closer, the police woman whispers, “Say another word, I swear to god.”

    “Hello, mother,” Gema says as the woman and Midori approach, “see you have Midori.”

    “Yup,” the girl says, “now Gema, care to explain why your mother came up to my house, demanding she escort me to school in her cop car with the lights up, and asking me about where I was last night and an hour ago?”

    “I assume you told your friends about last night,” Officer Taku says to her son, gesturing towards the small group around her.

    “We’re not their friends,” Osana says, grabbing Taro’s arm and pulling him a bit away from the five.

    “What’s going on over here,” the strong voice of Budo calls, causing them all to turn to see him and Raibaru walking towards them. A few people trail a distance behind them, among them the sisters Inkyu and Sakyu as well as Musume and her posse, to overhear what’s going on.

    “Those are our friends, officer,” she says, pointing at the two as they approach.

    “We saw the cop cars out by the front again,” Raibaru says. “Naturally we were a bit curious, especially since Osana and Taro are with you.”

    Letting go of Midori’s arm, Officer Taku takes a few steps closer to the school building, joining the other cop who’s already there.

    “I assume by now you’re all aware of the heinous crime that occurred last night at the Nishin house!” she says loudly, to general murmurs from the crowd of students. “Well I have some more bad news!”

    There’s a swarm of, “What is it?” “What happened?” “Did something happen?” among the students, which the cops silence with a raise of their arms.

    “There’s been another attack,” she says, to the collective shock and horror of the students. Of course, since Ayano, Gema, Yui, Pippi, Ryuto, Taro and Osana already knew, they didn’t react as severely as the others, but most still got chills. “Around a half and hour to forty five minutes ago Mai Wakahara was attacked by a masked assailant.”

    “WHAT!” Midori shouts in shock and anger.

    "What!" Osana and Raibaru say simultaneously, although quieter than Midori

    “Oh my god,” Pippi says, hands to her mouth.

    “Is she okay?” Ryuto asks.

    “Jesus Christ,” Ayano says under her breath.

    “Is there a particular reason I wasn’t told about this?!” Midori says, stomping in front of the officer, seething with rage. “That’s my girlfriend for fucks sake, and she might be dead and…!”

    “She’s not dead,” Officer Taku says sternly but softly, placing her hands on the girls shoulders. “Two stabs to the back and one through her hand, but she’ll live. She’s in the hospital now.”

    “Then I’m gonna go see her,” the girls says, attempting to head back towards the gate, only to be stopped by the woman’s grip.

    “I can’t let you leave, Gurin,” she says, “sorry.”

    “Why not!”

    “Because both Wakahara and another witness claimed the attacker was in a Ghostface costume,” Officer Taku says. You could hear a pin drop. It was that quiet. “This confirms that the attack on the Haruka’s and Miyu are indeed connected to this, and we speculate the attack on Nishin is as well. Since we suspect whoever is doing this to be a student here at Akademi High, no student is allowed to leave until we conduct a thorough search and investigation of each student here.” She then lets go and rejoins the other officer to address the crowd. “I want everyone in their homeroom classrooms immediately. Any delay or resistance will put you at the top of our suspect list.”

    With that, she gestures the ten students around her towards the entrance of the school, to which they all begin to walk towards the building, not noticing the limo driving up between the two cop cars.

    The chauffeur exists and holds open the door for Megami to exit, followed by Mark, who’s sliding his gun into the holster.

    Still within the car, opposite of Ichirou, is Sidney, who still has her glock in her hands, tapping her foot on the floor rapidly.

    Just as the chauffeur begins to close the door, she  unbuckles her seat belt and holds the door open stepping out of the car.

    “When you drop Mr. Saikou at his workplace,” she starts whispering to the man, “I want you to take my children to Tokyo, as far from Buraza Town as possible. You got that.”

    After a second, the man nods, and shuts the door as she pockets her hand gun.

    “What are you doing, Sid?” Mark asks.

    “Yeah,” Megami says, not looking back, “shouldn’t you be with your children?”

    “With the killer back, they’re the least safest when they’re with me,” she says.

    “Well why not just stay at home?” the girl asks, now turning her head to Sidney.

    “Because,” she says, glancing at Akademi High and the students in the windows and open entrance, “I have to start looking somewhere.”

    With that, she begins walking towards the school, Megami and Mark following after her.

Chapter Text

“Students who could verify they were on campus at the time of Mai Wakahana’s attack have free time while those off campus are being questioned. To those off campus, your alibis won’t stop you from being questioned. We expect your full cooperation during these trying times. I also wish that the student council would head to my office immediately for questioning and discussion. Thank you for your cooperation.”

    After finishing speaking into the microphone, the middle aged man sits back in his chair and starts to rub his eyes beneath his glasses.

    He’s in his sixties and looks the part, especially in his face. He has short, brown hair that’s starting to gray. He wears a blue dress shirt and red tie under a green vest, as well as brown pants and boots.

    He lets out a sigh. “Spent all those years building up the school reputation after that killing,” he says quietly to himself, “all for it to be undone.”

    He fixes his glasses and stands up, walking to the wall to his left, where a case holding a katana was hanging. He places his hand on the glass and just stares at his reflection in the blade for a few seconds.

    “You wanted to speak to us, Headmaster Shuyona?” a girl with black hair and blue square glasses, vice president Kuroko, says as she enters the office, three other girls trailing her, taking seats on the two sofas facing opposite each other in the middle of the room

    “Yes, Vice President Kamenaga,” he says to the girl, before turning to the other three. “Secretary Toriyasu,” he says with a nod to a sweet looking girl with scarlet hair, a ponytail hanging at her front. “Enforcer Ryugoku,” he says to the girl with shoulder length blue hair, a pirate's eye patch (no doubt purchased at the Party Rico nearby) and poor posture. “Treasurer Torayoshi,” he says to the girl with short white hair and a laid back attitude. “We’ll wait for President Saikou to arrive and we can begin.”

    “Already here, Headmaster,” she says as she walks into the room, Sidney and Mark trailing her, waiting at the door as she takes her seat beside the VP and enforcer. “Good Morning Kuroko. Aoi,” she says to the two girls seated either side of her. “Shiromi. Akane.” she continues to the white haired and redhead girls seated opposite her. “Apologies for my absence yesterday, father felt it important to keep me from class.”

    The other four nod, before they all turn to the headmaster as he walks back in front of his desk, facing them. 

    “We’re appreciative that your absence was short, President Saikou,” he says, before looking up at the two other adults in the room. “I take it these are your bodyguards then?”

    “I am,” Mark says, stepping forwards, offering his hand to the man. “I’m Mark Kincaid. I’m here with my wife.”

    The headmaster takes his hand, while a few of the girls have looks of faint recognition of his name.

    Turning his attention to Sid, the headmaster says, “And you are?”

    Taking a few steps forward, she says, “I’m Sidney Prescott. I’m … a bit of an expert when it comes to the topic at hand.”

    This causes the four girls' eyes to widen fully, all recognizing the name.

    “You’re Sidney Prescott,” the white haired girl, Shiromi Torayoshi, says.

    “From those Stab films everyone’s been talking about,” the blue haired enforcer, Aoi Ryugoku, says, scrunching her one visible eye.

    Sidney nods curtly in response. “Yes, I’m unfortunately the subject of those films.”

    “But you look nothing like Tori Spelling,” the redhead, Akane Toriyasu, says.

    “I’m aware of that,” Sidney says, before turning back to the headmaster.

    Evidently, the headmaster is also familiar with who she is, and based on the look on his face, knows just how bad this situation is going to turn out from her merely being here.

    Still, hes professional, and responds with a polite, “Well, Mrs. Prescott, I’m sure we’re all appreciative of you being here to provide assistance, having gone through it five times yourself already. You’ll be a valuable asset to this school, and for what it’s worth, I am terribly sorry that you’ll have to go through it again.”

    “No need,” Sidney says, patting her gun holster, “I’m planning on putting a stop to this far sooner than they usually last.”

    “They'll be no need for that, we’ll find out the person responsible for these crimes before they could do any more harm.” the headmaster says, before putting up a more formal tone. “My name is Kocho Shuyona. I am the Headmaster here at Akademi High School. I am determined to keep my school as safe as possible, and we are in a major crisis, to a scale of which we haven't faced since 1989.”

    “Speaking of which,” Sidney says, regaining the attention of the room, “what exactly happened in 1989?”

    “What did you hear?” Akane says.

    “I heard someone died here.”

    “Ah yes,” Headmaster Shuyona says coldly, “Sumire Saitozaki. Eighteen. Was found dead in the third floor girls bathroom early in the morning of Monday, April 3nd, believed to have been killed after class on Friday, March 31st.”

    “There were several slashes on her body,” Kuroko says.

    “Impossible to be an accident,” Aoi continues harshly, mimicking slicing motions with her hands. “Marks were too precise, and the cuts were consistent with a standard kitchen knife.”

    “The kind Michael Myers is fond of,” Shiromi continues causally.

    “It was an obvious murder,” Megami says, “since the knife was at her side, haphazardly forced into the dead girls hand, along with her missing shoes, it was an attempt to make it look like a suicide.”

    “We were naturally baffled by this event,” Kocho says, taking a seat back at his desk. “A murder doesn’t just happen at a school.” He pauses when Sidney gives him a look. “At least back then. Not to mention the fact that basically everyone liked Sumire. No enemies, no reason to dislike her. It was confusing.”

    “My aunt, Ichiko, was Student Council President at the time,” Megami says, “and she and the other members scoured the school for any potential leads, when after a few days they finally found something interesting.”

    “Sumire was dating someone at the time,” Akane jumps in, “and when she died, whoever he was was naturally pretty depressed about it.”

    “People started to notice that someone was coddling the boy, cheering him up,” Kuroko says, “and naturally she became a suspect.”

    “Ryoba Aishi,” the headmaster croaks out, shivering. Changing the subject, he says, “But thats enough of that. We need to focus on-”

    “No!” Sidney, who was listening intently, cuts him off, turning back to the girls. “Tell me what happened.”

    “Well, the police had a talk with her,” Aoi says, slouching back on the couch, “and she had a rock solid alibi, so they let her go.”

    “Evidently, someone must not have been very happy with this,” Kuroko says.

    “Someone from the journalism club must’ve knew that Aishi was guilty,” Akane says, “and so he started to collect evidence, poke holes into her alibi, even going so far as to break into her house to find her diary.”

    “She obviously wasn’t stupid enough to confess a murder there,” Shiromi says, “but the guy did learn definitely that Aishi was crushing hard on Sumire’s boyfriend, and was quite jealous of her.”

    “He turned the evidence to the police and they placed her under arrest,” Megami says. “A trial was held, evidence was presented, witnesses gave their testimonies.”

    “It was an airtight case,” the headmaster says, clearly having unpleasant memories flooding his brain. “Ryoba Aishi had done it, as far as we were concerned, but…”

    “But what?” Mark asks.

    “Then the sobbing started,” Kuroko says.

    “She must’ve been convincing,” Akane says, hand around her chin, “because after she started giving her testimony, everyone’s opinion on her turned on a dime.”

    “That she was as innocent as a songbird,” Shiromi says. “Helping her case was the fact that Sumire’s own sister defended her on the stand.”

    “With all that, she was found not guilty and was set free,” Kocho says, crestfallen. “Free to move out, free to get married, free to have a family.”

    “The Saitozaki’s mourned. Despite giving the evidence anonymously, everybody knew who did it, and he lost his scholarship and was blacklisted from journalism before he had even started,” Megami says. “Aishi got away with it, for thirty one years.”

    “Until September 30th, 2020,” Aoi says.

    “No one know why she did it, or what she was thinking,” Akane says.

    “But she confessed,” Shiromi says.

    “Said she did, in fact, murder Sumire Saitozaki,” Megami says.

    “She was promptly arrested,” Kocho says, “her last words before being take, to not hurt her children because of what she did. Her husband and kids relocated, Akademi took another hit for letting a murderer get away with it, and that was that.” He lets out a long sigh, fixing his glasses, before turning back to Sidney. “Why did you want to know that. It has nothing to do with our current predicament.”

    “That’s where you’re wrong, Headmaster,” Sidney says. “Whoever’s doing this, it has something to do with that crime.”

    “What do you mean?” Megami asks.

    “The killings have always been about something from the past coming back to haunt you. It’s quite literally one of my late friend Randy’s rules.”

    “I’m not following,” Shiromi says.”

    “Billy Loomis, was upset that my mother slept with his father and split up his parents. Twenty seven years ago to the day, he and Stu Macher murdered her, coming after me and my friends a year later. His mother came after me two years later to avenge him. My half brother was mad that my mother didn’t accept him, due to him being a reminder of her trauma in LA, and he filmed and sent Billy tapes of the affair, before coming after me himself when I rose to prominence. My cousin Jill wanted the fame I had acquired through my trauma and attempted to replicate it in 2011. And last year, two deranged Stab fanatics tried to create their own film by killing me, Gale, and Dewey, in order to replicate the original.”

    She pauses to allow everyone to digest what she said, before continuing.

    “Every killer, in one way or another, was influenced by the past. And since no one here has any connection to me or my mother, it’ll be connected to the killing of Sumire.”

    There’s silence in the room for a minute or so.

    Getting to her feet, Megami says, “You’re certain of this.”

    “Yes,” she says back, “it’s either connected to that or it’s another pair of Stab fanatics. Now,” she turns back to Kocho, startling him, “tell me about this sister.”

    “Shi?” he says, to which Sidney nods. “Well to be honest I have no clue what happened to Shi Saitozaki. She’s probably married, don’t know if she has kids. Don’t even know if she still lives in Buraza.”

    “Okay,” Sidney says, nodding. “And what about that kid from the journalism club? The one who was discredited.”

    “Can’t recall,” Kocho says, scratching his head, “and since he was an anonymous report, he won’t be on court records.”

    “I would contact my aunt and see if she remembers,” Megami says, “but for reasons I’d rather not go into, she’s not exactly on speaking terms with the family.”

    “Okay,” Sidney says, looking at the silver haired girl, “but I want her phone number.” Turning back to the headmaster, she says, “And what about Ryoba?”

    “What?”

    “Miss Aishi. Where is she.”

    “In jail,” Shiromi says from behind her.

    “I know,” Sidney snaps, before turning back to the man, “but you said she had children, right?”

    “Yes,” the man says, nodding.

    “Do you, by any chance, know who any of them are?”

    “This is taking forever!” Ayano groans, slicking down against the hallway wall outside her homeroom class, Yui and Ryuto sitting against the opposite wall, all three in the midst of eating their lunches. “It’s fucking one pm and they’re not done yet.”

    “And they won't even let us back into the computer lab,” Ryuto says, folding his arms. “All because they’re using it to interrogate people.” He lets out a groan.

    “Not everything's about video games, Ryuto,” Yui says, in the midst of texting someone. “You can go a bit without them.”

    “How can you say that!” he shouts, genuinely offended. “Bitch!”

    Yui sighs and turns to Ayano. “There are a lot of students here. It’ll take a while for everyone to be combed over

    Rolling her eyes, Ayano pulls out her own phone. She still has yet to log out of her YanChan twitter page, where she finds several people tagging her in the replies of a tweet on CBS of a live The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Normally she isn’t into watching talk show hosts, let alone American ones, but this one catches her eye, and she clicks on to watch,

    “So tell me,” Stephen says to the woman seated across from him in her late fifties, early sixties with wavy black hair and, despite her attempts to mask it, a pained expression on her face, “Miss Weathers, with the twenty sixth anniversary of the original killing spree occurring tomorrow, as well as the one year for last years spree, I can’t help but wonder, how well are you holding up, especially with what happened last year?”

    Gale lets out a sigh. “Things … could’ve been worse, all things considered. Every time it ends you finally breath a sigh of relief, because the killing is over, and we can try to move on with our lives.”

    “But you can’t,” Colbert says.

    “Of course not, cause every few years a pair of idiotic psychopaths with holier then thou attitudes decide the best way to spend their free time is to murder their friends in a Ghostface mask, trying to kill Sidney, and often myself and Dewey as well. All that to replicate a killing spree that ended in failure and death for the perpetrators, and that result repeating each time without fail. It takes a lot out of you, knowing that at any moment, a friend, colleague, or complete stranger either dies or attempts to kill you.”

    “And you’re no stranger to that.”

    “I’m not, neither is Sidney.”

    “Disappointing we couldn’t get her on the show today,” Colbert says.

    “She and her family are in another country for the next week or so,” Gale says sternly, before turning to the crowd/cameras, “and I won’t say which, in case any wanna be serial killers gets any ideas.” She then turns back to Stephen, where her subdued somber mood returns. “But back to your last point, it is really difficult going about your day to day life knowing that your circle might be one person short the next day. I mean Joel flat out quit the second things started to escalate at Windsor College, and …” she pauses, taking a few deep breaths, attempting to hold back tears. “And last year I lost the love of my life and … things haven’t felt the same, far more than the others. And I know because it’s partially my fault it happened! Both because of my stupid books continuing to inspire these movies and these psychos, but also because I called him, distracting him from just shooting that bit-”

    That’s what breaks her facade, and she buries her face into her hands, the sounds of muffled sobs. Colbert breaks his professionalism by leaning forwards to give Gale a few pats on the back, before turning to the couch with five other people sitting on it, a white woman in her mid twenties with shoulder length blonde hair sitting closest to Gale, a black man in his mid fifties with very short black hair with a small mustache and beard beside her, a white woman in her early forties with long, dark brown hair on the other end of the couch, and between them a pair of dark skinned nineteen year olds, the boy with short cut hair like the man and a strong build, and the girl with curly shoulder length hair.

    “Well while we let Miss Weathers recover, let’s move on to our other guests,” he says, gesturing towards them.

    “Miss Kirby Reed,” he says, gesturing towards the blonde woman, “you were a survivor of the 2011 Woodsboro Massacre, or fourth Ghostface Killing Spree, right?”

    “Right,” Kirby says in a very subdued manner, “and I’m sure you’ll be delighted to hear that I’ve still got this knife scars where that asshole Charlie stabbed me.”

    “Of course,” Colbert says, before turning to the black man. “And Mr. Joel Martin, you were the cameraman of Miss Weathers who baled out when things started to get serious in the 1998 Windsor College Killings, right.”

    “Yes,” Joel says with a nod, “easily the best decision I’ve made in my life.”

    Colbert laughs a little, before moving on to the other woman. “Martha Meeks, younger sister of Randy Meeks, from the first two Stab films. I remember in the third one that you gave Sidney, Gale and Dewey a prerecorded message of your brother talking about the rules of a trilogy. Am I right?”

    “Indeed you are,” Martha says, “and it was based on true events. I can send you the real video, if you’d like.”

    “I’d love that, Martha,” he says. “And the two next to you are your children, Chad and Mindy who, just last year, barely got out with your lives in the Twenty Fifth Anniversary killings back in Woodsboro.”

    “Yes we are,” Mindy says, rubbing the shoulder where she got stabbed. “Still have trouble moving my arm from time to time.”

    “You think that’s bad,” Chad says with a pained laugh, “I lost both my girlfriend and my spot on the football team thanks to my injuries.”

    Colbert laughs at the boys self dig. “See, this kid has a sense of humor.” The crowd starts to laugh, which makes the people on the couch visibly uncomfortable. “But anyways,” he says, stopping them, “the one thing you all share in common is the connection with these brutal killing sprees, and I can’t help but wonder what that’s like.”

    There’s silence for a few moments.

    “Well,” Martha starts, clearly remembering some painful memories, “both my older brother and my children have fallen prey to these psycho’s, one of them even managing to kill Randy, and I know that if this continues, I’m for sure a target next time.”

    “Don’t say that mom,” Mindy says. “You’ve lived through five of these things and haven’t got a scratch. I mean, me and Chad only lived through two, being targets this most recent one. Just look,” she pauses, pulling down the side of her shirt to show the knife scar, causing a collective “ooo” from the crowd. “Yeah,” she says, covering it up again, “pretty nasty, though that fucker Richie needed to improve on his aim.”

    “Mindy,” Joel says sternly, “this is serious. Any wanna-be copycat could take that as a challenge, and we don’t want to give anyone the excuse to come after you again.”

    “Yeah,” Kirby says with a pained nod, “and these people will take any excuse to start stabbing people. Do you know what Charlie Walker said to me after he stabbed me?” She pauses for emphasis, before continuing. “‘Four years of classes together and you notice me now?’ That’s it. All because he felt entitled to me, mixed with some manipulation on Jill Roberts' part.”

    There’s a mix of murmured, “Damn” “Yikes” and other similar expletives as she continues.

    “Do you know what he was doing those four years?” she asks, to a collective no from the audience and Colbert. “Never talking to me, which he could have done at any point! He was not an unattractive guy by any means, I told him to his face on that night that I thought he was cute,” she stands up and lifts up the hem of her shirt a little to show her stomach, and the still visible scar going up her gut, “and he stabbed me twice and left me to bleed out. All because the fucking psycho couldn’t fess up the courage to talk to me.” 

    She lets go of the shirt and slinks back into her chair, crossing her arms.

    Leaning towards the group, Colbert says in a sympathetic voice, “It is truly unfortunate what happened to you. To all of you.”

    “Yeah, it is,” Gale, having cried herself out, says as she raises her head back up, “and he only hope is that now it stops, for good. With my most recent book, A Shiny, Blue Heart , along with no more Stab films for the foreseeable future, it’ll be over. No more killings. Myself, Sidney, her family, these lovely folks, and the families of victims, we can all just have peace.”

    Across the American continent and the pacific ocean, on a volcanic island, a girl celebrating her seventeenth birthday, watches this show on her phone, tears starting to form in her eyes.

    “I’m so sorry Gale,” Ayano says quietly, voice quivering. “I’m so very sorry.”

    She wipes her eyes before looking back down at her phone, only to then notice five shadows surrounding her. Looking back up, she’s face to face with Musume and her posse surrounding her.

    “Well, well, well,” she says mockingly, a malicious grin on her face. “Looks like somebodys looking into the legacy characters. Trying to see if you can kill any of them, huh?” she says as the other four giggle.

    “Yeah,” a girl with poofy hair that’s dyed purple at the end says jeeringly, “looks like somebody was caught in  the act.”

    Sighing, Ayano pockets her phone and rises. “Look, I thought I already explained it to you, bitch!” she says. “I have a vested interest in this franchise. That does not mean I’m the killer, and if I was, don’t you think continuing to insult and insinuate me would only paint a target on her back?”

    “Hah!” Musume says mockingly, turning to her friends. “The audacity of this bitch. Thinking such a flimsy excuse is gonna clear her.” The five start laughing again, Musume stopping and turning back to Ayano. “Oh we know who you are. What you are, and once the Basu sisters catch wind of it, everybodys gonna know what a fucking monster you are.”

    “Listen,” Ayano says, much more angrily, “whatever ‘proof’ you have, it’s bullshit, and you know it. So leave me and my friends alone.”

    “Friends?” she repeats, turning to Ryuto and Yui, still seated against the wall behind her. “I’d keep away from her if I were you, cause you losers will end up dead.”

    “Leave us alone!” Ayano shouts, causing the four girls to jump back slightly.

    Not Musume, who turns back to her and takes a few steps closer, chest pressed against hers, forcing Ayano’s back against the wall. 

    “I’m not afraid of you,” she says threateningly. “You may be a monster, but try anything with me, and my dad will make sure your little spree ends prematurely.”

    “Musume!” the voice of Gema calls out, causing the girl to turn and see him and Midori walking up to this little spat. “Back off, or you’ll have another word with my mother.”

    She looks at him with an “are you kidding me” face, before sighing and backing off, allowing Ayano to take a breath. “Fine,” the gyaru says coldly, “your funeral. C’mon girls, might as well find that tall assed freak, Ruto.”

    The five girls begin to walk away as Yui and Ryuto get to their feet to back up Ayano.

    Turning back to face them, Musume says, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, you’ll die if you stay beside Yudasei.” She turns her back to them and continues walking. “Or should I say…” she says, peering back sinisterly, “Aishi.”

    Ayano stands there stunned as the girl and her posse walk away, while the others stand there confused.

    “What’s her problem?” Midori asks, wiping her eyes. “More than usual, I mean.”

    “I don’t know,” Ryuto says with a shrug.

    “She says that apparently she has ‘irrefutable’ proof that Ayano did it,” Yui says, waving her hands at the “irrefutable”.

    “Well both of you know she was here, right?” Gema asks. “When Mai was attacked.”

    “Yeah,” they both say in unison.

    “Ayano,” Midori says walking beside her, waving her hand in front of her eyes, “you good.”

    The girl just stands there, wide eyed.

    How did she know? There’s no way. The only other person who knows who my mother is is dad, and he for sure didn’t tell anyone. He doesn’t want people to know who he married, nor is he a drunk. So how does Musume know?

    Midori’s hand passing her vision the third time snaps her out of it. Recovering quickly, she says, “Oh, nothing. Just spaced out for a moment.”

    “Ahh,” Midori says, wrapping her arm around her, “she’s fine guys.”

    “Guys! Guys!” the voice of Pippi calls as she rushes down the hall in search for her friends. They all turn around and see her running towards them. “Guys, there’s something you shou-” she cuts herself off, slowing to a stop at the sight of something. 

    The group looks at her, confused, though Ayano notes that Pippi seems to be eying her, seemingly with suspicion. 

    “What is it?” Ryuto asks, walking up to her and placing his hand on her shoulder.

    Brushing his hand off, she says, “There’s something you all should see.”

    Then she suddenly rushes toward and grabs Midori’s other arm, pulling her away from Ayano as she rushes away.

    Having no choice, the four follow her down the hall.

    They walk through the halls, Pippi and Midori leading, Gema, Yui and Ryuto behind them, and Ayano taking the rear.

    It’s from the back that she notices several of her peers shooting glances at her, as well as overhear bits of conversations, a lot of which seems to relate to her.

“There’s no way.”

“Two years here and she never bothered to tell us this.”

“It must be her then.”

“Who else could it be, with the blood in her veins.”

“To be honest, she always gave me the creeps. Even more so than Oka.”

    “She interrupted me when we were on the phone earlier,” is what Homu tells Kaga as Ayano overhears from a small distance. “She questioned me about what we were doing, and I tried to explain our project, but she gave me a weird look and then left.”

    “HA!” Kaga shouts dramatically. “ATTEMPTING TO DIVERT ATTENTION AWAY FROM HER BY MAKING YOU LOOK SUSPICIOUS. A CLASSIC PLOY.”

    “And she acted like she had no idea what happened with Nishin,” Inkyu scoffs, her sister nodding in agreement.

    “I saw how aggressive she was with him when he was here yesterday,” Sakyu says.

    “Bet she planned to kill him right then and there.”

    This among others fill the air as she and her friends walk through the halls. Another thing she’s noticing is that, as she passes, everyone moves away from her, either on their own or from being pulled by someone else.

    Why is everyone giving her these looks? She doesn’t know, but it’s making her anxious. Though based on Musume’s words and the implications of the killer being her, she’s starting to get some ideas, and it’s making her freak out.

    Finally, they reach the entrance room, seeing that crowd of students are mostly focused on one of the notice boards.

    Her friends see what’s on  the board first, and after a few seconds, they all turn to her, expressions ranging from surprise, to shock, to even anger and fear, to which Ayano responds with one of concerned confusion.

    They and the other students part to allow her to see it. She walks up to the board, eyes widening in shock as she lets in a loud inhale.

    Plastered all over the board are newspaper clippings, printed screenshots of articles, and several other photographs, all featuring a girl/woman who’s basically a dead ringer for Ayano, and all the articles dated either spring 1989, or late September early October 2020.

“Teenaged Girl Murdered In Prestigous High School.”

“Local Girl Accused Of Murdering Classmate.”

“Ryoba Aishi: Trial of the Eighties.”

“Victims Sister Defends Murder Suspect; Charges Dropped.”

“ Sumire Saitozaki: Murder or Suicide”
Ryoba Aishi: Innocent Victim or Cold Blooded Killer?”

“Akademi Killing Case Dropped, Lack of Evidence”

“Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Death of Sumire Saitozaki.”

“Woman Confesses To Murder Found Innocent For Thirty Years Ago.”

“Got Away With It: How Ryoba Aishi Stayed Out Of Jail For Murder For Over Three Decades.”

“Ryoba Aishi Arrested For Murder 30 Years After The Fact.”

    Among the articles where other photographs. A wedding photo, several snapshots of Ryoba during her 1989 trial and 2020 arrest, and a yearbook photo where she rocked the exact same hairstyle Ayano does now.

Ryoba Aishi

Honor Roll Student of 1989

“If you want something just go for it, cause you’ll never get what you want if you wait.”

    Ayano starts breathing heavily.

    There’s no way to spin this. She is a perfect dead ringer for her mother, she heard that all the time. It’s why she dyes her hair brown, it’s why she’s been eating a ton of junk food and getting only her school required amount of exercise, to intentionally gain a few pounds so she’ll look different from her mother.

    All for naught, as even with her brown hair and slight pudge compared to her mom’s black hair and perfectly in shape body, their faces are practically identical, something everyone else saw the second they read what’s on the board.

    “How?” she asks quietly, turning to the crowd of students staring at her. “How did this get here?”

    “Must have been put up while everyone was being interviewed,” Yui suggests, to a slight murmur of agreement.

    “That’s your mother, isn’t it?” a male voice calls out.

    Ayano hesitates for a seconds, before muttering, “Yeah…”

    “You mother killed someone!” another voice shouts.

    “Yes… but…”

    “And you knew she did this?” another voice calls.

    “Only when she confessed she did it,” she says defensively. “I didn’t know before, if that’s what you’re implying.”

    “I’ve known you for two years,” Midori says with a quiver, turning to Ayano, a look of devastation on her face, “and you never bothered to tell us this?”

    “I never needed to!” she says back between breaths. “Me and my dad moved here to get away from all that shit.”

    “So you moved here,” Ryuto jumps in, “WHERE your mother killed a girl, thinking you were just going to get away from it?”

    “Exactly,” Pippi says, nodding.

    “I didn’t know this was their high school,” she says to the two, before turning to address the whole crowd. “Yes, my mother did something horrible here, but what does that matter to any of you? My mom’s in jail for the rest of her life, the girls family no doubt already have closure on her death, and Dad’s came to terms with being deceived for their whole relationship.”

    “Because three people are dead,” another voice calls out.

    “And you have killer in your blood.”

    “Not to mention,” another voice says as she walks out to the front of the crowd, revealing herself as Musume, “you’re a major Stab fanatic, just like the two who killed a bunch of people in Woodsboro last year. What, got cold feet when they stole the twenty-fifth anniversary spot, moving your plans back a year?”

    Ayano groans. “How many times do I have to tell you, bitch,” she says, turning to her, “it’s not me!”

    “OF COURSE IT IS!” an annoying female voice shouts from behind her, rapidly approaching. 

    She puts her hands on Ayano’s shoulders, turns her, and pushes her against the wall.

    Osana stares daggers into her eyes, a snarl on her face. “I SAW HOW YOU STORMED UP TO AKA YESTERDAY! I SAW YOUR FACE WHEN HE SAID, “OR YOU’LL WHAT?”!”

    “Calm down, Osana,” Ayano says, between bated breaths. “I didn’t do any-”

    “DON’T LIE, BITCH!” she shouts, slamming her into the wall again. “You murdered him after he harassed me in public, AND NOW I’M A SUSPECT!”

    “EVERYONE’S A SUSPECT!” Ayano shouts back. “You’re as much a suspect as I am, same with everyone else here. Where were you last night?!”

    “I DON’T HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT! THE POLICE ALREADY KNOW!” she shouts. “And what about your little chit chat with Taro earlier, hmm? Trying to make him the Sidney Prescott to your Billy Loomis?”

    “We’ve never talked before! I wasn’t trying anyth-” Ayano pauses, realizing what she said. “Wait, how do you know their names on the top of your head?”

    “Cause everybody’s seen the first movie!” Osana shouts back, before slamming Ayano into the wall again. “NOW STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU!”

    She slams her into the wall a few more times as she shouts this, until two people run up behind her and grab her shoulders.

    “Let her go!” Raibaru shouts as she and Budo pull Osana away from the girl, while Taro lingers behind them, looking at the board..

    Raibaru grabs her other shoulder as Budo walks up to Ayano and helps her back to her feet.

    “Sorry about our friend,” he says. “She’s a bit cranky after the police talked to her. Don’t think she took her meds today either.”

    “LET ME AT HER!” Osana shouts as she struggles against Raibaru’s strength. “I SWEAR, I’LL KICK HER RIGHT IN THE C-”

    “Calm! Down!” Raibaru says in a stern voice, a far cry from her sweet tone, which causes Osana to stop struggling immediately. That and the fact that Raibaru’s at least a foot taller and twice as wide as she is.

    “I can see that,” Ayano says under her breath, before turning back to the leader of the martial arts club. “Thanks for that.”

    He nods and walks back to Raibaru and Osana, grabbing the letters shoulder as the three walk away.

    Taro lingers, now making eye contact with her. It’s hard to read his expression, but Ayano could tell there was some surprise in him. Then his eyes look to something beside her, then back to her. They go back and forth a few times, before Ayano turns around to see what in particular he’s looking at.

    It’s something she didn’t notice before, a family photo of her, her father, mother, and older brother, taken around Christmas 2019, it being the last time she saw her brother before lockdown. The thing that makes this one different from the rest is that this picture was not publicly available. The rest were either from articles or social media posts, but that was a picture only taken for the family. 

    Then she notices it’s in a frame, the very same frame from her house. Taking it, her breathing starts to intensify again as she realizes the reason it’s here.

    “Someone broke into my house,” she says quietly, as her hands start shaking.

    “That’s the last of ‘em,” Officer Taku says as she and the other officer enter the headmasters office, the student council, Sidney and Mark still being in there. “Now all we have to do is comb over them for potential and probable suspects, and narrow it down from there.”

    “That’ll take too long,” Kocho Shuyona says, shaking his head. “Too many students to look through, and if they are copycating the Woodsboro murders, then there’s almost certainly two.”

    It’s here when Sidney’s eye’s widen, getting an ingenious idea. She walks back up to the headmaster and says, “by any chance, can you suspend classes a bit longer, to perhaps hold an assembly?”

    “I guess,” the middle aged man says, scratching the back of his head, “but parents will complain about the lack of teaching going on for the last two da-”

    “Hear her out,” Mark says, walking beside his wife. “I think she might be onto something.”

    “Okay,” Headmaster Shuyona says with a sigh, “why do you want an assembly?”

    “I want to talk to them,” she says. “All of them.”

Chapter Text

“All students are to head to the gymnasium immediately!”

    Upon hearing Headmaster Shuyona’s voice over the intercom, the crowds of students begin to make their way towards the school gym just behind the opposite side of the main building to the right. 

    As they walks, the students discuss the same things on everyone's mind, the attacks and killings, their continued missing classed, and the recent revelation of Ayano Yudasei being the daughter of Ryoba Aishi, who committed a murder on school grounds three decades ago.

    Evidently, the Basu sisters did their jobs, and now the whole school knows.

    As Ayano walks with Midori, Gema, Yui, Pippi, and Ryuto, her fellow students shoot dirty looks her way, though whether it’s because they suspect her or are just disgusted by her existence is hard to determine. 

    She’s not focusing on any of that, nor at her friends' edge around her, with the exceptions of Midori and Yui. Instead, her mind is still flooded with questions as to how someone found out her big secret, or how they managed to get a hand on a family photo to prove it.

    “It doesn’t make any sense,” she says, still breathing heavily. “How did they know?”

    “Calm down, Ayano,” Midori says, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

    “How did they get my picture?”

    “Ayano, now’s not the time to panic,” Gema says with an eye roll.

    “And why put these there now?”

    “Ayano!” Pippi and Ryuto sternly say in unison.

    “And why are they painting a target on me with it?!”

    “Ayano!” Yui shouts, turning to her and grabbing her shoulders. “Calm down!”

    “But-”

    “I’m certain that whoever dug up the truth about your mother is only doing this to tank your reputation, what little of it there is anyway, for whatever reason. If anything, they probably decided today's the day to do it just to stir shit up.”

    This gets the girl to calm down, causing Yui to let go of her shoulders and press her glasses back up. She turns away and the others continue walking, Ayano standing there for a good moment.

    Then it clicks.

    “I’m being framed,” Ayano says, causing her friends to stop and turn to her.

    “What?” a few say.

    “Whoever knows my secret is the one behind all this,” Ayano says as she catches up to the group. “By exposing my secret, they take the heat of themselves, allowing them to work more freely.”

    “Seriously?” Gema asks as the others look at her with baffled expressions.

    “Never mind,” she says, speeding past them. “Let’s just get this over with.”

    The students and faculty pour into the gym, lining up in straight rows that go from the entrance all the way to the stage at the other side of the gym building. On the stage itself were Headmaster Shuyona, teachers and other members of the faculty, officer Taku and the other cops on campus, and three decently big photographs, each a yearbook photo of a student or alumni of Akademi, Kokona’s and Saki’s being taken from last year and Aka’s from four or five years ago when he was a student there. In front of Kokona’s photo was a smaller photo of her father and one of the two of them together.

    Standing in the middle of the front row were, naturally, the five student council members, as well as Sidney and Mark, standing right behind Megami.

    The students file in and form their rows, groups sticking together. Kaga, Homu and the rest of the science club take up space near the front on the right, a bit behind them and further towards the middle being where Taro and Osana stand. Right behind them Budo, Raibaru, and the rest of the martial arts club stand. Musume and her posay took spots closer to the back on the left side, while Oka lost herself deep within the crowd to protect herself from the bad vibes she felt, as well as her usual bullies. The Basu sisters, Inkyu and Sakyu, fought tooth and nail to get as close to the front as possible. The rest of the clubs and friend groups likewise stick together within their spots in the crowd. Near the middle, a few rows behind the front, are Ayano, Midori, Gema, Yui, Pippi and Ryuto.

    Even in the crowd people shoot her dirty looks and try to keep their distance.

    Raising his hand to silence the murmuring crowd, Headmaster Shuyona takes the microphone.

    “Student and faculty of Akademi High,” he starts, silencing what few mutterings remain, “I regret to inform you that we are in the midst of a crisis unlike any this school has ever seen.”

    “I know a town in California that’s experienced something similar!” a voice calls out from the crowd, causing a few people to chuckle. 

    “Not another word out of you, Shidesu!” Kocho calls out to the voice he recognizes. “This is a serious situation, and I expect you all to take it seriously!” He pauses, as if to check to see if there are any more smart-asses in the crowd. After a few seconds, he continues. “Two students, one alumni, and one member of our community were violently murdered, with another student of ours in the hospital after another attack. And until the perpetrator, or,” he pauses, making eye contact with Sideny, “perpetrators are caught, a state of crisis is where we will remain.” He takes a deep breath. “And as much as I hate to admit it, even after all my years of being the proud headmaster of this school, I am in no way prepared for something quite like this.”

    Murmuring starts to pick up in the crowd again, much louder and much more concerned. While Headmaster Shuyona is in no way the strong, well built man from the 80’s and 90’s, hearing him admit that was enough to wig several people out.

    “Silence!” he shouts, quieting the room again. “Now, what I can offer is the following: Be cautious and report any suspicious activities to the police and faculty, and let us adults handle this. No need to be putting yourself in danger.”

    “Yeah, no shit!” another voice calls from the crowd, causing many to laugh.

    “Dairoku Surikizu,”  the headmaster calls out, “after this assembly is done, you along with Osoro Shidesu are to report to guidance counselor Kunahito’s office immediately. Maybe then you’ll learn to take a serious situation seriously. Anyone else have any smart comments to make?” He again pauses, and when no one responds, resumes. “Now,” he says, taking a few steps away from the podium, but still close enough to be picked up on the mic, “while I’ve given you all the advice I can give, we are in … luck, since we have an expert on this sort of thing on hand, and she may now take the stage.”

    Kocho backs away as Ayano sees a woman in her forties emerge from the front of the crowd and take the stage. As she’s walking towards the podium, Ayano can’t help but wonder who this woman is. She seems vaguely familiar, but she can’t pinpoint it exactly.

    It’s only when she sees her eyes, the eyes of a survivor, that it starts to click. She has seen this face before. In YouTube videos about the incidents of the past, articles, on Wikipedia, on the cover of her book, Out Of Darkness, and on an interview with Diane Sawyer.

    “Is that….?” she starts, her inner fangirl starting to overflow.

    “I think it is,” Midori whispers into her ear.

    “Who?” Ryuto asks.

    “It is,” Gema says.

    “How?” Pippi asks.

    “How am I supposed to know!” Yui says, pushing Pippi’s arm off her shoulder.

    “It … it can’t be,” Ayano says as the woman walks behind the podium.

    But it is her, even before she comes out and says it. Even though she doesn’t look like Tori Spelling, there was no denying who this is.

    “Hello students of Akademi High. My name is Sidney Prescott,” she says, causing the light murmurs to intensify, only halting when the headmaster raises his hand again.

    “Thank you,” Sidney says to the man, before turning back to the students. “And as you’ve probably guessed by now, me being here confirms what must be flowing through your brains. Yes, we are dealing with another Woodsboro copycat killing. I saw the killer in a Ghostface costume and have already had a conversation with him over the phone.”

    “There it is,” Ayano says under her breath, causing her friends and a few others to turn and look at her, “we are the next batch of characters in a Stab movie.”

    “I can’t be certain as to how many of you fully know what you’re dealing with, so I’ll summarize,” Sid says. “Twenty seven years ago, to the day, Billy Loomis and Stu Macher murdered my mother. The following year, the two went on a killing spree, targeting myself and my friends, ending on this day, twenty six years ago. From 1998, 2000, 2011, and last year, four other groups of psycho’s attempted to commit copycat killing sprees, myself, reporter Gale Weathers, and police deputy Dewey Riley always among the targets. And since I’m the only person this side of the pacific who’s survived all five killings so far, I’m going to give you some advice that might just save your life.”

    You could hear a pin drop, the students were that silent.

    “First, always be in groups of at least four, though five and six are preferred,” she starts to her captivated audience. “There’s always two killers, and if you end up in the unfortunate situation of being with both, you want to at least be able to even them out, which is why I recommend groups of five or six, to outnumber them. Next, it’s always someone you know. I know for a fact that both killers are in this crowd right now, and if you feel like you’re in danger, the person you’re closest with might just be the person trying to end your life.”

    There’s the distinct sounds of heads turning all over the room as the students look back and forth amongst their friends and peers with suspicion. Ayano, Midori, Yui, Gema, Pippi and Ryuto do it to each other. The science club, martial arts club, all clubs do the same. Taro and Osana eye each other, before  turning to the people behind them, Musume eyes the members of her posse, and they do the same, and Oka just nervously jitters her head around the students surrounding her, clearly on the verge of having a panic attack. The only group to not turn their heads are the student council, and even then some turn their eyes to each other, with the exception of Megami, standing and looking up at Sidney as stoic as ever.

    After things calm down, Sid continues, “And finally, if given the chance to take one of these killers out is presented to you, you take it, without hesitation. I’ve been through this enough times to know that the only way it’ll end is with the killers all dead, so better be sooner rather than later.”

    Seeing as it looks like she’s done, the headmaster begins to walk back to the podium, saying, “Well with that out of the wa-”

    “I’m not done yet,” Sidney says, cutting him off. “I have a few things left to say.”

    “Sidney,” Mark says, walking up to the stage, looking up at his wife, “what are you doing?”

    She looks down at him for a second, before raising backup to address the crowd. “I’m fully aware of the fact that most of you will never be touched by this killer, and this will mean very little to you. However, I do need to tell this to somebody, so if you genuinely believe you’re in danger from these killings, join me in that storage room,” she says as she points to the door just left of the stage.

    She hops off the stage and begins to walk towards the door, Mark following. Megami, seeing her bodyguard walk away, follows too, as do the other four student council members. 

    Taking the mic, Shuyona  says, “Well, if you intend to hear what Mrs. Prescott has to say, follow her into the storage room. Otherwise head back to class.” He hops off the stage and heads for the room as well.

    Students talk among themselves for a bit, determining if they should go, many head off for their classes immediately, either because they don’t want to miss them or because they think they’re in the clear (or in Osoro and Dairoku’s case, because they had to leave).

    “We are for sure doing this,” Sakyu tells her sister as they walk towards the door.

    “Duh!” Inkyu says back. “This is gonna be good.”

    “C’mon guys,” Ayano says, walking towards the door immediately, “we should hear what she says,”

    “Why, so you can meet your idol,” Ryuto asks, “That doesn't seem very important right now.”

    “Well our friend was just attacked,” she says back, before turning to the green haired girl. “We’re all at risk because of that, cause whoever is doing this won’t leave us alone. Right, Midori?”

    Midori looks at her for a moment, obviously attempting to suppress a sob. “Right,” she says weakly, though she does pipe back up a little when she says, “Besides, the friend group is always attacked in Stab movies.”

    The girls turn to the other three.

    “What about you?” Ayano asks.

    “Well,” Gema says, scratching the back of his head, “Mother’s already gonna be there, so I might as well.”

    “I mean,” Pippi starts, “since Mai was hurt by the killer, they will come after us to, so no harm in at least hearing her out. Right?” She turns to Ryuto.

    “I guess,” he says, adjusting his headband as the five begin to walk towards the door.

    “After all she said to us,” Musume says, leading her posse towards the door, “there’s no way in hell we’re not going to listen to Prescott.”

    The other four girls are visibly hesitant, knowing evidently that any close association with Sidney will probably result in getting caught in the crossfire.

    One of them attempts to challenge Musume, saying, “I think you’re starting to become a bit obsessed with this whole thing.”

    “Shut up, Hana!” she says. “We are doing this whether you like it or not.”

    “I mean,” Taro says, “I wouldn’t say we absolutely need to go see this.”

    “OF COURSE WE DO!” Osana shouts. “Aka was murdered, putting a target on me, meaning the killer has me in their sights, and if I’m in their sights, you are to. LET’S GO, DUMMY!” she shouts as she starts to drag him by the arm.

    “Should we come with them?” Budo asks Raibaru, who nods. 

    “Yeah, since Osana’s our friend, we might be in danger,” she says.

    “Even if we can both kick the asses of everyone here?” he asks again. “I’m pretty sure whatever method of self defense Prescott will teach them we can do with ease.”

    “Oh I know that,” Raibaru says smugly, flexing her arm. “I’m not scared of any killer coming after me, I'm sure I can kick his ass. I just want to make sure Osana is safe.” Her arms drops as she squints her eyes at him. “You want her to be safe, don’t you, Budo?”

    “Of course I do,” he says, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Let’s go then.”

    “What about us?” a brown haired martial arts club member asks. “Should we come as well?”

    “You’ll all be fine, Shima,” Budo says to her and the other members of the martial arts club. “Rai and I are directly connected to Osana, who’s connected to Aka. none of you are really connected to any of the killings, so you should be fine.”

    “WHY DO YOU WANT US TO DO THIS AGAIN?” Kaga says with dramatic annoyance as Homu drags him towards the door. “Don’t we have more important things to be worrying about than some foreign woman’s words, AND MESSING UP MY LAB COAT!?”

    “Considering my talk with Yudasei earlier,” Homu says matter of factly, “I reasoned it’d be optimal for us to observe what Mrs. Sidney Prescott has to say, as it might be deemed useful for our purposes later.”

    Kaga ponders over this for a second or two, before nodding. “Very well, you've made your point.”

    Also heading to the room is Oka. Upon Prescott taking the stage, she found herself transfixed on that woman’s aura. One of perseverance, one of strength, one of will, but also one that invites challenge. She’s undoubtedly the source for these upcoming dark times, even if unintentionally and based on stuff out of her control. Once Sindey gave out the option, that little voice in the back of Oka’s head starts whispering to her, telling her that, if she’s to get to the bottom of these strange happenings, she has to hear Mrs. Prescott. So when people aren’t looking, she slips into the room almost completely undetected.

    Sidney stands at the far end of the storage room, eying the door, with Shuyona and Taku standing either side of her, Mark standing by the door. 

    She watches as each person enters the room. First being Megami and the other council members, followed shortly by Sakyu and Inkyu. Ayano, Midori, Yui, Pippi, Ryuto, and Gema enter, followed shortly by Osana and Taro. Budo and Raibaru are about to follow them in, but Musume and her posse push past them out of the way as they enter. Homu and Kaga enter shortly after those two, and as Mark begins to shut the door, Oka slides in and into a corner of the room.

    Once the door was closed, Sidney’s eyes scanned the twenty five students crammed within this decently sized space. Turning to Officer Taku and Headmaster Shuyona, she says, “Well headmaster, your suspect list has dropped down to twenty five, though there might be some more people I’d look into.”

    The headmaster just looks confused. “What do you mean?”

    As Mark  walks up to her side, she says, “Eight times out of nine, the killers always attempt to make themselves look innocent by framing someone else or staging attacks on themselves.”

    “So,” Mark continues, “if she were to offer potentially live saving advice to anyone who believes they’re in danger, then the killers won’t resist the chance to make themselves look innocent.”

    “At least one of the killers is in this room,” Sid says, turning back to the now nervous students, “and I’m willing to bet the other one is here too.”

    “Sooooo,” Budo says, stepping forwards a bit, “you’re saying it’s one of us … for sure?”

    “Bet my life on it,” Sid says with a smirk.

    “So you’re not giving us any advice?” Homu asks.

    “Of course I’m going to,” Sidney says, again scanning the crowd, “because even if we are in the presence of both killers, twenty three of you are probably in serious danger.”

    “SO TELL US THEN!” Osana shouts, taking a few steps forward. “What do we need to know to survive?!”

    “I’d like to know as well,” a girl from Musume’s posse pipes up.

    “Likewise,” Pippi says.

    “And I will,” Sidney says, “but I’d like to know why you all think you’re targets for these killers.” She turns to Megami, still standing by the other council members.

    “You probably know why I’m in here,” she says curtly.

    “Yes, because my husband’s protecting you, which makes you associated with me and will make you a target. And the rest of the council’s here because you’re close with them, and if you’re a target, they are as well.”

    “Indeed,” Kuroko says with a nod, “as is the fact that if one’s intent were to cause problems for the school, taking out the student council will be the ideal first move.”

    Nodding, Sidney turns to Osana. “What about you?”

    “Aka Nishin used to be a coworker and very publicly stalked me for the better part of a year,” she says coldly, “and with him dead, I’m a major suspect, meaning they’re probably trying to frame me.” She reaches back and pulls Taro forward, him letting out a yelp. “And this dummy is my friend since childhood, so if I’m in this Friday shit, so is he.”

    “Kokona Haruka also sat next to me in class,” Taro pipes in.

    “I see,” Sidney says with a nod, remembering one Casey Becker who sat next to her that fateful year.

    Budo and Raibaru step up behind the two. “We’re also friends with them,” Budo says.

    “Yup,” Raibaru chims in, “and if Osana’s for sure a target, we probably are as well.”

    “Also helps that the two of us are strong and are threats to this killer.”

    “I can see that,” Sidney says, looking up at the two students. Shifting away from them, she eyes equally as tall Oka slinked in the corner. “What about you, girl?”

    Oka jolts up straight, head darting around the room. Pointing to herself, she asks, “Me?” nervously.

    “Yes,” Prescott says, gesturing her forwards. “Why are you here?”

    Hesitating, Oka begins to take a few steps forwards. “Because … I … You see… I don’t… you scare me,” she says, turning away from the woman, visibly shaking. 

    Sid walks right up in front of her and says, “Don’t worry, uhh.”

    “Oka,” she says meekly.

    “Well don’t worry, Oka. I’m not going to hurt you … … … unless your planning on killing me, in which case I will absolutely hurt you.”

    She lets out a yelp and backs up a bit. “That's … not why I’m scared.”

    “Why?”

    Oka looks Sid dead in the eyes, hers completely wide, as she says, “There’s a dark aura around you, as if a demon cursed you to always lose the ones you love, always be betrayed by those you care about, and always have your life on the line.”

    Walking up to the two, Musume pushes Oka back, saying, “Apologies for her. Oka Ruto is the school’s resident weirdo. Hard in on the whole demon thing, thinks she sees Conjuring shit everywhere. Thinks she’s psychic to boot, like the next Lorraine Warren.”

    “Who are you?” Sid asks, already not liking this girl's attitude. 

    “I’m Musume Ronshaku,” she says with tremendous self importance, “my father has some serious connections to the Haruka’s, and with them, plus Nishin, dead, we’re losing money, and whoever’s doing this almost certainly knows that, especially with Mai Wakahara’s attack. I’m certainly being targeted.”

    “Also helps that you’re a giant bitch!” Midori shouts, to mostly approving nods and murmurs from the other students, even some from the council.

    “Shut the fuck up, dyke!” Musume shouts at her.

    “Seriously, you’re almost certainly the only kill that everyone will agree deserved it!”

    Not wanting to talk to her or any of her posse any more than she needs to, Sidney focuses on Midori and the other four. “What about you guys?”

    “Mai Wakahara’s our friend,” Pippi says.

    “Have been for a long time now,” Ryuto adds.

    “So with her being attacked,” Yui says, pressing her glasses back up, “the rest of us are almost certainly going to be attacked as well.”

    “Not to mention me being her son,” Gema says, gesturing to Officer Taku. “So it’s pretty safe to assume we’re all pretty fucked.”

    “And…” Ayano says nervously, taking a few steps closer to Prescott, visibly shaking. Letting out a deep breath, she says, “And today’s my birthday.”

    This gets Sidney’s attention, well, that and another thing. Something familiar about this girl. “I see,” she says with a nod.

    Smirking, Museum walks beside Ayano and says, “And…?”

    “Annnnnd,” Ayano says, deciding to just get it over with, “I’m the daughter of Ryoba Aishi, who-”

    “I already know,” Sidney says, eying her up and down, but not suspiciously. Because it confirms something she suspected the moment she heard this girls voice, the same one she heard last night. “And I take it your a fan of the Stab films, right?”

    Ayano’s eyes widen and she starts to panic a little. “How did you-”

    “Moving on,” Sidney says, turning her attention to Kaga and Homu. “What are you two doing here?”    

    “WE ARE TWO OF AKADEMI HIGH’S BRIGHTEST MINDS!” Kaga says in his usual melodramatic tone.

    “Characters in horror films, especially American ones, are usually very stupid or make poorly thought out decisions,” Homu says, before holding up her two fists.

    “HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13TH,” Kaga says as Homu holds up one finger for each movie, “TEXAS CHAINSAW, EVIL DEAD, SAW!”

    “And with us being intellectually superior,” Homu says, stiffly putting her arms back down to her sides, “we reasoned that the killers will realize this and target us.”

    “OUR POWERFUL MINDS WILL FOR SURE LEAD US TO WHOEVER’S DOING THIS, AND THAT PUTS BOTH OF US IN THEIR SIGHTS!” Kaga says, raising his arms high as he waxes dramatically. Dropping his arms back down, he says much more calmly, “Also because Saki Miyu was my neighbor and we were very close when we were kids.”

    “Okay,” Sid says, turning away and towards the last two, the pair of snickering girls. “What about you? What are you two doing here?”

    Sakyu and Inkyu start to laugh. “Because this shit’s interesting,” Sakyu says.

    “Yeah,” Inkyu says between chuckles, “we can make this shit blow up.”

    “Sakyu and Inkyu Basu,” Akane pipes up, “twins and the school gossipers.”

    “Yeah,” Yui says, folding her arms and shaking her head, “If those killers want them dead just to shut them up, I would not be surprised.”

    “Okay,” Sidney says, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention again, “all of you have reasons to believe you’re a target.”

    “Yeah,” Aoi says, “now can you tell us what you want to tell us?”

    "Yeah!” a member of Musume’s posse says.

    “I’d like to get this over with,” Gema says.

    “Of course you do,” Osana says, crossing her arms.

    “The thing is,” Sidney says, louder this time, “this sort of thing isn’t your standard killer, not like those crimes you hear about on tv, nor like a school shooting. You get me?

    There’s an awkward silence.

    “Uhhh,” Pippi says awkwardly, “we don’t really have those over here.”

    “Regardless, everything you think you know about criminals, throw them away, because these people, they’re making a Stab film, and there are certain things they all do.” Sid takes a deep breath. “There are certain rules one must follow.”

    “Oh, yeah,” Midori says with a nod, “we already know them.” She holds up her hand and starts counting them on her fingers. “Don’t have sex. Don’t drink or do drugs. Don’t say “I’ll be right back”. This shit’s trivial, Everybody knows it.”

    “I’m not talking about that,” Sidney says, getting exacerbated. “Rules of how to stay alive in real life, to be more like me.”

    “Be like you?” Ayano asks nervously. “How?”

    “Yeah,” Ryuto says with a nod, “Kinda hard to be like the woman who’s been through this shit five times already.”

    “Still doesn’t statistically make sense,” Homu says, shaking her head.

    “But aren’t they’re eight movies?” Taro asks

    “Not all of them are based on true stories, dummy!” Osana groans.

    “Utterly impossible,” Homu says.

    “Will you all be quiet?” Megami says with a slightly raised voice, shutting off the chit chat. Turning to Sidney, she says, “Continue.”

    “Well, first off, always stay on guard. I always keep my gun on me, but since you all can’t afford such luxury, keep your eyes peeled and senses alert. You could be attacked at any moment.”

    “This shit’s not very riveting,” Inkyu whispers to Sakyu.

    “Word,” her sister replies.

    “Inkyu! Sakyu!” Kuruko says sternly, folding her arms. 

    “What?” Inkyu says, raising her arms. “It’s not our fault this is slower than the VVitch!”

    “Anyways!” Sidney says, getting back on topic. “Second, if you’re romantically involved with anyone, keep your eyes on them. Doesn’t matter if they’re your boyfriend, girlfriend, ex, or even a crush. It’s not guaranteed, but there’s a decent chance that if you’re a primary target, the person you think you like is the one trying to kill you.”

    “Yeah,” Midori says, taking a few steps forward, “uhhh, Mrs. Prescott, my girlfriend was the girl who was attacked today. Mai Wakahara. So I’m pretty sure that means both of us are innocent.”

    Without skipping a beat, Sindey says, “Twenty six years ago to the day, my first boyfriend tried to murder me. It’s safe to assume you’re a suspect.”

    …

    “Touche,” Midori says, taking a few steps back.

    “And finally, all of the killings are in some way connected to the past.”

    “What do you mean?” Raibaru asks.

    “Because during her days in Hollywood, my mother was sexually assaulted numerous times, eventually baring a bastard. All five killings are in some way related to that. 1995, Billy and Stu murdered my mother for having an affair with Billy’s father. 1996, they came after me as further revenge. 1998, Billy's mother came after me in revenge for killing her son and for what my mother did. 2000, Roman Bridger is the aforementioned bastard. 2011, my cousin Jill on my mothers side wanted the fame I got from the previous killings and sought to replicate them. Last year, two Stab fans, mad about the most recent movie, attempted to make their own sequel. What do they all have in common?”

   “Being batshit insane?” Budo asks.

    “Death,” Oka says quietly from the corner.

    “A Ghostface mask?” Akane pipes up.

    “All of them are in some way, either directly or indirectly, related to what happened to my mother.”

    “So where do we fit in all this?” Taro asks, to the collective nods of everyone in the room.

    “Yeah if you haven’t noticed,” Sakyu says, “we’re across a fucking ocean from California. Not a whole lot of ways we’d be connected to you.”

    “I don’t know yet,” Sidney says, “has to be something, or else these people wouldn’t be wearing Ghostface costumes. So I needed to find anything from the past that the killers could be connected to, and the only thing I could find was the murder of Sumire Saitozaki.”

    “Exactly!” Musume says with a clap. “And we all know who the killer is if that’s the case.” She then points to Ayano. “It’s obviously Yudasei.”

    Ayano lets out a sigh. “Will you let it up, bitch?”

    “I’m not gonna let it up, because I know it’s you,” she says, walking right up to her.

    “Why would it be her?” Sidney asks.

    “Did you hear her?” Musume asks, turning to her. “She admits to being Ryoba Aishi’s daughter, aka the woman who murdered Saitozaki.”

    “So?”

    “So she’s obviously got killer in her blood,” Musume says. “Weren’t both Billy Loomis and his mother serial killers? Hmmm?”

    “Yes,” Sidney says, “and his daughter Sam is a completely innocent woman who was also targeted thanks to her parentage. And both my cousin and half-brother were psycho’s, so being a killer isn’t in blood. As far as I’m concerned, that Ayano girl is just as much a suspect as you are, and you’re being pretty adamant that it’s her.”

    Fuming, Musume turns and walks back to her posse, though a few take a step away from her as she approaches. 

    Ayano, meanwhile, is positively giddy. Not only is she in the same room as her idol, but she actually stood up for her.

    BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER.

    “Still,” Megami says, turning to Sidney, “if you are correct, and this is connected to the Aishi/Saitozaki case, then Yudasei is connected in some way, shape or form.”

    “So either she’s a killer or a target,” Inkyu says.

    “That could apply to all of us,” Budo says.

    “It still doesn’t make sense,” Yui says, breaking her silence. “Why would anyone affected by the murder of Sumire Saitozaki base a killing spree on the Woodsboro murders when there’s no connection act all?”

    Then it hits Ayano. “THAT’S IT!” she shouts with a snap.

    “What is?” Midori asks.

    “That’s what this thing is! It’s fanfiction. Stab fanfiction!”

    “Dear god, not this shit,” Yui says, cringing slightly.

    “And not just any fanfiction! Crossover fanfiction!”

    “What do you mean?” Mark asks, walking up to her.

    “Think about it, what happened to Sidney and what happened here have nothing to do with each other,” Ayano says. “And no one over here would be connected to anyone over there in Woodsboro, or Windsor, or LA.”

    “So how would these two unrelated incidents come together in anything else other than a crossover,” Midori says, nodding. “You may be onto something there, Yanyan.”

    “So what you’re saying is,” Osana says, visibly annoyed, “our lives are at stake because someone’s writing Stab fanfiction?!”

    “Wouldn’t be the first time,” Sidney says, shaking her head.

    “And it’s the only reason why she’s here,” Ayano says, pointing to Sidney. “She didn’t do anything to any of us, so why else would she be involved in this spree if not because a fan felt like she should be here.”

    “And if it’s fanfiction,” Midori says, “then there’s a whole other set of rules to follow.”

    “Ugh, more rules,” Musume says, crossing her arms. “Can’t we just go back to saying Ayano’s guilty and we can all go back to our normal lives?”

    “Why not go over them?” Ayano asks. “I’ve read enough Stab fics to know how they work.” She then starts blushing lightly, rubbing her arm. “Wrote a few myself, but the point is, Stab fics have a pattern just as much as the movies do. First, most follow a self-insert Mary Sue OC.”

    “God no,” Ryuto says, visibly cringing.

    “And if that's the case, I think we all know the person who fits the bill of Mary Sue among us,” Midori says, lightly gesturing to the student council president.

    “Why are you looking at me?” Megami asks. “What makes me Mary Sue?”

    “Are you kidding?” Midori asks, gesturing towards her. “Need I spell it out. Good looks. Incredibly popular.”

    “Rich,” Raibaru says.

    “Clever,” Inkyu says.

    “Speak a dozen languages,” Homu says.

    “Skilled in self defense,” Budo says.

    "Heir to a massive business,” Ayano says.

    “The smartest person in school,” Pippi says.

    “SECOND! Smartest person in school,” Kaga corrects

    “A million talents,” Osana says.

    “Well respected even by adults,” Gema says.

    “Hot,” Ryuto says, followed by a jab to the gut by Pippi’s elbow.

    “Flawless skin,” Musume says.

    “All the boys want to fuck you,” Sayku says.

    “All the girls want to be you,” Oka says with a stammer.

    “Not to mention,” Midori says, gesturing towards Megami’s chest, “you’ve had solid D’s since you were like fourteen.”

    “What does all of that matter?” she asks. “Even if I am a so called “Mary Sue” why is that important. Are you suggesting I’m the killers target?”

    “Possibly,” Midori says with a shrug, before leaning closer. “Or you’re the killer.”

    Megami scoffs and says, “Why would it be me?”

    “Because if the killers are writing a fanfic, then the Mary Sue would be one of them, and make herself look innocent, and look, your bodyguard is the husband of Sidney Prescott.”

    “This is ridiculous,” Megami says, before pushing back. “Who’s to say you’re not saying that to get attention off yourself.”

    “That’s something a killer would say!”

    “Will you two calm down!” Ayano says, getting between them. “There’s more rules.” The two step away from each other and rejoin their groups. “So, the other rule is that they always involve legacy characters, even if the rest of the cast are OC’s, and both Sidney Prescott and Mark Kincaid are here. The only way it could get more fanfic is if they managed to drag Gale or Kirby here as well.”

    “Makes sense,” Sidney says as she and Mark nod.

    “And that segways into the next one, the Mary Sue always either proves herself equal to or superior to those legacy characters, which usually mean they die, so you’d both be targeted.”

    Sidney just shrugs. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

    “Yeah,” Mark says, “that’s not really a surprise. Any other fanfic rule we should know about.”

    “It always gets fucking wild!” Ayano says.

    “And that means…?” Yui says.

    “Shit goes off the rails fast and usually a lot more people die than other real life sprees, or even the ones completely made up for the movies.”

    “You know an awful lot about this stuff,” Taro says.

    Ayano lets out a small laugh and blushes again. “Well, I have experience in the field of fanfiction.”

    “You’re hearing this too, right?” Musume says, legitimately baffled. “She’s admitted she’s a Stab fanfic writer! Why are you all still questioning this?”

    “You know what?” Sidney says, regaining control of the ground. “I think we’ve discussed enough. Remember what I said, and keep your eyes peeled, and you might be able to stay alive.”

    “You can head back to classes,” the headmaster says, gesturing towards the door.

    “I’ll pick you up when classes are done, Gema,” officer Taku says.

    Musume and her posse leave first, followed by Osana and Taro. Then Yui, then Kaga and Homu. Budo and Raibaru leave with Pippi and Ryuto. Then Gema, then the student council sans Megami. The Basu sisters take leave next, followed by Oka. Ayano takes her time to leave, wanting to say more to Sidney, ask her why she seems to know that she was a Stab fan before she said it. Then Midori grabs her hand and drags her out of the room.

    Now only Sidney, Mark, Megami, Headmaster Shuyona and Officer Taku remain, and the latter leaves shortly after.

    “So,” Mark says, turning to his wife, “did you get what you wanted to hear?”

    “Yes.”

    “Well that was certainly interesting,” Midori says an hour later as she and Ayano pack up their belongings after class. “Got to meet your idol, you get to be in a Stab movie, and your boy crush now knows you exist. Pretty good day for you, I’d say,” she adds with a bit of spite.

    “You can say that,” Ayano says, mind still racing over the days events, “but now everyone knows who my mother is, so I also had it pretty bad.”

    “Yeah,” Midori says slowly, “that sucks. Could be worse.”

    "How worse?"

    “Well, your girlfriend could have nearly been murdered by a masked psychopath and is now in the hospital with three more holes then you’d like her to have.”

    Rolling her eyes, Ayano says, “Look, what happened to Mai sucks hard, but she’s fine and safe now. It’s all of us we should be worried about. Speaking of which, care to walk me home?”

    “Heading straight to the hospital after school,” Midori says with a cold look, “sorry.”

    “Well I can’t walk back to school alone with a fucking serial killer running around!”

    “Why can’t Yui walk you then. Your house is on the way to hers.”

    “Just texted that she’s already left,” Ayano says, holding up her phone to Midori.

Yui: Sorry girls, you took too long so I already left.

Yui: Mom and Dad want me back from school ASAP.

    “You’ll find someone else,” Midori says as she give Ayano a peck on the cheek before walking away. “Later.”

    Ayano lets out a sigh, wipes off her cheek, and begins to walk slowly towards the schools entrance. Most of her fellow students have left already, no doubt for reasons similar to Yui, and for the most part, those remaining all lived in the opposite direction of her place.

    The only other person she could find right now was Oka, whose house was at the either end of the block from hers. The second Ayano walked up to ask, though, the tall gloomy girl lets out a loud, “EEEEEK!” and runs off.

    Sighing, Ayano accepts her fate of having to walk home alone.

    However, when she walks out of the building, she sees, to her surprise, Taro waving off Budo and Raibaru as they walk off, no Osana in sight. After that, he just stands there, pulling out his phone and texting someone.

    She started breathing heavily again, and before she could decide if she should make a move, her legs were already moving towards him.

    “Hey,” she says as she approaches, startling him.

    “Ah! Oh, hey, Ayano,” Taro says awkwardly.

    “Where’s Osana?” she asks, looking around the area for miss orange head.

    “Police brought her back to the station for additional questioning,” he says. “Apparently, they’re done fully examining the crime scene so they’ll have more questions for her.”

    “Ahh,” Ayano says. “So, what are you planning on doing then,” she asks awkwardly, “I mean, you obviously don’t want to walk alone, do you?”

    “No,” Taro says, shaking his head. “But both Budo and Raibaru live over there, and I’m more that way.” He gestures out to the town, and while it’s not directly on the way, it’s decently close to her place to where he’d be able to get home quickly.

    “Well,” Ayano says, looking down and crossing her fingers, giggling and blushing, “maybe we can walk home together. I mean,” she says, looking back up to him, “I know we don’t really know each other, but-”

    “Sure,” he says casually, “why not.”

    Ayano’s body stiffens up, shaking and sweating. Nodding, she squeaks, “Okay.”

    “Okay,” Taro says, seemingly not weirded out by her.

    The two walk out of the gate, each grabbing their bikes and beginning to ride out in the direction of Ayano’s house.

    “All this is pretty scary,” Taro says as the school disappears behind them, “I mean, it’s not everyday your live becomes a movie.”

    Shaking her head rapidly, Ayano says, “Nope.”

    They turn the corner, and after a few yards, Taro comes to a stop, Ayano doing the same.

    “What’s this?” she asks.

    “Can I tell you something?” Taro asks back, to which Ayano nodes. “I think I might be the target.”

    This confuses the girl. “Why would you think that?” she asks.

    “Well, Kokona sat next to me in class, my best friend was taken in by police under suspicion, and she’s being awfully aggressive as of late.” Ayano gives him a look. “More aggressive than usual I mean. I don't know horror movies that much, but from what I remember about the first Stab film, all that reminds me of  Mrs. Prescott's character arc at the start.”

    “I see,” Ayano says, nodding. “Maybe that’s the case, or maybe you’re looking too far into it. It could be you, could be me, could be anyone. I think it’s too early to judge.”

    “You think so?” he asks, to which Ayano nods. “I guess you may be right,” he says as he and Ayano start moving again. “And I’ll be honest, I was kinda scared of you when I saw who your mother was, but honestly, Osana’s wigging me out a little, especially when she came after you.”

    “Same,” Ayano says, “she does give me a bit of girl Billy Loomis vibes.”

    Taro shrugs as the two pull up to Ayano’s place. “This is it, right?” he asks just as Ayano stops.

    “Yup,” she says as she gets off her bike and walks it to the side of the house. As she walks back. “Well, thanks for walking me home. I appreciate not being alone.”

    “Same,” Taro says, waving her off, causing her to blush again as she waves back. “Seems no killers dare to go after the two of us together.”

    “Yeah,” Ayano says, lowering her hand. Taro starts to remount his bike, but she says, “Hey, you would want to … I mean … I’m watching a movie … Stab … if you want, would you like to … join me?” She’s blushing furiously, but attempts to regain her composure thanks to the confused look on his face. “I MEAN! Not like that! I mean, get to know how these movies work so you’ll be better prepared.”

    He seems to consider this for a few moments. “I would,” he says, “but I have plans tonight with family.” Ayano’s face drops lightly at this in disappointment, which doesn’t go unnoticed, “Maybe another time,” Taro says as he begins to ride away. “Goodbye Ayano … and happy birthday!”

    He’s a fair bit away before Ayano calls out, “Goodbye, Taro!”

    She then lets out a sigh, before turning around and entering her house, not even noticing that her front door was still unlocked.

Chapter Text

“Hi Lovelies! Yan-Chan here!”

    When Ayano entered her house, locking the door behind her, she did her normal routine. Tossed her bag onto the table to do her (nonexistent) homework, placed the family photo back onto the wall where it belongs, and headed upstairs. 

    She threw off her dirty uniform, hopped into and took a quick shower, and changed into some clean casual clothes.

    After that was done, as she was on the phone with the pizza place, she set up her computer, both to have the Listentome stream ready, and for her to personally stream the original Stab movie on netflix. 

    With the movie ready to stream, Gale Weathers new book in her hand, and the prestream chat room already fairly active, she goes live.

    “Sorry if I’m not as excited as I usually am,” she says, still processing everything that’s happened at school today. With her friend being attacked, confirmation that this is a Ghostface killing, having her secret exposed, and getting to be in the same room as the real Sidney Prescott. “A lot’s happened today,” she says after a brief pause, “so don’t expect a lot of chit chatting today as we watch Stab.”

    She moves her mouse to the other tab, where stab is waiting to play on Netflix. Hovering over the play button, she says into the mic, “Everybody ready to start?”

    She looks over at the chat, all of them saying either yes or give me a few seconds.

    “Okay then,” she says after the “not yes”s have faded. “Starting in five, four, thre, two, one,” she says, clicking play, and the blank screen displays the title.

Stab

    A few seconds later, it fades and is replaced by a bit of text.

Based on the Book

“The Woodsboro Murders”

By GALE WEATHERS

    Cut to a camera panning up from the ground, revealing a nice single story house, complete with a fancy pool. Then it cuts to inside the house as a girl with a blonde bob cut, Casey Becker, as portrayed by Heather Graham, walks into a bathroom in a small white robe, grabbing a small towel from a hanger before looking at herself in the mirror.

    “Better strap yourself in, boys,” Ayano says, watching as Casey gets startled by lightning flashes, “You’re in for a treat.”

    Casey then turns on the water to her shower and sticks her hand into the water, causing the chat to explode with stuff like, “wait there’s nudity in this movie?” or, “SHOW. THE. TITS!” which only causes her to giggle.

    “Before you horny motherfuckers watch this,” she says as the camera shows Casey throw off the robe from behind, “There’s no actual nudity in this movie. The most you see of Heather Graham are her upper back and the backs of her calves. I know, we saw her naked in Boogie Nights the year prior, but Stab isn’t that kind of movie.”

    Then the phone rings, causing Heather to turn her head to the camera (from the neck up), before cutting to a shot of her lower legs as she picks up her robe and walks off camera. Cut to the window right beside the shower as Ghostface pops up into view, startling Ayano.

    “Still gets me,” she says with a light chuckle.

    The film briefly cuts to another outside exterior shot as lightning flashes again, before cutting to the kitchen, where Casey answers the phone

    “Hello,” she says into the phone.

    “ Hello, ” the voice of Ghostface answers.

    “Who is this?”    

    “ Guess. ”    

    Casey sighs and says, “No really, who is this?”

    “ Were you expecting somebody? ”

    Casey looks away from the phone, the camera cutting to a bowl of stove popcorn beginning to expand. “No,” she says as the camera cuts back to her. “Who is this?”

    “ Who would you like it to be? ”

    Cut to a low view of Casey, the glass ceiling behind her. “I don’t like games,” she says as she starts walking out of frame. “Who is this?”

    Once she’s fully out of frame, the camera zooms up to the ceiling as lightning flashes, revealing Ghostface looking down at her.

    “Wish Mr. Ghostface was here,” Ayano says as the caller tells Casey to look out back for her boyfriend. “He loves this scene, and I do too.”

    “ Would yah like one? ” The caller says in response to Casey saying she doesn’t have a boyfriend. 

    Ayano’s stomach starts to growl, causing her to rub her gut. “Wish my pizza was here, too.”

    “You know, I don’t even know you,” Caseys says, with Graham’s amazing pissed off acting chops, “and I dislike you already.”

    Then a deck chair is thrown through the glass door, scaring both Casey on screen and Ayano in real life.

    “See,” she says to chat, “this is proper suspense at its finest. Robert Rodriguez really outdid himself for this and the next three films.”

    She then leans back in to continue to watch the film.

    “C’mon, babe,” Luke Wilson's greasy, disgruntled, and borderline loony portrayal of Billy Loomis says as he attempts to snuggle up with Tori Spelling’s Sindey Prescott. “Why can’t we just do it?”

    “Because it’s the one year anniversary of my mother’s death,” Sidney says with a golden annoyed expression from Tori.

    “Yeah, but that was a year ago,” Billy says, moving in front of her, hands on her shoulders, “and you need to move on eventually.”

    “Poor wording there, Billy,” Ayano says, taking a bit of her pizza slice. “And you were the one who killed her!”

    “C’mon,” Tatum Riley, as portrayed by Alicia Silverstone, says as she and Sidney walk out of the back of Woodsboro’s police station.

    “There she is!” says the voice of Jennifer Jolie, the actress who played Gale Weathers in the first two Stab films before her untimely death in 2000, necessitating a replacement in later films. She charges up to Sidney and Tatum with her cameraman Kenny Brown, portrayed by Kevin Smith, as Gale shoes the mic in her face.

    “What happened, tell me everything!”

    “Sidneys not answering anything,” Tatum says, grabbing Sids arm and beginning to pull away. “We’re leaving!”

    “No Tatum,” she says, Tori actually pushing Alicia back a little, causing the actress to give a genuine reaction of surprise, “it’s her job to pester vulnerable people like us. Isn’t it, Gale?”

    With Jennifer conveying a genuine look of being taken aback, Gale says, “Yes, indeed.”

    “How’s that book about my dead mother, by the way?”

    “Oh, it’ll be out later this year.”

    “I’ll look for it,” she says, with some nicely acted scorn from Tori's part, turning to walk away.

    “I’ll send you a copy,” Gale says, causing Sidney to turn and punch her right in the face, knocking her down. 

    “Love this part,” Ayano says with a hearty laugh, already ordering a second pizza. “I really like Gale’s character development in these movies, but damn, I adore Stab one bitchy Gale.”

    “There’s a formula to it!” Christopher Speed’s erratic Randy Meeks shouts to Vince Vaughn’s Stu Macher. “A Very! Simple! Formula!”

    “EVERYBODY’S A SUSPECT!” Ayano shouts along with him, giggling to herself.

    Ayano stares at the computer screen, completely enraptured, as Jennifer Jolie and David Schwimmer, Deputy Dewey Riley’s actor, wander through a wooded path, having awkward chit chat/flirting.

    “I love the chemistry between these two,” Ayano says quietly.

    The two then trip and roll down a hill, landing on each other, looking at each other, Ayano leaning in closer, not to miss it.

    Then her phone vibrates, causing her to look down, seeing a text from her dad.

Dad; Won’t be able to call tonight, so I’ll text you now

Dad: Goodnight, Ayano! Happy Birthday.

Goodnight, Dad.

Love you

Dad: Love you too.

    She smiles a little, before looking back up at the screen, the movie having moved on to another scene.

    “Awww! I missed the kiss!” she says, folding her arms and pouting.

    “I want to see Jamie Lee’s breasts!” Stu shouts as he, Randy, and a bunch of nameless people watch Bob’s death in the original Halloween.

    “Well you’re gonna have to Trading Places in 83,” Randy says, much to the chagrin of the partygoers, “cause until then, she was always the virgin. She waited until she went legits to show her tits.”

    “With her money, she could’ve at least gotten a decent pair,” a female extra says sarcastically. 

    “It’s how she always outsmarted the killers in her chase scenes in each horror flick she was in. That’s something only virgins can do, as the rules say.”

    “What rules,” Stu says in an excellent delivery from Vaughn.

    “You don’t know the rules,” an incensed Randy says, slamming his bear on the table, before grabbing the remote and pausing the movie as Michael Myers raises his knife. 

    Standing up beside the Tv, Christopher Speed starts his famous monologue, “There are certain rules, one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie.”

    “Tell ‘em, Randy,” Ayano says, slouched in her chair, rubbing her now full stomach.

    “What do I need to do,” Billy asks Sidney as a dark figure looms behind him, all the while Tori Spelling gives her best shocked and surprised look, “to convince you that it’s not me?”

    “Oh my god!” she shouts. “Billy! Behind you!”

    Luke Wislon turns his back to the camera as Ghostface reveals himself, slashing his knife repeatedly along his torso, cutting back to Tori’s shocked expression with each slice.

    After a few seconds of this, Ghostface grabs Billy’s shoulder and turns him to face Sidney, his shirt sliced up and covered in blood.

    Reaching his arm to her, Billy says weakly, “Sidney … why?” before collapsing face first onto the bed.

    “Because she knows you a killer, stupid,” Ayano says, chuckling to herself as she watches Ghostface chase Sidney out of the room.

    “Jamie! Behind you!” a drunken Randy says as Ghostfdace looms behind him, knifed raised.

    Watching this from the news van parked outside, Sidney pushes Kenny on the shoulder towards the vans door. “Help him!” she cries. 

    “I can try,” Kenny says, grabbing a small wrench, “but the camera is on a delay.”

    Also watching Randy ignore his own rules from the comfort of her computer chair, Ayano shakes her head and says, “Not even gonna say it.”

    “Jamie! He’s right behind yo-” his words are cut off when Ghostface stabs him in the shoulder, causing Sidney to scream from the monitor.

    “Help him!” she shouts as Kenny puts his hand on the door.

    “What did I say!” he shouts. “The camera is on a dela-”

    He’s cut off when he slides open the van door, Ghostface standing right there, immediately plunging his knife into the mans gut, causing Tori to let out her best scream in the film.

    As she attempts to slide out  through the back of the van, Ghostface slides the knife up his torso fully gutting Kenny as he spits out blood all over the white mask.

    To this, Ayano just laughs mockingly. “That’s for ruining Masters of the Universe, jackass!”

    “This parts so good,” Ayano says as Sidney snatches the gun from the unconscious Dewey and slams the front door shut, locking it, before sliding down it slowly in tears,

    Suddenly the camera cuts to the stairs with a jumpscare sound as the seemingly wounded Billy crawls out from the upstairs room, attempting to climb down the stairs.

    As the camera cuts to Tori Spelling’s relieved face, Ayano hears a sound from her laptop.

Someone wants to join your talk.

Do you accept or decline?

    She quickly clicks accept, and is greeted by, “ Hello, Yan-chan. ”

    “Hello, Mr. Ghostface,” she says excitedly.

    “ Had some things I needed to do. Did I miss much? ”

    “Unfortunately yeah, but we are just about to reach the killer reveal scene.”

    “ Oh, nice ,” Mr. Ghostface says with excitement evident despite the voice changer. “ Yeah, it sucks that I had to miss it all, but as you know, this was always my favorite part of the movie. ”

    Sure enough, on screen Luke Wilson’s hurt expression shifts to one of giddy excitement as he delivers the famous line, “We all go a little mad sometime.”

    Sideny backs up in shock as Billy continues.

    “Psycho, said by Anthony Perkins. And what’s this?” he asks, rubbing some of the red stuff on his shirt his his finger, before licking it off. “Like what they used in Carrie for the pig’s blood, red dyed corn syrup.”

    Sidney turns and runs for the kitchen, only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of Vince Vaughn. “Oh, thank god, Stu! Let’s get out of here!”

    Stu doesn’t move, instead pulling a voice box out of his pocket and delivers the equally iconic line, “ Surprise Sidney. ”

    “ Surprise Sidney! ” Mr. Ghostface echo’s in a far more deliberately threatening tone, causing Ayano to laugh. “ Speaking of which, I have to tell you something! ”

    “What is it?” Ayano says, straightening up in her chair.

    “ Well, I live in the area where these killings have been happening, and at school today, you’ll never guess who we saw! ”

    “Who?” she asks, hardly paying attention.

    “ The real deal herself, Sidney Prescott! ”

    Ayano’s eyes widened at this. Not at Sidney being in a highschool over there, she saw her there with her own eyes. It’s the fact that someone who listens to her streams knows too, meaning he has to attend Akademi with her. Still, there’s a decent chance he’s in a different grade or class, so he wouldn’t connect shy Ayano Yudasei with the enthusiastic Yan-chan.

    Feigning her pause as surprise, she then says, “Really? No way!”

    “ Yes way! ” Mr. Ghostface says with a laugh. “ She even brought a few of us into a small room to give us some advice. ”

    “Really?” she asks, a bit more on edge, since he’s implying he’s one of the people who were in that room with her, where she speaks out several times, including stuff that’d show she’s a Stab fan. “What did she say? Why is she here in Japan?”

    “ No idea, and she gave us some tips to survive Ghostface killings, since the police over here have enough evidence to call this one. ”

    “What advice did she give?”

    “ Oh the simple stuff, ” he says casually. “ Don’t go in groups less than four, keep your eyes and senses open, always suspect the love interest, it’s always someone you know, don’t leave your front door unlocked when you KNOW a masked killer is running around, the killings are all connected to the pa- ”

    “Wait,” Ayano says, cutting him off, realizing that Sidney didn’t say something he claims she did, “what did you sa-”

    She herself is cut off by Tori Spelling shouting, “Fuck you!” to Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn.

    “ Love that line, ” Mr. Ghostface says, “ although it is still a bit too early. ”

    “Bit too early?” Ayano says. “What do you mean?”

    “ Isn’t that line supposed to be saved for the climax? For the big finale before the final showdown. ”

    “Yes, but we’re watching the climax right now.”

    “ I’m not talking about the movie, Yan-yan, ” Mr. Ghostface says, far less jovially than he usually is.

    Ayano’s starting to get wigged out. “Well then what do you mean by-”

    She’s cut off by the movie again, as Billy shoves Gale to the ground and knocks her unconscious.

    “ God, I love this climax, ” Mr. Ghostface says, completely ignoring Ayano’s concern.

    “Same, I guess,” Ayano says, still a bit wigged out.

    “ Which climax is your favorite among the Stab films, by the way, and how do you rank the others? ”

    “Eh,” she says, racking her brain, “probably the same as my overall film rankings.”

    “ Which are? ”

    “Dude,” Ayano says, getting a bit annoyed, “I posted that on the Stab subreddit back in June* and my opinion on them haven’t changed in the slightest. Now lets get back to what you said about-!”

    “ Want to know something interesting I saw today? ” he asks, completely cutting her off.

    “No! I want to know what you me-”

    “ Early today In saw a very lovely family portrait. Father. Mother. Son. and Daughter. ”

    “Who are you?” she asks, only to be ignored.

    “ So lovely, that I couldn’t help but share it with the whole school, along with some … OTHER things. Yearbook photos, articles, social media posts… ”

    “This isn’t fucking funny anymore!” she shouts into her computer, looking over her shoulder. 

    “ It is for me ,” he says with a little giggle. “ Lighten up a little. ”

    “Listen here, asshole! Don’t tell me to lighten up! You’re the one implying you broke into my house and stole somethi-”

    “ Oh, I didn’t steal it ,” Mr. Ghostface says. 

    “Then why was my family photo at school today?”

    “ I took it, ” he admits, “ but I left a payment. ”

    “Payment?!”

    “ Yeah. It’s in the basement. ” He pauses for dramatic effect. “ You should head down there and see what I got you… ”

    His next word causes the hairs on the back of her neck to rise.

    “ Ayano! ”

    She immediately moves her mouse and clicks on the button, ending the stream entirely, much to the confused and slightly concerned chatroom.

    She tries to slow her breathing, but naturally, finds that task quite difficult.

    Mr. Ghostface, someone who she’s trusted in anonymity for almost a whole year has betrayed her trust. Threatening her, breaking into her house, stealing something from her, and exposed her name to all of her listeners, making it even easier to connect her to Ryoba Aishi.

    Then there’s the fact that this guy knows her name, goes to her school, where she lives, the fact that she was the daughter of Aishi even before the expose at school, and was in the same room as her with Sidney. 

    There’s no way this act was a spur of the moment action by a random individual, this shit was premeditated, based on how long Mr. Ghostface was chatting with Ayano, and also almost certainly the man responsible for these attacks.

    And then there were his final words, that he left something in her basement specifically for her to find. She tenses up as she realizes that, even if she calls the police, she’d have no evidence beyond the chat, which is unarchived as is site rules, meaning she’ll have to go down there.

    Knowing full well this was a stupid idea, Ayano takes a deep breath and heads for her bedroom door, opening it slowly and edging out of her room.

    She takes each step down her stairs slowly and carefully, making sure her tread is silent. She reaches the ground floor and turns her head to the basement door, barely fighting off the urge to run away screaming.

    Ayano then begins to walk towards the basement, though not before arming herself with a kitchen knife. Her free hand shaking profusely, she grabs hold of the doorknob and slowly begins to turn it. With great hesitation, she begins to descend into the dimly lit basement, even flicking the light switch doesn’t do much..

    She turns her head immediately, the stairs going down facing away from most of the room, so she’s pretty on edge as she takes each step slowly.

    Making it halfway down, she leans over the edge of the stairs, pointing the knife down it with one hand, and her phones flashlight with the other. Sans a few chairs, boxes on shelves and on the floor, a broom and shovel, a wooden ladder, various tools on the shelves, a spare bike wheel, two old metal bed frames, the old coal boiler that hasn’t been used in decades, and the two metal poles going floor to ceiling, and nothing else. Not a soul.

    She slowly walks back upstairs, knife still pointed down in case someone’s hiding. Reaching the ground floor again, she slams the door shut, rests her back against it, and let’s out a sigh of relief.

BANG !

    Ayano turns around in a jolt, seeing Ghostface burst from the closet further down the hall. He turns and charges at her, knife raised. Thinking fast, Ayano grabs the door and slams it open against the killer's face, knocking them to the ground.

    However, the force of the killer's body running into the door pushes it back a bit, knocking Ayano back and knocking her own blade from her grasp. She attempts to go for it, but the killer manages to grab and pull at her leg, knocking the girl to the ground, just barely out of arms reach of the knife. 

    The killer rises onto their knees, still holding Ayano’s leg with one hand, hunting knife in the other. He turns the girls onto her back and raises the knife, ready to bring it down.

    With all the strength a slightly overweight seventeen year old Japanese girl could muster, Ayano kicks the killer in the chest with her free leg, pushing them back a bit and to release her leg.

    Pulling herself back to her feet with the counter, Ayano turns her head to see the killer rapidly regaining their feet as well. To her dismay, the ruckus pushed the kitchen knife further away from reach, and the time it’d take to get it would be enough for the killer to be back on her. Thinking fast, she grabs the toaster and yanks it from the wall. She turns back to see the killer charging at her, knife raised. She hurls the appliance at them, hitting them in the face and upper chest, pushing them back and a slightly feminine grunt of pain is heard.

    Seizing the opportunity, Ayano rushes towards her front door and attempts to pull it open. Unfortunately, it’s locked, and it takes her a few seconds of struggling and panicking to realize. Once she does, she attempts to unlock her door, but is forced to turn her head at the sounds of footsteps. 

    She dodges just in time as the killer charges at her, the knife embedding itself into the door. Ayano rushes to the base of the stairs and stands there panting, attempting to catch her breath, keeping her eyes on the robes assailant as they attempt to free their knife from the door.

    Sliding the blade out of the wooden door, the killer slowly turns his head to her, allowing her a good look at the Ghostface mask. Swapping their grip on the knife, they raise their hands wide to their sides, letting the square arm tatters flow free. Leaning forwards slightly, the killer then begins advancing on the girl.

    Ayano reaches around for anything to defend herself. She quickly finds and grabs hold of an old ugly vase with fake flowers that belonged to her mothers family.

    “FUCKER!” she shouts as she throws the vase at the killer, shattering it against their head and knocking them to the ground.

    Ayano promptly turns and rushes up the stairs, despite knowing how bad an idea heading up stairs is in these things. Not like she has any other choice. 

    She runs through the hall and into her room, slamming her door shut and locking it. She then quickly runs to the side of and pushes her drawer towards the door. Despite not being very song, it’s in front of the door in a matter of seconds. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug.

    Good timing too, as the second she’s done, Ayano heard footsteps rapidly heading up the stairs, forcing her to back up from her door, still breathing heavily.

    The door knob starts to wiggle, first lightly, then forcefully as the killer realizes that it’s locked. The wiggling door knob escalates to pounding on the door, as whoever is behind it really wants in.

    “GO AWAY!” Ayano shouts, patting her pant pockets. “I’m calling the fucking police!”

    Then her eyes widen as she realizes. During the commotion downstairs, she must’ve dropped her phone in the kitchen. 

    “Fuck,” she whispers, not wanting to embolden the killer further. She scans the room, desperate for something to help her situation, before she looks to her computer. 

    She edges towards it as quickly and quietly as possible. She holds her mic right up to her mouth as she starts another chat. To her immense relief, her chat started being active almost immediately. Apparently, most of her listeners were concerned with her stream abruptly ending, and many ask if she’s alright.

    “Okay listen, chat,” she whispers, glancing at her bedroom door every few seconds, “I don’t have long. Someone’s attempting to break into my room and I don’t have my phone. Those of you in the Tokyo area, I need you to call the police ASAP. I live in Buraza town. If the person answering is a woman, tell her that her son’s friend Ayano is in trouble and needs help.”

    She then looks back up at her door, and lets out a sigh of relief at the knob no longer shaking, and the pounding stopped. Then she hears the faint sound of footsteps and the shuffling of furniture, and realizes that the killer is looking for a key in her fathers room.

    She turns back to the computer to search for a more direct way of contacting the police. She looks over for a second, before she sees a notification from Facebook.

“Deputy Aia Taku make a post”

    Ayano breaths a huge sigh of relief, thankful that all those years of being teased by her old friend for having Facebook were worth it. She clicks the notification, in which Officer Taku says that her station has been getting a lot of calls brought by some streamer named Yan-Chan, and immediately comments.

They were from me, Mrs. Taku!

I’m being attacked in my home!

They were wearing a Ghostface mask!

Send Help!

    Not even a second passes before Officer Taku responds with a “ Be right there ” and good timing too, cause now the footsteps are getting closer again.

    She then hears the sound of something being inserted into her door knob, followed by a click. She rises up from her chair as the door begins to open, only to be caught by the drawer. 

    Still, it’s open enough, and Ayano screams as the killer pokes one of their arms through the crack, flailing wildly to grab at her. She backs as far as she dares, looking around for anything to defend herself or help her escape.

    Her gaze finds the window and she rushes towards it, attempting to pry it open, adrenaline pumping through her veins. The sound of the killer pushing against the door only causes her to push harder, not caring if she breaks anything.

    She finally opens it enough to attempt to slide out of it, which she promptly does so. It’s a tight squeeze, mostly around her gut and waist, and she pushes with all her might. 

    “C’mon!” she shouts as the squeeze becomes particularly tight, her afraid she’s gotten stuck in a very vulnerable position. 

    The sound of something wooden breaking causes her to scream again, and she gives one last push with all of her strength, fully freeing herself, and her legs are quickly out the window.

    She turns and grabs onto the roof and begins to pull herself up, briefly glancing back into her room and seeing Ghostface leap over her knocked over drawer and charging towards her.

    She barely pulls her legs out of the way as the killer lunges towards them, their upper torso jutting out the window.

    Seizing the opportunity, Ayano brings her legs back down, kicking the killer on the back, sending them fully out the window. They fall the two stories, letting out a distinctively feminine grunt as they impact the ground and as Ayano fully pulls herself onto the room.

    A bit more safe now, she lays there, catching her breath. placing a hand on her stomach, she says between breaths, “I need to lay off the pizza.”

    After a few seconds of just panting, she rises onto her knees and peers over her roof. She sees the killer, still dazed and hurt from the fall, get back up to their feet. Then they look up at Ayaon, no doubt shooting a look of pure hatred from beneath the mask.

    They stare each other down for around a minute, until they both start hearing the faint sounds of police sirens. Ayano turns her head in the direction the sounds are coming from, seeing flashing police lights in the distance getting closer. Looking back down, she sees the killer has vanished, though turning the other way she does catch the back of the black cloak disappearing from behind her backyard fence. 

    She smacks herself on the forehead for being a dumbass, before turning back ot her front yard as she sees the police car pull up in front of her house.

    “I’m up here!” she shouts, rising up and waving her arms. “The killer went that way!”

    “I see you,” Officer Taku’s voice calls back, “I’ll be up there in a sec. I’ll send a squad car to attempt to cut them off!” There’s a brief pause, then the police lady shouts, “Permission to break down your door?”

    “Granted!” Ayano shouts back down.

    She looks down at the ground, waiting for Officer Taku to poke her head out of the window, when she sees another person walk into her view.

    Round glasses, spiky navy hair and stubble, and his usual pair of headphones around his neck.

    “Are you okay?” Gema asks, looking up at her.

    “Yeah,” Ayano responds, “I’m not hurt.” Then her expression of relief turns to confusion. “What are you doing here?”

    “Mom said you were in trouble, so I tagged along to make sure you were fine!” he shouts back up at her.

    But this doesn’t calm her in the slightest. If anything, it makes her a bit suspicious. After all, it’s a staple of Stab films that one of the killers arrive on the scene shortly after the other attacks the protagonist in costume. But she doesn’t voice her suspicions, instead just saying, “Thanks for the concern.”

    It’s then when Officer Taku pokes her head out the window. “I’ll help you back in, okay?”

    “Okay,” Ayano responds as the woman slides her head back into the room, sticking her arms out. Following suit, Ayano swings her legs over the roof and begins to lower herself down. The police lady grabs her legs and begins to pull her into the bedroom. It’s much easier to slide in with someone else helping, and without the added stress of a killer about to break in, so she’s back in her room in no time.

    “Thanks for the help,” she says, her breathing having calmed down enough.

    “You’re a good friend to my son, of course I’d help,” Officer Taku says as she begins to walk Ayano back out of her partially destroyed bedroom door. “I’ll have to phone your father, given the decent amount of property damage. Speaking of,” she says, handing Ayano her cellphone, “you might need this.”

    “Thanks,” she says, taking it. “Officer Taku?”

    “Yeah?”

    “I’m scared to sleep here,” she says with a light quiver.

    “Well, since my colleagues will have to sweep the place for evidence, it being a crime scene and all, you probably won’t be able to stay here anyway. You can stay the night at our place,” she says as they leave the house, Gema waiting for them beside the cop car. “How about that?”

    Not wanting the officer to know she’s suspicious of her son, Ayano just says,”That’ll be fine, yeah.”

    “Okay then, Gema, open the door for our guest for the night.”

    Gema does as he’s told and opens the back door of the cop car, Officer Taku helping Ayano inside.

    The second the door closes, Ayano lays down on the seats as the Taku’s enter the car themselves.

    A minute into the drive, Ayano’s phone vibrates.

    Pulling it out, she reads the text.

Unknown Number: Happy Birthday, Yudasei

Unknown Number: See you again soon ;)

Unknown Number: - Mr. GF

Chapter Text

Vroom

    It is fairly early into the night when the limo pulls up to the Saikou mansion, causing Sidney and Mark, who were waiting outside, to walk up to it.

    The Chauffeur parks the limo and walks around to open the door, letting the two still excited girls out, both decked out in pokemon memorabilia and other tourist purchases.

    “Mommy! Mommy!” Tatum shouts as she and Hallie run up to Sid, who crouches down to them. “We had so much fun today!”

    “We were so high!” Hallie says, jumping up and down.

    “I took them to the Skytree, pokemon center, the imperial palace,” the Chauffeur says as he passes the two year old boy.

    “Did they behave?” he asks as he takes Randy.

    “Of course,” the Chauffeur says with a nod. “You’ve raised these kids well.”

    “Well, we try,” Sidney says, before looking down at her daughters. “So I take it you’re enjoying Japan?”

    The two girls nod excitedly. “I hope we stay a long time!” Hallie shouts.

    “I don’t know about that,” Mark says, causing the two to groan. “But we’ll make sure you enjoy what time you have here.”

    “When was the last time they ate?” Sidney says, standing up and looking back at the Chauffeur.

    “We had our last meal at lunchtime,” he says, “though I think they might have gorged themselves on the snack I keep in the back.”

    “She did it!” the two girls say, pointing to each other.

    “Well,” Mark says, turning back to the mansion, “I hope you’re not too overstuffed, cause the Saikou’s say they have the best chefs in the country on payroll.” He starts walking towards the entrance of the mansion, Tatum and Hallie following. He turns back to Sid, seeing she’s not moving, and shoots a confused look.

    “I’ll be with you in a second,” she says, which satisfies him enough. As he resumes his walk, Sid turns back to the Chauffeur. “Thanks again for doing this for me.”

    “It’s no problem,” he says, lowering his gaze. “It’s an honor for me to show your children the beauty of my country.”

    “I know.” She pauses for a second, before asking, “If possible, can you do this again tomorrow, and every day for as long as we are here?”

    “Absolutely, Mrs. Prescott,” he says. “Though I do wonder why.”

    “It’s just that … I don’t want the children around with all this happening. I mean, we know for sure the killer’s come back, and I don’t want them in the crossfire. Being around me is dangerous enough, and being a relative is far worse.”

    “I understand,” the man says with a nod. “I have a kid of my own, a son, and I’d do whatever it takes to keep him safe.”

    “Appreciate it,” Sidney says with a nod, before turning and walking towards the mansion. “Same as today, drop me, Mark, and Megami at Akademi, drop Ichirou off at his work place, and keep the kids as far away from Buraza as possible!” she shouts, turning her head back to him.

    The man gives her a wave in response, before turning and walking back to the limo.

    “Children,” Sayuri Saikou announces from the dining room in one of her fine dresses, “supper has been prepared!”

    “Coming, mother!” the voice of Megami shouts from upstairs as the Prescott-Kincaids enter the dining room.

    “So, was today productive,” Ichirou Saikou asks as they enter.

    “Well, we had the potential suspects among the students narrowed down,” Sidney says as Mark hands her Randy. As she begins to slide him into the preset baby chair, she continues, “Of course, it’s not certain that the killers are high schoolers, but it’s a good place to start looking.”

    “Nothing happened to your daughter either,” Mark says with a nod, “and as long as she heeds my wife’s advice of staying out of trouble, I doubt anything will.”

    “You don’t need to be concerned about Megami getting into trouble,” Mr. Saikou says with a slight grin and a nod, “From the way I raised her, I expect perfection from her. And with your skill set and experience, even with Prescott's presence potentially putting a target on her, I’m assured she’ll be fine.”

    “Thank you,” Mark says as he and Sidney take their seats either side of the table next to Ichiro, although Sid leaves a seat open next to him for Megami, while Tatum and Hallie sit next to their dad, and Randy’s toddler chair beside Sid. Sayuri sits at the other head of the table, a servant already pouring her a glass of red wine. 

    As they are seated, Megami enters the room, still dressed formally, but a bit more casually. She’s sporting a shin length navy blue dress and long sleeved, frilled white blouse. She’s also noticeably happier, even sporting a small smile as opposed to her usual neutral expression.

    “Hello father, mother, guests,” she says as she takes her seat beside her father and Sidney. “Class was as productive as it could be without any actual lessons.”

    “Police questioned the whole school,” Mark says, turning to Mr. Saikou, “and Sidney wanted to talk to the students.”

    “Warn them about what I’ve gone through and what they should expect,” she continues. “And I narrowed down the students who are possibly targets or killers. Learn their names and everything.”

    “I see,” Ichirou says as the servant fills his wine glass. “Care for some?” he asks, gesturing to their wine glasses.

    “I’d rather not,” Mark says. “I don’t really drink.”

    “None for me either,” Sidney says, brushing the servant off. “I want to keep my mind sharp.”

    “Understandable,” Mr. Saikou says, waving the servant off. 

    Sidney then glances around the room, noticing someone’s missing. “Don’t you have a son, too. Ichirou?” she asks.

    “Ah, yes, almost forgot,” he says, before turning towards the open dining room doors. “Kencho! Get down here! Dinner is ready!”

    “That boy,” Sayuri says with audible disappointment, shaking her head.

    “Is something wrong?” Mark asks her.

    “Boy’s troubled,” Ichirou answers for his wife. “But it’s family tradition to have two children. An Heir and a spare.”

    “Like most ancient European royalty?” Sidney asks.

    “Exactly! I myself am the second child after my older sister ran off and was disowned. Kencho would serve the same purpose if Megami did the same.”

    “Which I never will,” the girl says with a nod. “Nothing would bring me more shame than to harm my family in any way.”

    “See…” he says, gesturing towards her. “This is how you raise a child. Kencho, on the other hand…”

    “We tried everything,” Mrs. Saikou continues, “but the kid’s just so rude and disrespectful, not to mention lazy and informal.”

    Sid and Mark turn and lock eyes, which is all they need to convey their thoughts. They both have similar ideas of why exactly the boy is the way he is, but obviously neither of them voice them, with their hosts clearly in view and all.

    It didn’t even matter anyways, as just now the boy enters the room, slouched over, visibly annoyed, and haphazardly shoving his phone into his pocket.

    “You’re late,” Ichirou says sterly as he takes his seat on the other side of Randy’s baby chair, beside his mother.

    “I was busy,” Kencho says curtly.

    “With what?” his mother asks.

    “Listening to Yan-chan, and-”

    “I told you,” his father says, cutting him off, “you need to stop watching these streamers and focus on what’s actually important.”

    “Who cares!” he says, throwing his arms out. “We’re rich! And it’s not like I’ll need to prepare to inherit the company. Not with little Miss Perfect over there,” he says, gesturing in a rude way towards to is older sister, who shoots him a glare. “Beside, something interesting happened while she was streaming, and I-”

    “But you need to be prepared in case something goes wrong!” he shouts back, scaring the little kids and causing toddler Randy to start crying, causing Sid to pick him up and start coddle him. “My father did the same even when Ichiko was still heir, and I intend on doing the same wi-”

    “Wait,” Sindey says, raising her free hand towards him, before turning to the boy, “what do you mean by something interesting?”

    “Well today's apparently the girl, Yan-chan’s, birthday, and as a celebration, she was watching the first Stab movie. Near the end, a guy with a Ghostface voice changer started chatting with her, before vaguely threatening her. She shut it off just as he called her “Ayano.””

    That confirms it fully. She had recognized the girls voice from her meeting at Akademi that day and basically already deduced that she was girl behind the Yan-chan persona she hear last night. Hearing that she was addressed as such on stream was enough.

    “A few minutes later,” Kencho continues, “she came back on, and she was panicking and I swear I could hear banging noises in the background. She told us to call the police in Buraza town, and then-”

    “I’d love to continue this chat, I really do,” Mr. Saikou says, again cutting his son off, “but as you can clearly see, dinner is served.”

    He raises his arm to the other side of the room, where several servers walk in holding large silver plates. As they lay them down on the table and pull off the lids, Sid and Mark make eye contact again, him with a look of concern.

    With utter confidence, Sidney just says quietly, “She’s fine. I know it.”

    With food on the table, conversation calms down a bit. Aside from Tatum and Hallie reacting to the new foods, the room was mostly silent as they ate.

    Well, there was also the fact that young Randy was still sobbing, and it was starting to be a distraction.

    Rising from her seat, Sidney says, “I’ll take care of him,” before taking the two year out out of the toddler chair and into the next room.

    It’s a small room, and to Sidney’s left there was a small bar jutting out from beside the opposite door from the wall, with a few shelves filled with alcohol glasses behind it against both walls. To her right is a stairwell that she was told leads to a wine cellar with even more of the stuff.

    She walks behind the bar and begins to rock the baby, while softly shushing him to calm him down.

    She goes as this for a few minutes, and only stops when she feels her phone vibrate. Pulling it out, she reads who’s calling

Gale Weathers is calling…

    Of course, she’d be calling now. In New York, it’d be the morning of the 28th, while here in Japan it was the evening.

    She presses answer, then holds it against her ear as she cranes her head to hold the phone with her shoulder, both arms back to caring for young Randy.

    “Hello, Sidney,’ the voice of reporter and fellow survivor Gale Weathers comes from the phone.

    “Hey Gale,” Sid says back. “Saw your interview from today … or last night from your perspective.”

    “I know, it’s weird being in such different time zones. The anniversary just started for me in New York and is about to end for you in Japan. Speaking of, how have the kids been enjoying it over there?”

    “Oh they’re having a blast. Never seen Tates and Hal as excited as they’ve been for the past day and a half.”

    “Well, when you put them to bed, tell them Gale said goodnight from NYC.”

    “I will,” Sid says with a light laugh, before both she and Gale go silent.

    The silence persists for a good minute or two, neither woman really wanting to address the elephant in the room, it not only being the anniversary of Maureen Prescott's murder and the original Woodsboro massacre, but also of last years killings at Woodsboro, including one very specific person.

    Finally breaking the silence, Sid says, “How have you been holding up?”

    With audible pain in her voice, Gale says, “It’s been hard, that’s for sure. But I’ll live, I always do, even when it’s rough.”

    “I miss him too, Gale. Not only was he the older brother of my best friend, but a good friend in his own right, especially with the connection the three of us formed after all these years.”

    “I know,” Gale says between bated breaths, “not a day goes by where I don’t think of him, of what I could’ve done to prevent it. I still keep his ashes on my nightstand.”

    Sidney’s no stranger to that sort of sentiment. In her and Mark's house, she has a small shrine dedicated to all her friends and family members she’s lost over the years. A photograph of her mother Maureen, a family photo of Maureen and her sister Kate, a group photo of Sidney, Randy Meeks, Tatum Riley, Billy and Stu by Woodsboro High’s fountain, the urn of Tatum’s ashes (given to her by Dewey in his will), a snapshot of Sid visiting Randy in his hospital room after getting the bullet removed from his shoulder, a picture of her and Hallie McDaniel hanging out on Windsor College campus, a receipt for the restaurant she went on her first date with Derek Feldman, hanging from it a necklace of his Greek letters Omega Kappa Beta, a low quality snapshot of the cast of the Woodsboro High production of Peter Pan, with Sidney as Tiger Lily and another classmate, Judy Hicks, as a lost boy, as well as her police badge and a typed recipe for her lemon squares, a screenshot of her and Cotton Weary’s interview with Diane Sawyer, and at the centerpiece of it all was a photograph of her, Gale and Dewey taken in the aftermath of the original killings.

    “Wish I could be over there with you,” Sid says, maintaining composure, “Though with Mr. Saikou’s offer paying us more than Colbert’s, it makes more sense for us to be here. Still, if Mark’s job is over with quickly, we can still head over there.”

    “How is his job going by the way?” Gale asks, attempting to change the subject from the pain both women feel.

    “Alright,” Sid says with some hesitation, “nothing much happened. The girl he’s payed to protect hasn’t been attacked at all, so all's good over here.”

    “Everything is fine with you over there, right Sid?”

    There’s a pause.

    “Right,” Sidney says.

    “Sid,” Gale says sternly, something seeming off by the tone of her voice. “Is there something I should know?”

    She lets out a sigh. “It’s happening again,” she says quietly.

    “WHAT!” Gale shouts almost loud enough for the people in the other room to hear.

    “Three attacks already with a possible fourth one. Four dead, another in the hospital.”

    “Well you gotta get out of there now!” Gale yells. “I already lost the love of my life, I cannot lose you too!”

    “I can’t just leave these kids here to fend for themselves,” Sid says defensively. “They’re scared and looking for help. I can't do nothing.”

    “Well then I’ll head over there! I can’t allow you and Mark to deal with this shit alone.”

    “Gale, listen. I don’t want you coming over here and doing something reckless, especially given your current state.”    

    “But…”

    “I’m already keeping the kids as far from Buraza as possible for as long as possible. Me and Mark will find out who this batch of psycho’s are and make sure they won’t live to see next Halloween. We already have the suspect list narrowed down to twenty five students, not to mention…” she pauses, glancing back at the door to the dinning area, “I don’t really trust these Saikou people, especially their patriarch, Ichirou.”    

    “You don’t?”

    “Mark is hired by them to guard their eldest daughter on the same night two girls end up killed just like Casey Becker, and they insisted on the whole family coming with him. Doesn’t that sound suspicious?”

    “A little, yeah,” Gale responds.

    “But anyways, we’ve got it under control over here. Please don’t come over to Japan, and don’t tell anyone else about what’s going on over here too. Not Sam, not Tara, not Kirby, not anyone. I don’t want any of them to put themselves in harms way for me. Not anymore.”    

    There’s a brief pause, no doubt as Gale considers, but after a bit she does say, “Alright, Sid, but be careful!”

    “I will,” she says, “I’ll be fine. Cause at the end of the day, no matter what new faces come and go, these are my movies, and I’ll always survive.”

    “I know,” Gale says, “but still, good luck.”

    “Thanks,” Sidney says, after which Gale hangs up the phone.

    Ir’s just then when someone opens the door behind her, startling her. Turning around, she sees Megami standing in the doorway.

    “You were taking a while,” she says as Sidney relaxes a little bit, “so father asked me to see what you’re up too.”

    Sidney sighs, before saying, “Well, tell him I’ll be back out in a minute.”    

    Megami nods, before turning and heading back out to the dining room, leaving Sidney alone again

    After dinner, the Prescott-Kindaids retreated to their rooms on the second floor. Sid and Mark tuck Tatum and Hallie into their beds in their room, before heading two doors down to their own room. Mark unloads and disassembles his gun, but Sid keeps her locked and loaded, stuffing it under her pillow.

    Despite her doing this throughout their marriage, this time it comes off as a little odd to Mark. “You didn’t do that last night,” he says with a light chuckle.

    “Well, last night I didn’t know for sure that the killer was back,” she says back sternly, though with a hint of playfulness as she puts baby Randy into his crib. “Gotta be prepared for the worst.”

    “I doubt whoever is doing this will be able to get access to this place. I mean look at it,” he says, taking a seat on the bed. “Doubt anyone would be brave or stupid enough to try.”

    “Well you’ve only met one of the nine killers, so I see why you’d think that.”

    “Still,” he says, gesturing for her to join him, which she does, “you’ve survived enough of these to the point where you shouldn’t be scared about your life.”    

    “I’m not scared about me,” Sidney says, “I’m scared for the kids. Last year, they were far enough away from the action for me to be calm, but now they’re right here. I’m scared they’ll be targeted. I’m always scared of that. I’m horrified at the prospect that a wannabe killer will target them to make a ‘Next Generation Stab Film’, or even worse, one of them will want my fame and attempt to replicate it themselves. It’s why I didn’t want kids until I knew it was all over.”

    “Yeah,” Mark says with a nod, “and it’s why we split up the first time.”

    “You know, after my book tour, I was planning on talking to you again, to start over, since I was putting it all behind me. Then Jill happened, made me scared again.”

    “But I was still there for you when it was done,” Mark says, placing his hands on her shoulders, “and I’ll be there with you to protect the kids through all of this. You have my word on it.”

    Sid lowers her head slightly. “I know,” she says.

    Suddenly there’s a loud pair of screams, causing the two to jolt up in an instant, Sidney already withdrawing her gun and heading for the hallway. She charges two rooms over and throws open the door, flicking on the lights and seeing her visibly terrified daughters.

    “What happened!” Sid shouts as Mark runs up beside her with his own gun drawn. 

    Both girls point at the closet door. “There’s a monster in there,” a wide eyed Hallie says.

    Sidney's face scrunches up a bit, and she promptly marches right in front of the closet door.

    “Mommy! Don’t go over there!” Tatum shouts desperately.

    “Mark,” Sidney says coldly, staring down the door with a furious intensity, “I want you to take the kids to our room.”

    Nodding, Mark turns to the girls and says, “Well, Tats’, Hals, since you’re scared, you’ll be sleeping with mommy and daddy tonight,” and begins to lead them out of the room. 

    As they leave, another person approaches the room.

    “What’s going on here,” Megami says as she walks past Mark and the kids, “I heard screaming?”

    “Something scared the kids,” Mark says to her, “Sidney’s checking the closet to see if they’re any monsters.”

    Megami walks into the room and lingers at the doorway, looking at Sidney looking at the closet door.

    “You don’t really think there’s anything in there, do you?” she asks after a second.

    Sidney sighs. “When you’ve been through this shit enough times, you can never be to careful when it comes to shit like this.”

    “I mean,” Megami says with a shrug, “I guess that makes sense. But with the amount of protection Saikou Manor has, it’s next to impossible for anyone to break in, let alone someone in the conspicuous attire of a Ghostface costume.”

    “I know that,” Sidney says, raising her gun to the closet door, “better safe than sorry.”

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

    “Ah!” Megami shouts, covering her ears from Sid's gun firing thrice into the closet. “Jesus fucking Christ! Why did you feel the need to do that?”

    “These are the things you learn naturally when you’re someone like me,” she says, turning slightly towards Megami. “If you survive this, you’ll learn stuff like this too, especially since they’ll keep on coming for you.”

    “Kept coming for you, for twenty seven years.” She then looks down and lets out a quiet noise that, while hard to tell for Sidney, could indicate a sign of light fear. “That's going to be my fate, isn’t it?” she asks, looking back up at her.

    “If we don’t put an end to this now,” Sidney says, holding up her gun. 

    Megami lets out a breath, before saying, “You know, I’m not a big fan of those Stab films. Brother basically forces us to watch all eight of them constantly. And while I never found much that was special, the one thing I could find … was you. Your story.” Sid starts to turn more towards the girl. “Surviving this many times, both in real life and in the films. It’s fascinating. A real life horror movie final girl. And if everything goes to shit, and I’m the one these guys are after, at least I’ll have someone to give me something none of my years of self defense training, or preparations to take over Saikou Corp could teach me.”

    Fully turning to her, Sid says, “That being?”

    “The survivors' instinct.” she says with a light smirk.

    Sid, smirking back, says, “Well, with the survivors instinct, you gotta make sure that the killer is dead.” She turns back to the closet door and slides it open a bit, enough to cover the rough area where she shot and sees nothing but clothes hanging and piles on the floor, some torn by bullets.

    “Coast clear,” Sidney says, letting go of the door and turning to the silver haired girl.

    “So you shot my closet for nothing?” she asks dryly.

    Turning and beginning to walk past her, Sidney says, “Dock the damages from what Mark’s being paid…”

    “ THINK AGAIN! ”

    Sidney promptly turns, seeing Ghostface emerge from a crouched position from the closet, immediately charging at her. 

    She immediately pushes Megami back with her free hand and points her gun at the killer. However, as he approaches, he pushes her hand forcefully, knocking the gun out of her grasp as he raises the knife at her with his off hand. 

    Sid immediately stops it with her free hand, quickly grabbing his arm with her other hand. Turning back to Megami, she yells, “Run!” before turning back and kneeing him in the crotch.

    He lets out a groan of pain and lowers both his arms, allowing Sid to grab his shoulders and toss him onto Hallie’s bed, which he promptly rolls off of. Sid turns and attempts to grab the gun, but the killer quickly regains his footing, at which he promptly leaps over the bed and slams his arms into her back, knocking her to the floor and causing Megami to back up to the doorway. 

    He turns her onto her back and wraps his hand around her neck, attempting to choke her out, holding her down with his body weight (which really isn’t that much more than hers). He lets her struggle for a few seconds, before slowly raising his hunting knife over her, ready to bring it down.

    It’s here when Megami decides to act. She turns, eyes a book laying on the dresser, and rushes for it. Picking it up, she shouts, “Hey, fucker!” before hurling it at him.

    It hits between his shoulders and the killer lets out another masculine grunt, before turning towards the silver haired girl, letting go of Sidney’s neck and allowing her to breathe again.

    “Oh shit,’ she says as she begins to back away.

    The killer rises and begins to advance on her, raising his knife to strike. Megami screams and raises her arms to protect her head. 

    Ghostface brings the knife down, slicing her across the forearm, and kicks her in the torso, knocking her back against the hallway railing overlooking the foyer. He slowly starts stalking his way towards her, swapping to and underhand grip as he raising the blade above his head.

    Recovering from her partial asphyxiation, Sidney rises up and, knowing Megami is in danger and not being able to locate her gun, rushes to the door frame and sees the killer about to strike her.

    She charges, pushing into him and knocking him over the railing. He apparently did a full flip as he fell, as he landed on his stomach. 

    Sid then turns to Megami and says, “Stay here,” before returning to the bedroom. She looks for and finds her gun, and heads back to the hallway. She peers over the balcony again, seeing the killer on his hands and knees, attempting to get back to his feet after the two story fall.

    Sid shoots him in the back twice, knocking him onto his stomach again. She then turns to Megami and asks, “Are you okay?”

    In response, the girl holds up her arm for Sid to see. Grabbing it, she examines the cut. Slightly angled but still going from end to end, the cut’s not too deep and only bleeding lightly. There’s also some light bruising in the area of the cut, but that’s not the priority.

    “Not too deep,” Sid says, letting go of her arm. “Some bandages should do the trick. You’ll be fine.”

    “Am I?” Megami asks, with some genuine concern.

    Placing her hand on the girls shoulder, she says, “As long as you’re with me and Mark.”    

    Speaking of which, Mark, gun drawn arrives on the scene, Mr. and Mrs. Saikou on his trail, Ichirou armed with his own fancy silver gun.

    “The kids are safe. Sid, are you and Megami okay?” Mark asks.

    “What happened here?” Ichirou demands.

    “Megami, why are you bleeding?” Sayuri asks.

    “The killer was in the closet,” Sidney says as Mark rushes up beside her and the Saikous help their daughter back to her feet. “Knocked him off the balcony and shot him twice. Megami got her arm sliced, but nothing serious.”

    “Where is this man?!” Mr. Saikou says sternly, almost ready to kill a bitch.

    Sid gestures over the edge of the railing, at which Ichirou peers over, and his angry expression turns to one of fear, causing the rest to do the same.

    The killer was not on the ground directly under the railing anymore. Instead, seemingly after shrugging off two gunshots to the back, he’s now standing just outside the doors to Saikou Manor, peering his head and upper torso into the building.

    Looking up at them, he eyes Sidney directly, gives her a cheeky wave, before slipping out of the mansion, shutting the door as he goes.

Chapter Text

Beep! … Beep! … Beep!

    Despite her phone alarm beeping loudly, it didn’t wake Ayano up.

    Probably has to do with the fact that she’s already awake, having been so for hours, limbs tightly wrapped around the small pillow on the Taku household couch, shaking.

    She had barely slept a wink last night, and it’s hard to blame her. Most people would be terrified to close their eyes after being attacked by the horror icon they’ve been watching since they were little, especially when that horror icon could be literally anyone.

    She also spent a lot of her time pondering over her attack, from Mr. Ghostface’s call to the killer falling out the window and fleeing, and one thing sticks out in her mind. The fact that he, or, considering the very feminine grunts the killer made, she attacked in a very peculiar manner. Despite many opportunities to deliver a killing, or at least immobilizing, blow, she didn’t take it. Not because the killer is incompetent.

    …

    …

    …

    Okay she is, all the killers are to an extent, but that’s not what Ayano’s thinking about. It’s the fact that they all seemed very deliberate, which can only mean one thing.

    Ayano’s their primary target.

    It’s something she’s suspected, what with her family secret being exposed and a clear target being put on her as a prime suspect, but last night confirms it, with Mr. Ghostface’s taunts and explicit mention of breaking into her house.

    Which brings up the elephant in the room. Mr. Ghostface, someone she’s chatted with, even trusted, for months had not only betrayed her trust, but was planning this for months. Obviously a killing spree isn’t thought up in a day, but the only thing even close to this in the Stab films was Mickey infiltrating Sid’s friend group in the second one, but this felt more perverse. Mostly cause, while Mickey had the tough job of integrating into this college and adult friend group in person, all Mr. Ghostface had to do was charm one somewhat emotionally vulnerable sixteen year old girl from behind the screen, and by god did he take advantage of her. Getting her to talk to him about her struggles, her school life, her crush.

    Her crush…?

    Her mind then wanders to Taro Yamada, and how thoroughly he’s probably fucked. Mr. Ghostface 100% knew who Yan-chan was from the start, and since he’s at least from the same school, it wouldn’t be hard to connect the boy she’s crushing on to Taro. And since he’s both had the girl sitting next to him murdered and his best friend taken into police custody under suspicious circumstances, he’s for sure being targeted to, and it’s all her fault.

    Her mind is so busy that she doesn’t even notice a plate of toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a glass of milk being set on the coffee table in front of her.

    “Take it you’ve slept well,” Aia says, taking a seat on the lounge chair beside the sofa, causing Ayano to rise and grab the toast.

    “What do you think?” Ayano says, rubbing her eyes with her free hand as she takes a bite.

    “Listen,” Officer Taku says, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder, “I know you’re scared. I’m scared for my son, too. But the thing is, you’re not going to suffer through this alone. You have us to protect you.”

    “But they’ll all think it’s me!” Ayano shouts back, “with that bitch Musume and the fucking Basu sisters spreading the word that it’s me. Everyone believes I’m doing this!”

    “I don’t,” she says, “and more importantly, neither does Sidney. Trust me when I say, when word spreads of your attack, everyone will believe you’re innocent.”

    “Really?”

    “Absolutely.”

    Ayano looks down at her plate, pondering. Looking back up at the woman, she asks, “Officer Taku?”

    “Hmm?”

    “Have you ever met my mother?”

    Aia Taku looks down at her own mug of coffee for a few seconds. Letting out a sigh, she says, “You need to understand that I was a first year during her graduating year, which means that we really didn’t interact all that much while all that was going on.”

    Still, Ayano was persistent in hearing a perspective of her mom from her high school days. She leans closer, silently asking for more, to which Officer Taku acquiesces.

    “The reason everybody believes that she was innocent, aside from Shi Saitozaki’s testimony being in her favor, was the fact that her committing an act of murder was completely out of character for her.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Ryoba Aishi was a model student,” she says. “She was beautiful, charming, friendly to those around her, top marks on all of her classes, and was very respected by her peers. Could’ve given Ichiko Saikou a run for her money as class president if she ran. But she was humble, and decided not to. She had many friends, and many admirers. Probably could’ve gotten any boy she wanted with no issue, had the boy she wanted not been Jokichi Yudasei…”

    “Because he was already dating another girl?” Ayano asks, to which Taku nods.

    “When Sumire Saitozaki was killed, no one had any suspicion on her. Even when that kid from the journalism club started presenting evidence that she probably did it, as well as her ‘comforting’ of Jokichi shifted to open flirtation, we had a hard time believing it, even with all that. So when the crocodile tears started flowing, we believed her. Shi being insistent that her close friend didn’t murder her sister certainly helped, but once she expressed how horrible those accusations were, we were all on her side.”

    “But those were fake.”

    “Of course they were,” Officer Taku says, before taking a sip of coffee. “To this day, I have no clue how much of her persona she displayed at school even before the murder was her true self or just a facade. Probably was just a mask of perfection to hide what a monster she is.”

    Ayano’s face lowers a bit after hearing that blunt assessment of her mother. Even though she was a murderer, she was her mother, and for the first fifteen years of her life was a kind and nurturing, if slightly odd, figure in her life.

    “Oh, don’t be down, Ayano,” Aia says much more sweetly, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. “You’re only like your mother in that you look like her. If anything, you’re your fathers daughter.”

    Looking back up at her, Ayano asks, “Really?”

    “Yeah! While you’re nice and a total sweetheart, you’re shy and a bit timid, a far cry from your overly confident mother. Despite her doing a lot, I could never really say that Ryoba was passionate about anything she did. You have the Stab films and your interest in the real killing sprees that inspired them as your passions.” She pauses to chuckle. “And while no one knew that she was crushing on your father until that kid stole her diary, I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re crushing hard on that Taro boy and doing a really bad job at hiding it,” she accompanies with a light jab with her elbow, causing the girl to laugh lightly.

    “Stoooooop!” Ayano says, blushing.

“But anyways,” Taku says, calming back down, “the point is, you’re nothing like your mother aside from your looks. Remember that, no matter what anyone else says, you’re not a monster, far from it, I’d say.”

    A smile creeps onto Ayano’s face. “Thanks,” she says quietly.

    “Mom!” the voice of Gema shouts as he enters the room, already dressed and ready for the school day. “Aren’t you supposed to be driving us to school?”

    “Shit! You’re right!” Aia says, rising to her feet, placing her coffee mug on the table, before holding up her hands for Gema to toss her the car keys. “Okay, then, we should get moving, and you can finish that in the car,” she says to Ayano, who’s in the midst of stuffing her face with the rest of the bacon and eggs, half eaten toast in hand.

    “And what about after class?” Gema asks as he walks in front of the two.

    “If I’m not working by then, I’ll pick you guys up, but with an active search going on, I’m not sure if that will be the case.”

    “So you expect the two of us to just walk home with a serial killer running around?”

    “You and your other friends could go visit Mai in the hospital,” she suggests. “I was in her room yesterday, and both her and Midori could use the support of their friends.”

    “Good idea,” Ayano says, rising from the sofa, toast in one hand, the now empty glass of milk in the other. Placing it on the table, she and Officer Taku walk up to Gema, her saying, “It’ll be something we all need.”

    “Sidney!” Mark shouts from the front porch of Saikou Manner. “We’re leaving soon, so you should probably finish up soon!”

    Sure enough, Sidney was jogging the perimeter of the property, dressed in a pink tank top and black yoga pants, with her hair tied in a pony tail. 

    After all, with the killer back, she has to keep her cardio up.

    She begins to slow down as she reaches the front of the property, where Mark, the kids, Megami, her father, and the Chauffeur were waiting. The Chauffeur hands her a water bottle, which she takes a swig from, and Mark hands her a jacket, in particular a brown leather jacket.

    The very same jacket that, a year prior, she survived in during the climax of the most recent killing spree in Woodsboro. So with that in mind, with it’s track record, wearing this jacket now could only be a positive.

    Speaking of last year's killing spree, as they all enter the limo, Sid’s phone starts vibrating. She pulls it out and looks at the screen

Samantha Carpenter is calling…

    Looking up to the others, she asks, “Do you guys mind being a little quiet?”

    The others in the limo shrug, to which Sid pushes answer.

    “Hello Sid,” a young, mid 20’s, female voice says from the phone.

    “Hello Sam,” Sid responds. “How have things been?”

    “Good,” Sam says somewhat subdued.

    “How’s Tara doing?”

    “Oh she’s doing well. Only a few more therapy sessions and it’ll be like she was never attacked… physically at least.”

    “Well that’s good,” Sidney says. “I noticed neither of you were in Colbert’s interview yesterday.”

    “Didn’t want the publicity,” Sam says, shaking her head to her bathroom mirror. “You already get too much attention when you survive one of these things. Being the daughter of the original mastermind is a whole other battlefield.”

    “I get that,” Sid says, nodding. “You are still in New York, right?”

    “Yes. After what happened, we needed to get as far away from Woodsboro as possible. Seems you had the same idea, huh?”

    Sid lets out a little chuckle at that.

    “So how has your trip been? Heard the kids were enjoying it, but how about you.”

    Being much more prepared for a question like this, answers, “Yes, I have.”

    But based on the silence coming from the other end, Sid could guess the expression on Sam’s face.

    “Did Gale tell you?”

    “Wasn’t convinced when she said you were okay. Got it out of her after a little prodding. And also the rumors of a Woodsboro copycat being in Japan have been flooding Twitter all day.”

    “You’re not coming over, are you? Cause you need to keep an eye on Tara.”

    “No, I’m not,” Sam says defensively, “and as far as I’m aware, Tara doesn’t know. She’s been avoiding social media like the plague since it happened.”

    “Still, stay where you are, and don’t let anyone else come over here, especially Gale.”

    “I know. We’ve got enough to deal with to go out of our way to fly to Japan only to die.”

    “I can imagine that.”

    “But why not you and Mark leave?” Sam asks.

    “We’re already here, we’re getting paid a shit ton of money to do this job, and the kids here need help, and if I was too late to help Tara’s friends, I won’t abandon these kids.”

    “I understand,” Sam says quietly. “Good luck, Sidney.”

    “Good luck to you too, Sam.” Sid then hangs up the phone, looking back up at the group.

    “That’s gonna be me when this is over, isn’t it?” Megami asks, glancing down at her bandaged forearm.

    “Considering who you are and what you have to gain,” Sidney says, “you’ll probably be fine once this is all over, but if not, you’ll be in good company.”

    Across the ocean and almost across the continent, a young woman puts down her cellphone and turns on the sink. Cupping her hands under the foist, Sam leans forwards and slashes some cold water on her face. 

    Pulling back up, she’s lightly startled, both by what she sees in the reflection, and what she hears.

    “ You really should head over there, you know ,” the figure in the mirror says. He has brown greasy hair and a slight resemblance to a young Johnny Depp. He’s wearing a white T-shirt that has several noticeable holes in it, and it’s drenched in  slightly brownish red blood. Which also stains his hands and a part of his neck.

    Immediately regaining her composure and looking fairly annoyed, Sam says to the reflection, “I thought we agreed you wouldn't just pop up on me like that!”

    “ I have to be here, to help out my daughter when she’s in danger ,” the figure says. “ And you forgot to take your meds ,” he continues with a shrug. 

    Sam just rolls her eyes and sighs. “Why would I be in any danger?”

    “ You heard it from Gale, and Sid just confirmed it, another group of crazies is copying my work .”

    “You mean what’s going on across the pacific?” Sam asks. “Not exactly an immediate threat, is it?”

    “ You know full well that they wouldn’t hesitate to target you if you were there, don’t you ?” the hallucination of Billy Loomis says. When Sam answers with a glare, he continues, “ And even if you are safe, what about Sidney ?”

    “What about her?”

    “ She’s right in the crossfire, and from the start unlike last time. Don’t you want to make sure nothing happens to her, cause I’d hate you to let my girlfriend die at the hands of these copycats, at least without you killing one of them in return ?”

    Samantha sighs again. “Sidney has it under control. I’m not worried about her.”

    “ And why do you say that, cause you seem confident she won’t be killed ?”

    “She killed you,” Sam says coldly, “and she killed Grandma, so I’m willing to bet she’ll be fine.”

    “ Even so ,” he says, leaning closer, “ you remember how it felt when you slit that fucker Richie’s throat, don’t you? Surely there’s a part of you begging to feel it again, isn’t there ?”

    Raising her voice, Sam says, “Leave me alone!”

    “Sam?” another voice calls, a female one from behind her. Sam turns and sees a younger girl, around nineteen, entering the bathroom with a noticeable limp. “Is everything okay in here?”

    Sighing in relief, Sam says, “I’m fine, Tara.”

    “But you were just shouting at your reflection,” Tara says, pointing at the mirror, causing Sam to turn her head back to it, seeing the vision of her late father gone and her own reflection back. “Are they coming back?” Tara asks.

    Walking up to her half-sister, Sam places her hands on her shoulders and says in a reassuring tone, “No I’m fine, just a little tired.” Wrapping her arm around Tara’s shoulders, she begins to lead her out of the bathroom. “We should be heading to bed now anyways.

    It was no surprise that, for the third day in a row, a cop car pulled up to Akademi High’s entrance, though this time the lights were off. Neither was it a surprise to see Gema Taku stepping out of the car. What was a bit surprising was Ayano Yudsei walking out after him, as was the fact that the girl looked somewhat shaken.

    Well, it was a surprise to all except the four waiting by the entrance for them.

    “Ayano! Are you okay?” Midori says as she runs up to the girl to give her a hug. “Gema told us everything. You must’ve been horrified!”

    “A bit, yeah,” Ayano says in an attempt to casually play it off. “Thankfully Officer Taku was close enough to my place, otherwise I’d have been on my roof all night, or the killer could’ve found a way up there.”

    “What happened to him then?” Pippi says, separating herself from Ryuto and walking between Ayano and Midori. “Surely he would’ve been caught if she was that close.”

    “She,” Ayano corrects. The others start giving her strange looks, causing her to say, “I heard some very feminine grunts when I fought back, so I’m willing to bet at least one of them is a girl. But anyways, once the sirens were audible, she leaped over the fence and ran off.”

    “Mom told me by the time she’d be able to get an officer down that street, the killer would’ve been long gone,” Gema says with a light air of skepticism. 

    “So, she got away?” Ryuto asks.

    “Unfortunately,” Ayano says, lowering her gaze.

    “Well that’s just great,” Yui, who’s laying against the wall texting on her phone, says dryly.

    “But did anyone else see her?” Pippi asks, folding her arms.

    “No,” Ayano answers bluntly. “Why do you ask?”

    “So someone broke into your house, and nobody else saw it?”

    “A bit suspicious if you ask me,” Ryuto says, walking up beside Pippi.

    “They do have a point Ayano,” Gema says. “And I’m not gonna lie, you still are a bit suspicious.”

    “Suspicious?” Ayano says, fully turning to him. “I could say the same thing about you, with how perfectly timed your arrival at my place after the killer ran off.” She leans closer to him, saying, “Suspicious!” 

    “Okay, calm down everyone!” Midori says, placing herself between everyone. “We’re all just a little paranoid about what’s happened, and now two of our group have been attacked, so now we’re anxiously pointing fingers at each other.” She then turns to Ayano. “We all know you’re chill, Ayano.”

    “Do we?” Pippi asks, stepping back up to them. “No offense, Ayano, but how can we be sure we can trust you.”

    “Officer Taku trusts me,” she says, gesturing towards the police deputy, who’s standing in front of her car and looking very intently down the road. “And more importantly,” Ayano continues, turning back to the group,”Sidney seems to trust me, and out of everyone in the world, I think she’d be the best to judge in this situation.”

    “Speaking of Sidney,” Officer Taku says, seeing a limo pulling up to the school, “there’s more bad news.” Walking towards the kids, she says, “Last night, a few hours after Ayano’s attack, Prescott, along with Megami Saikou, were attacked at Saikou manner.”

    “What!” Ayano shouts. “Are they okay?”

    “Sidney’s unharmed, so are her children, though Saikou got a cut on her arm.”

    “Megami got hurt?” Ryuto asks, genuinely baffled by this piece of info. “Hath hell frozen over?”

    “Well,” Yui says, lowing her phone and looking up at the group, “if the killers are operating under the Mary Sue angle that Ayano proposed yesterday, that probably throws her off the suspect list.”

    “Not necessarily,” Midori says, wagging her finger at the redhead, causing her to press up her glasses. “Both IRL and in the movies, killers often attack, even injure each other to keep suspicion off them.”

    “So Megami being cut still keeps her on the suspect list, but Ayano being completely unharmed doesn’t?” Pippi asks, starting to get annoyed.

    “Just sayin’” the green haired girl says with a shrug.

    “Whatever,” Pippi says, turning away, grabbing Ryuto’s arms, and walking past the school gate.

    Seeing this, Gema turns to his mother and says, “Well I’ll see you later,” and turns to follow the two, quickly.

    Turning to the three girls still there, the deputy asks, “Is something going on?”

    “Beats me,” Midori says with a shrug, before turning to Yui. “C’mon, we should really be heading to class right now.” She then grabs Yui’s arm and pulls her up, causing the girl to quietly grunt a little as she’s helped up.

    “Let’s just get this day over with,” the redhead says, rubbing her back as she follows Midori’s lead towards the school.

    Ayano begins to follow, but stops when the limo pulls up. She turns fully towards it and watches as it stop. Midori and Yui, feeling Ayano stopping, turn and stop themselves.

    The chauffeur steps out and walks around to the other side of the limo, opening the door.

    Mark steps out first, making sure his gun is loaded before sliding into his holster. After that, he and the chauffeur help Megami Saikou out of the limo, and if it weren’t for the bandages around her forearm, you’d have never known that she was attacked the night prior with how composed she is, even if it’s her usual demeanor. 

    Then Sidney climbs out, her gun still in hand. As she leaves, she turns back to the chauffeur and says, “Remember what I said.”

    “Keep the kids as far away as possible,” the man says with a nod, turning and walking back to the drivers door.

    As Sidney puts her gun into her jacket pocket, Mark asks, “You have a plan for today?”

    “Something along those lines, yeah,” she responds.

    “It better work, whatever it is,” Megami says, glancing around, “cause even a little Saikou blood spilled is a death sentence here.”

    “Makes sense,” Sidney says.

    Then her eyes meet Ayano’s, and her eyes widen.

    “Oh my god, it’s you!” she says, rushing up to the still somewhat starstruck seventeen year old. “Are you okay?” Sid asks once she reaches her.

    “Uh, yeah?” Ayano says, confused. “Why do you ask?”

    “You were attacked last night, yeah?” Sid asks, not only confusing Ayano, but, Mark, Megami, and Midori and Yui, who were walking behind their friend.

    “Yeah. How did you know?”

    Gesturing to Megami, Sid says, “Her brother was listening to your stream last night. Heard everything.”

    “Stream?” Midori and Yui ask, confused as to why their very shy friend you would be streaming.”

    “What?” was all Ayano could respond.

    “You’re Yan-chan, right?” Sidney asks, causing the girls eyes to widen.

    “Yeah…” she says meekly, embarrassed about admitting it. 

    “YES!” Midori says, fist pumping. Turning and beginning to walk towards the front door of the school, she rubs her palms together and says, “Gema owes me ten yen!”

    The five watch her walk towards the school for a few seconds, before Ayano turns back to Sidney and says, “How did you know?”

    “Overheard a stream of yours the night me and Mark arrived, and the second you spoke up yesterday, I recognized your voice, especially your enthusiasm  for the Stab films.”

    “Oh,” she responds, getting awkward again. “Sorry if my enthusiasm was a bit much.”

    “Don’t be,” Sid says reassuringly. “Unlike two fans I met last year, you actually seem to understand that we’re real people, and don’t let your enthusiasm for the film blind you to it. It’s why something is telling me to trust you.”

    A smile starts to creep onto the girl's face. “You really trust me?”

    “As much as I’d love to continue this sweet little chat,” Megami cuts off, taking a few steps closer, “I have to meet with the student council in five minutes.”

    “Right,” Mark says with a nod.

    Turning back to the girl, Sid says, “We can continue this talk later. You two, plus your friends, meet at the third floor cafeteria at lunch hour. Me and Mark need to grill all of you.”

    Ayano and Yui nod, to which Sidney joins Mark and Megami as they walk towards the school building's entrance.

    Ayano and Yui stand there for a moment.

    After a few seconds, a wide, stupid grin forms on Ayano’s face. Grabbing onto Yui’s shoulders, she begins to violently shake her, shouting, “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” 

    Gritting her teeth, the redhead pushes the girl off her, before placing her arms on her shoulders.

    “Words of advice from a friend,” she says, “Calm the fuck down!” She then lets go and begins to walk/limp away, Ayano staying put for a few seconds, before racing after her.

Chapter Text

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    The tension filling up the halls and classrooms of Akademi was getting unbearable. No one was chit chatting, not even a whisper. Despite this, none were focused on their lessons either.

    Two attacks last night, and while no one died, class president Megami Saikou was attacked not only in her own home, but was hurt as a result of it. Megami, who was thought of by everyone to be invincible, had been cut on her forearm, which was now wrapped up.

    It was scary, and the students reacted as such.

    The tension was relieved a little when the lunch bell rang, as at least the various groups could distract themselves with their food, however it wasn't by much.

    Probably because earlier it was announced that the third floor cafeteria would be off limits during lunch hour, and that all the students who met with Sideny Prescott the day prior were to head there during.

    Due to having classes right there when lunch hour starts, Taro, Osana, Gema, Yui, Homu, and a member of Musume’s posse, Hoshiko, were already waiting there by the time Sidney, Mark, Megami, and the other four student council members, Kuruko, Akane, Shiromi, and Aoi arrived.

    Pippi and Ryuto enter from the hall leading towards the computer lab, and join Gema and Yui at their table. Raibaru emerges next and sits with Taro and Osana.

    A minute later, running into the cafeteria, is Oka, who’s visibly afraid. She darts towards the table furthest away from the  group and hides behind it. Seconds later, Musume and two of her posse, Hana and  Kokoro, emerge from the same hall, pointing and laughing at the navy haired girl, before joining their friend.

    Kaga enters next, joining Homu at her table, followed closely by Budo, who joins with his friends. Midori and the Basu sisters enter next, the former joining her friends and the latter two heading to their own table, the one positioned enough to scope everyone else out. Shortly after, the last of Musume’s posse, Kashiko, enters and joins her friends, leaving one short.

    Ayano’s day after her chat with her idol wasn’t the best. As she walked down the halls, she’d hear shouts of, “Murderer,” or, “Monster,” and the like. Despite it being very well known by now that she was attacked after class, not many believe it actually happened, and those that do are convinced she had her “partner” attack her to throw suspicion off her.

    Class itself wasn’t much better. Everyone in her class was shooting her looks when they thought she wasn’t looking, many not even trying to hide the fear or anger at her. Even her teachers seemed to be ignoring her attempts to answer questions.

    So all she’d do was slink away from everyone. Stop raising her hand, not saying a word, and rushing to get to each classroom, keeping her head low. Aside from Ayano being disheartened, she was also getting annoyed. She was attacked by a serial killer in her house last night which, despite her being certain the killer didn’t want her dead yet, was majorly traumatizing to the poor girl, and no one is offering her any support, and are actively pushing her away. Maddening 

    While walking from her second to third class, Ayano manages to overhear a comment Musume made to her posse.

    “-and it’s such a coincidence that the day everyone starts to rightfully suspect it’s her, all of a sudden, Ghostface attacks her in her home! Ridiculous!” she says, causing the other girls to start laughing. Unlike her friends, there’s genuine spite and vitriol in Musume’s voice, especially when she says, “The gaul of that bitch!”

    Then it happens. For a few seconds, Ayano and Musume’s eyes meet, and time slows. They stare at each other, Ayano paralyzed and Musume looking utterly disgusted at her. 

    Then her expression changes. It’s hard to tell what, but Ayano’s eyes start widening, because it looks like Musume’s face shifted to a smug, slightly sinister, grin.

    Dropping her gaze, Ayano rushes off, trying to get away from the girl that’s hated her since the day she arrived, who now has an excuse. However, despite the visual acknowledgement of each other’s presence, Musume didn’t sick her friends on her for a change, which is honestly more terrifying. Not a single time in the two years they’ve know each other have the two been in the same general area and Musume hasn’t attempted to harass her, and it’s not because she’s scared of her.

    Still, at least now she’ll be protected by Sidney, who trusts her absolutely for some reason. At least there she’ll have some protection from the looks and comments, and if there’s one person who could convince everyone that she’s innocent, it’s Sidney Prescott.

    Since her last class before lunch was on the ground floor, it takes her a bit to head up to the third floor, especially since it jells with her muscle memory of heading to the fountain. Because of this, she’s the last to arrive, and boy does it feel like it.

    The second she walks into the third floor cafeteria, all eyes turn to her. Not unexpected based on her experiences earlier today, but much more hurtful. Maybe it’s because all these people she now knows by name (including her entire friend group). Maybe because they’re all in the same boat as her, and are using her as a scapegoat, at least until the real killers reveal themselves. Or maybe because at least one, and mostly likely both, of them is the person actively doing this to her, making her look suspicious.

    Lowering her gaze a little bit, she begins to walk towards the table where her friends are seated, only top stop in her tracks. They’re still looking at her, and she could tell there’s something there. Midori’s looking at her with a sincere looking smile, and it’s hard to tell if Yui is looking at her with suspicion or her usual indifferent to all things not on the computer. The others are a different story. Gema has that same look he’s had all day, one of uncertainty, and Ryuto looks rather hesitant to get close to her. Pippi, on the other hand, isn’t even bothering to hide her distrust of Ayano, and she’s already standing as if prepared to move to another table.

    So actually sitting with her friends is out for now, at least until she can prove that she’s innocent. So she scans around at the other tables. Obviously Musume and her posse’s table is a hard no, and staying away from the Basu sisters is an objective best decision regardless of if you’re being accused of murder. She doesn’t really know Kaga or Homu, and attempting to start now wouldn’t be the best move. 

    She slowly turns to Taro and his friends. He is giving her a more sympathetic look, and if his talk with her yesterday is any indication, he doesn’t suspect her nearly as much as the others do. Not to mention the fact that Budo was kind to her yesterday, Raibaru being by all accounts a fairly nice and chill gal, and both of them pulling Osana away when she yelled at her make it a good choice. Of course, that’d be true had it not been for Osana, who’s currently staring daggers at Ayano. No doubt because she both knows about her and Taro’s walk home, but the invigorated notion that Ayano is the killer.

So that’s out. She could sit alone, but that’ll single her out even more, so she turns to the last person in the cafeteria. Oka.

    Aside from briefly turning to glance her way when she entered, she isn’t staring at Ayano like the rest are. Her gaze is lowered, no doubt scared by all these people being so close to her, especially with one or two being a potential serial killer. Still, out of all the options, she’s the least harmless, so Ayano walks up to her.

    “Do you mind?” she asks sweetly, causing the tall girl to look up at her in fright.

    “Uhhhh,” Oka says, eyes darting around. “I-I-I-I-I-I guess. S-s-s-s-sure.”

    With a smile, Ayano takes a seat beside the girl, causing her to scoot away a little. 

    “Relax,” she says quietly, reaching out and grabbing her shoulder. “I’m not gonna bite.”

    Oka’s eyes widen the second she touches her, but after what she said and the fact that she seems completely genuine causes the girl to calm a little.

    Seeing this, Midori rises from her seat, saying, “Welp, I’m not letting her suffer this alone.”

    “Really?” Pippi asks, genuinely confused. “You’re siding with her?”

    “You could afford to be a little nicer, you know that?” Midori says.

    Straightening up a little, Ryuto says, “Yeah, but given what’s going on-”

    “Then you’d know that antagonizing her is only gonna get you killed, regardless of if she’s guilty or not.”

    “Why?” Gema asks, folding his arms.

    “Because obviously if she is the killer, you’d all be dead before the credits, but if she’s not, your antagonism towards her will make you targets to the people who want to frame her. Also, she’s your friend, and aren’t friends supposed to support each other.”

    “Not when she’s a possible murderer,” Pippi says, walking right up to Midori. “Need I remind you of that?”

    “And what evidence is there that she’s behind any of this?” she asks, before turning and pointing to Musume. “And that question goes to you too, bitch, and everyone else here! What evidence is there that points to the killer being Ayano? That her mother killed someone three decades ago? What does that prove about her? That she’s a Stab fan? Most of you are part of Buraza’s online Stab fan club! I saw Taro watching Stab 6 on his phone in the hall earlier.”

    “What?” Osana says, turning to him.

    “I’m trying to jog my memories of these films!” he says defensively. “Been a while, and watching them is a chore to get through, especially when half of them are total garbage anyways, especially five onwards.”

    “Calm down!” Mark says before the group breaks into an argument. “Now's not the time for this.”

    “Whatever,” Pippi says, turning back to Midori. “Your loss.

    “Your funeral,” Midori says, before turning to Yui. “You coming?”

    “Do I have to?” the redhead asks like a child, before Midori grabs her arm and starts pulling her towards Ayano and Oka’s table. “Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!”

    “Anyways,” Sidney says after they sit down, “Two more attacks last night, one on myself and Miss Saikou, and another on Miss Yudasei.”

    “Bullshit,” Musume says between coughs, her friends snickering.

    “And since it’s decently likely that at least one of you is in league with whoever is doing this, me and Mark are gonna comb through all of you.”

    “What?” Ryuto asks.

    “You’re seriously having us waste our lunch hour just so you can question us again?” Inkyu says, folding her arms.

    “Considering how serious the situation is,” Mark says, “we don’t really have any other choice, especially since the likelihood of at least one of the killers being among you, we need to be thorough.”

    “What they’re saying is that one of you attacked Mrs. Prescott and myself,” Megami says, stepping forwards, proudly presenting her wrapped up forearm, “and did this to me! Ad on the fact that four people are dead and another is in the hospital, and we’re under a serious crisis, so added caution is vital!”

    “Thanks Megami,” Sid says, walking up beside her. “Now, since I know where she was last night, Megami doesn’t need to be questioned, and since myself and Mark grilled the other student council members, they don’t need to be questioned either. So,” she says, turning to the five girls, “while we’re conducting interviews, I’d like you all to patrol the halls and report any potentially suspicious characters to me, and also to search the various bathrooms and closets for stashed evidence.”

    “Evidence?” Shiromi says, eyebrow raised. “What evidence?”

    “Knives, Ghostface costumes, voice changers, spare or stolen cell phones. That Kokona’s mobile was reported missing at the scene, so keep a lookout for that in case these guys want to make any moves here at Akademi.

    Kuroko scoffs and pushes up her glasses. “No one would be stupid enough to attempt such a stunt while were here.”

    “I don’t know, some of these people are pretty stupid,” Akane says with a shrug. “I’ve watched those movies enough to know that the people inside the costumes don’t really have that much intelligence.”

    “And that’s ignoring the fact that these people are committing these crimes in the getup that has now five times resulted in failure and the perpetrators deaths,” Aoi says. “So not a bunch of smart people, I’d wager.”

    “Don’t underestimate them, Aoi,” Megami says. “Just because basing their spree off killers that have all died trying to reach their goals isn’t the wisest move, we can’t be certain that these guys are just a bunch of idiots.” Turning to address all four, she says, “I say we do it. If we find nothing, no harm done. But if there’s something hidden, we could potentially put a stop to this spree before they even get the chance to make their ‘third act slip-up’.”

    After a second of staring, the other four nod their heads, and the Student Council split up and they head down separate halls. 

    Turning back to the students still there, Sid continues, “With that in mind, Miss Ayano Yudasei, because I know generally where you were last night, you won’t be questioned either, but I do want you to stay here while we scan through everyone else, just so you won’t be at further risk.”

    “Are you kidding?” Sakyu asks.

    “But she’s like the prime suspect!” Pippi says, not even bothering trying to sound nice.

    “You don’t actually believe that bullshit story about her being attacked last night, do you?” Musume asks, a smug grin on her face.

    Turning to the blonde and her friends, Sidney says, “I don’t believe she’s telling the truth. I know she is.”

    “Seriously?”

    “Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” Homu asks, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

    “I never said that,” Sid says. “What I am saying is that I’m experienced in this sort of thing, and based on my experiences, I feel it’s highly unlikely that it’s her.”

    “But what about all the evidence?!” Osana shouts, startling Taro. “IT’S OBVIOUSLY HER!” she continues, pointing at Ayano.

    “Let me ask what green green over there asked, what actually evidence do you have that she did this?”

    “Her mothe-” Musume starts, only for Sid to cut her off.

    “Didn’t I just tell you yesterday why that’s a terrible piece of evidence, or,” she says, pulling out her phone, “do you need me to drive it in deeper into that skull of yours?” She then starts typing something, then turns to hold the screen towards the gyaru. “Here’s the number of a friend of mine. Her name’s Sam, she’s the daughter of Billy Loomis, and since she’s in New York at the moment, she’s probably asleep by now. Do you want me to wake her up so she can call you an idiot, or are you fine with it coming from me?”

    Looking genuinely offended, Musume stammers for an attempted comeback, but comes up with nothing. Pouting, she folds her arms and sits back down.

    “Thought not,” Sid says, before turning around to the other students. “Anything else.”

    “She’s like a hyper fan of the Stab films,” Pippi says. “Didn’t a pair of those try to kill you last year?”

    “Yes, but those two were toxic fans to the utter extreme,” she says. “But they’re outliers. I’ve met some really nice and genuine people who are fans of the films based on my life and experiences. Kirby, Mindy, Chad, and many more. I’m not a fan of those movies, for obvious reasons, but I won’t judge someone for liking them. Besides,” she says, turning towards her, "I think I have a good idea as to what kind of fan she is, and why I can’t help but trust her.”

    “Why?” Ryuto asks.

    “How many of you listen to a streamer named Yan-chan?” Sid asks everyone

    Midori raises her hand immediately, as does Gema. Budo and Raibaru do as well, as does Inkyu. After a second, Homu raises her hand and, slightly embarrassed to admit it, Hana does as well. After a few seconds, Oka slowly and shakily raises her hand as well.

    “Well,” Sidney says, before pointing to Ayano, “Miss Yudasei is Yan-chan.

    “Knew it” Midori says, holding her hand out to Gema, who quickly places ten yen in her hands.

    “Ahhh, that makes sense,” Budo says, nodding his head and turning to Raibaru. “Was wondering why that incredibly cute voice sounded familiar.”

    Jokingly scoffing, Rai leans closer and says, “What, is my voice not cute enough?”

    “I never said it wasn’t.”

    “You never told me you likes to listen to stuff like that,” Kaga whispers to Homu.

    “Her voice is soothing to listen to while I work,” she says defensively, “keeps my head focused.

    “But what does that prove?” Inkyu asks. “What does her being a voice streamer who likes to talk about Stab makes you trust her?”

    “Because you caught my stream where I talked about you and Gale?” Ayano asks, turning to Sidney

    “Yes,” Sidney says, before turning back to the others. “What I overheard her saying the night I arrived told me something. That, despite being an enthusiast of the films, she gets that we’re not just characters on a screen, but all real people. The fact she can separate fiction from reality, unlike Richie and Amber, makes me trust her.”

    “But how do you know that her story about being attacked is real?” Ryuto asks.

    “Because from what Megami’s brother Kencho said he heard, and I checked the stream archive to be sure, the audio during her attack made it clear that there’s another person in the house with her making all that noise.”

    “So she had her partner attack her, then she went over to Megami’s place and attacked you,” Musume says, standing up again.

    “Mrs. Taku says otherwise,” Sidney says, turning back to her. “After her attack, Ayano was brought to her place for the night.”

    “That is true,” Gema says, “and from how far we are from Saikou Manner, she’d never be able to get over there undetected to attack you.”

    “Thanks,” Ayano says, turning to her friend.

    “I still don’t fully trust you though,” he says, “I just understand when something's impossible, and it’s impossible for her to get there on foot in such short notice.”

    “Indeed,” Sid says. “Based on the time I received Aia’s text saying she has you safe and the killer showing himself, it’s be next to impossible for her to make it all the way to Saikou manor in time, and besides,” she says, turning back to Musume, “the grunts I heard from the killer sounded male, so there’s no way it was her under that costume.”

    “So her partner also went over there to attack you,” she says as if she’s won something.

    “Also impossible,” Ayano says. “The killer that attacked me had feminine grunts, so a gal attacked me and a guy Sid and Megami. And I’m confident at least a few of them were audible on stream.

    “Believe so,” Sidney says before turning back to the girl. “Is that enough evidence that this isn’t her, at least in these cases, because unless you’re suggesting there’s three killers, with two attacking while the third plays victim, it’s basically impossible.” She then leans a bit closer to Musume. “You’re awfully convinced that Ayano’s the killer despite the lack of evidence, so you’re up first for questioning.”

    With her saying that, Mark walks up to an unoccupied table, grabs a seat, and pulls it to the center of the room facing away from the tables. Sid grabs Musume by the shoulder and walks her towards the center of the room, making her sit.

    The two adults walk in front of her and stare down.

    “Do you want to do it?” Mark asks.

    “You’re the former detective here,” Sid says.

    Taking a few steps forwards and crouching down to eye level, Mark says to the girl, “So, Miss. Ronshaku, where were you last night?”

    As much as Ayano would love to watch her harasser get the shit scared out of her, she has other matters to attend to.

    Turning towards the girls sitting across from her, she says, “Thanks for standing up for me, you two.”

    “Don’t mention it,” Midori says, shaking her head. “Pippi’s being a little bitch today and being very unfair to you, so I decided to stick up to you.”

    “What she said,” Yui says, folding her arms together and resting her head on them. “Midori’s my friend, and I trust her judgment, even if it doesn’t always lead to the best of places.”

    “Speaking of,” Ayano says, “you’ve been very clear minded today, Midori. Are you okay?”

    “Oh absolutely not!” she shouts with a laugh. “My girlfriend’s in the hospital and I’m stressing out, so I may have burned through my supply last night, and my dealer isn’t selling now.”

    “Why?” Yui asks.

    “Because we’re “under crisis”. I get that there’s a serial killer running around, but why does that mean the pot dealers have to be all high and mighty?”

    “Isn’t that Randy’s second rule though?” Yui asks.

    “Never drink or do drugs,” Oka says quietly, causing the three to turn to her.

    “That is the rule,” Ayano says, scooting a bit closer. “You know your Stab?”

    Oka looks up and stares at the girl smiling sweetly at her for a second. “A little,” she says. “Slashers aren’t really my thing, though. I-I prefer the paranormal.”

    “Oh, really?” Midori asks, leaning a little closer to the girl across from her.

    “Yeah,” Oka says, nodding and being a little more at ease. “Ringu, The Grudge, Paranormal Activity, The Babadook, Insidious. I like that stuff more.”

    “Not surprised,” Yui says, pressing her glasses up. “She is the girl who claims to see ghosts, after all.”

    “I do see them,” Oka says, trying to be assertive, but just comes off as insecure. Turning to point down the hallway, she says, “Like the girl I keep seeing in the bathroom over there.”

    The three girls look in the direction she’s pointing, not seeing the specific bathroom but knows which one she’s referring to.

    Rising up slightly, Yui says, “Isn’t that the bathroom where your mother-”

    “Yup,” Ayano says, completely deadpan, before slamming her face into the table.

    “We just want to know what you were up to last night,” Mark says to the gray haired girl, who so far has said little more than her club leader.

    “Myself and Kaga were here at Akademi, working on a project,” Homu says, folding her arms stiffly, almost robotically.

    “And what exactly is this project?” he says, leaning a bit closer.

    “That is classified, Mr. Kincaid,” she says. “Rest assured, assuming there are no more delays, it should be complete by the start of October.”

    “There’s no guarantee either of you will be alive by then,” Sidney says, walking beside Mark, “and you two are currently suspects of multiple murders, and having a ‘secret project’ isn’t exactly clearing your name, isn’t it?”

    “I fully comprehend what you are saying, Mrs. Prescott. However, our whole project will be ruined if it’s revealed early, and I understand that it may make us look like we could be behind this, but it’s impossible. Kaga and myself were here until around the time of Yudasei’s alleged attack, and as my mother can attest to, we were at my place until around midnight, well after President Saikou and yourself were attacked.”

    The two look at each other and, realizing they’re not getting much more out of her, simply gesturing for her to stand.

    “Next!” Mark says.

    “So why don’t you like the Stab films?” Ayano asks, genuinely curious now that she’s got the school's outcast talking. “Is it just your distaste of slasher, or because they’re based on real events.”

    “First three,” Yui coughs under her breath.

    “A little,” Oka says hesitantly, though a bit less now that people are actually taking to her without judgment (aside from the redhead), “but something about those movies always skived me out, even before I knew.”

    “Well the films are hella gory and the better ones deliver in the scare department,” Midori says before taking a bite of an apple in her hands.

    “It’s not that,” the navy haired girl says, shaking her head. “Every time I see one of those films, even clips of it on YouTube, I get this feeling of danger. Like something is telling me to get away and save myself. It’s what I feel around Mrs. Prescott …” she pauses, hesitating for a second, “… and you.”

    This does ring true. Ever since Ayano moved to Buraza and met her, Oka would always run away in fear, and every time words were exchanged, she’d quickly ditch the conversation. She never got it, especially since it’s highly unlikely Oka knew who her mother was at that point. Yeah, a few times, it was because Musume and co. have arrived, and Oka was always their favorite plaything, but that was fairly rare, their exchange on Tuesday being like the fifth or sixth time it’s happened.

    “Well,” Ayano says, scooting a little closer to her, “you don’t need to be afraid of me. It’s pretty obvious I'm innocent in all of this, so no need to be scared I’ll hurt you.”

    “No-no-no-no, I don’t think it’s you,” she says quietly, “there’s just an air of danger surrounding you that’s always been there. Something bad was going to happen, and I needed to stay away, and with the danger now here, I need to save myself.”

    She then scoots all the way towards the edge of the seat, visibly fearful. Wanting to calm the girl, Ayano slowly raises her hand and places it reassuringly on her shoulder.

    This seems to work a little, until…

    “Well, since you went to Sidney’s talk yesterday, you’re probably fucked regardless,” Midori says, causing Ayano to shoot her a glare.

    “And there she is,” Yui says sarcastically, pressing up her glasses, “classic Midori.”

    “Why are you here?” Mark asks the two annoyed girls haphazardly seated atop the chair.

    Thanks to neither sister wanting to be interviewed without the other, the younger and smaller Inkyu has to awkwardly sit on Sakyu’s lap.

    “Why does it matter?” the older sister says.

    “Because neither of you have any connection to any of the four dead, Wakahara, Yudasei, Saikou, or myself,” Sidney says. “So why would either of you reasonably assume you’d be in danger, which you both put yourselves into yesterday by being apart of my talk, unless one or both of you did this?”

    Inkyu rolls her eyes as Sakyu says, “Well what did you expect? A serial killer comes to town, basing his crimes off a series of other killings, and the original survivor follows soon after.”

    “How can we not try to get every detail?” Inkyu continues. “Last time something THIS interesting happened here in Buraza was when news broke of Ryoba Aishi confessing the crimes she did back in the day.”

    “Ohhh, that was a fun day,” the purple haired girl says, to which her pink haired sis starts chuckling. “And besides,” Sakyu continues, “like you said, we have no real connection to any of this, or to them, or what happened in the past, so why would either of us be the killers?”

    “Fame, fortune,” Mark says, “or you could be Stab fans, like last year's pair, who want to make a better movie.”

    “Not to mention the fact that from what I’ve heard from asking around, one of you said that with Haruka and Miyu being dead, you two have less competition, isn’t that right?”

    “Ugggh!” Sakyu says while Inkyu shakes her head. “That’s what all of this is about? A joke I made about more boys being available when all of them want us anyways?”

    “For your information,” Inkyu says, “the only advantage Kokona had over either of us was her bra size. Not like that mattered in the slightest, since she was a real loner who only really talked to her friend group. Neither she nor Saki were major competition for us.”

    “Still, based on how disrespectful you are to her,” Mark says, “you both seem a bit jealous of her, and jealousy can push people to do terrible things.”

    “Exactly,” Sidney says. “My half brother Roman, despite only sending him videos of the affair that tore his family apart and gave him a few pointers, was jealous of Billy Loomis getting all the attention as the mastermind of the ninety-six killings, and jealous of me for getting all the fame and attention for surviving it and the ninety eight spree. So he perpetrated the two thousand spree to get what he thought he deserved. Same with my cousin Jill in  twenty eleven.”

    “Alright. we get it,” Inkyu says, standing up. “If you genuinely think me or my sister are behind these killings because she made a harmless if, admittedly, tasteless joke, why not just shoot us now? In fact, why not just kill all of us and get it over with?”

    “Because that goes against my plan,” Sidney says, walking right up to her. “With the obvious exceptions, I want everyone in this room to still be alive when me and my family return to the US, and the only way to do that is if everyone cooperates and tells the truth. You and your sister don’t want to die, right?” she asks, and after the two exchange looks, both Inkyu and Sakyu nod. “Then sit back down and answer the questions please.”

    Taking a deep breath, Inkyu slowly sits back onto her sister's lap.

    As the minutes pass and more of their classmates get interviewed, the talk between the four girls at the “losers of the losers” table grows more and more pleasant.

    Helping this is that the three are already friends, though Oka was an outsider even to them. Still, despite her somewhat off putting appearance and odd interests and things she says, she’s actually pretty harmless and very pleasant to talk to. It also helps that it’s both the first group of people who aren’t mocking her right out as well as the bizarre circumstances that brought these people together.

    Even Yui’s warming up to her. “You know, Oka,” the redhead says to her, “despite being a bit of a freak, you’re not half bad.”

    “Yeah, you’re cool,” Ayano says. “Wish we met you sooner.”

    “Bet that’s not the only person you’d say that about,” Midori says under her breath, causing Ayano to shoot her another glare and Yui to jab her in the gut. “Ow! Am I wrong?”

    “I don’t want you talking about him,” Ayano says through gritted teeth. “Do you want the you-know-what to target him?”

    “It’s okay,” Oka says quietly, “I already know about your allurement towards Yamada, and it’s completely understandable. The boy is rather alluring, and I’d probably be drawn towards him myself, if it weren't for-”

    “WhosaysI’minanywaysattractedtohim!?Taro’sjustanaquaintence!” Ayano says rapidly.

    “Sorry, Ayano,” Yui says, pressing her glasses up again, “whether or not you’re the killer is still up in the air, but the cat’s out of the bag on your crush on Taro.” She then holds her drink cup to her mouth. “Not that it was that secure to begin with,” she says under her breath as she takes a drink.

    “It was pretty obvious,” Oka says, nodding with the other two girls. “And that’s without seeing how drawn your aura is to his. That’s as obvious as the metaphors in The Babadook.”

    This gets a snort out of Midori. “I like you, Oka,” she says, “and I’m sure Mai would like you too.” Her eyes then widen as she gets an idea. “You should totally come with us when we go to visit her in the hospital!”

    “What?” Oka and Yui say in unison, Yui in confusion and Oka in surprise.

    “I-I-I couldn’t,” the navy haired girl says, getting a bit flustered. 

    “Why not?” Midori asks. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate your company just as much as any of the others.”

    “I’d be down for it,” Ayano says, “though since everyone’s being hostile to me, I doubt they’ll accept an outsider.”

    Midori turns and looks back at the other table, before turning back with a smile. “We should head back to them, by the way.” Ayano begins to object, but Midori cuts her off. “Pippi’s the one being interviewed right now, and she’s the one being hostile to you. Gema and Ryuto only seem to be reasonably suspicious of you.”

    “Do I have too?” Ayano asks like a child, before Midori walks around the table and grabs her arm and starts pulling her towards Gema and Ryuto’s table as Yui and a reluctant Oka follows. “Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!”

    Seeing this, Gema says, “So you decided to come back to us after all?”

    “And you brought the murder suspect,” Ryuto says, “and the freak?”

    “One, murder suspect applies to all four of us, you two, and everyone in this goddamned room with like two exceptions,” Midori says, gesturing to Sid and Mark. “And Oka’s actually not that bad. She’s actually pretty nice and could fit right in with us.”

    “H-hi,” the girl says with an awkward wave, already starting to shake again.

    “Hello, Oka,” Gema says with a nod. “If Midori thinks you're okay, then I don’t see why not.” He then turns to Ayano. “And I guess you too. When her mind is clear, Midori usually has good judgment and if she doesn’t see any reason to suspect you for now, I guess we shouldn’t. Right, Ryuto?” he asks, looking up at his friend.

    “Uhh, right, I guess,” he says.

    Ayano frowns at this, but just  lets it slide. A halfhearted apology, even one that’s still full of skepticism and conviction that she’s the killer, is still an apology after all, so she does sit down with them.

    “I told you everything I know!” Pippi shouts, rising to her feet. “I’m sorry, but I can’t offer anything else. Can we be done now?”

    “I’m sorry,” Mark says, crossing his arms, “but we don’t have anything that definitely says it’s not you, at least not enough for us to let you go quite yet. Please sit back down.”

    “But it’s not me!” she shouts, before turning her head and scanning the room. Upon making eye contact with Ayano, who she sees sitting back at their table, she turns her head back to Sid and Mark, points in her direction, and shouts, “It’s her!”

    "Okay, kid, calm down," Sidney says, taking a few steps closer. 

    "No!" Pippi says, turning and stomping right towards the table, causing all sitting on it to rise up, Oka even backing away in fear. "You may have Prescott convinced. You may have Midori and Yui convinced. You may have the freak convinced. But you'll never be able to hide the truth forever!"

    "But it's not me!" Ayano shouts back. "Haven't I made it clear that there’s no evidence that it's me? What's changed?"

    "I think you need to sit down," Mark says, walking up behind the girl, placing his hand on her shoulder.

    Pulling herself from his grip, she turns to him and Sidney and says, "I don't know what has you convinced she’s innocent, but whatever it is, it's wrong, despite your experience."

    "You know," Ayano says, walking around the table to stand off her directly, "like the blonde bitch, you seem awfully insistent that it's me."

    "And what does that mean?" she asks, crossing her arms. 

    "Maybe it's you, and you're putting heat on me to get everyone's eyes off you?"

    Scoffing, Pippi says, "The audacity! For your information, I was with Ryuto last night, and the one before it."

    "Okay, and?" Ayano says, turning slightly to gesture to the boy. "Doesn't prove you're innocent at all. Who's to say its not both of you. We do have strong evidence it's a guy and girl team again."

    "Hey!" Ryuto shouts, offended at the accusation. 

    "Sorry, but I had to make a point," Ayano says to him, before turning back to Pippi.

    "Can you guys believe this shit?" she asks the others. "Going so low as to make baseless accusations!"

    "Oh!" Ayano shouts, genuinely offended. "So it's okay when you accuse me with no evidence, but when I do it to you it's suddenly wrong? Hell, if anything, there's more evidence pointing to it being you than me," she says, jabbing her shoulder. "I doubt anyone else can verify where you and Ryuto were last night, while there are a good thousand people who listen to my streams that can verify where I was both last night and during Aka Nishin's murder. Care to prove me wrong?"

    Pippi just stands there stammering, both flustered and angered at the tables being turned on her. 

    "No?" Ayano asks. "Then why is it wrong when I'm doing the same thing you're doing, huh?"

    The girl glances around for anyone to back her up, her eyes landing on her "friend" Ryuto, who just stands there awkwardly. 

    "Uhhh, I'm sorry to say this, Pips," he starts, "but she is kinda right. I mean, you are being a bit hypocritical."

    Pippi stands there for a good moment, in utter shock that even he won't stand up for her. 

    "Ughhh!" she shouts, before taking off down the hall.

    Ryuto goes to follow her, but Matt shouts, "Stop! We can't let you leave until you've been interviewed," causing the boy to sit back down reluctantly. 

    Turning to the others, Sid says, "To be completely fair, everyone who's been interviewed is now dismissed."

    Wordlessly, Musume and her posse rise and walk off down the hall. Kaga and Homu do the same down the hall closest to the school's laboratory. The Basu sisters stay put, however. 

    "This shits good," Inkyu says with a smile.

    "Tell me about it, " Sakyu says.

    "Okay then," Sidney says, turning to Mark, "who should we talk to next?"

    After a quick look around, he says, "That Najimi girl."

    Understandably, by now Osana was getting sick of people questioning her about this whole mess, especially since the only reason she’s in hot water is because the guy who’s been harassing and stalking her was one of the victims. So yeah, she’s quite annoyed, and isn’t shy about sharing it with others.

    “I can’t believe this!” she shouts to her friends. “First the police rammed my ass all day yesterday, and now these people want to do the exact same!” She then scoffs, crossing her arms.

    “Well,” Raibaru says, placing her hands on Osana’s shoulders, “Sid and Mark want to know what you did last night, and-”

    “Oh, what I did last night?” Osana says in a mocking tone, before turning to the amazon. “WANT TO KNOW WHAT I DID LAST NIGHT? I WAS TOO BUSY BEING…” she pauses to make the appropriate arm gesture, “BY THE FUZZ LAST NIGHT!”

    “Calm down, Osana,” Budo says, walking up behind her calmly.

    “No!” she shouts, turning around to face the two. “After all the shit I’ve been dealing with these past few days, I feel like I’m being perfectly rational!” She then turns her head to Taro, who’s got his back to her, headphones in, in the midst of watching Netflix on his phone. “Hey, dummy,” she says, lightly smacking him on the back, “mind giving your best friend some backup?”

    “OW!” he shouts, pausing his movie and turning to her. “What was that for?”

    “What are you doing, anyways?” Osana asks, walking up and peering onto his phone, seeing he’s still in the midst of watching Stab 6. “Seriously?” she asks. “You're still watching that shit?”

    “What?” he asks, fully turning to her. “I’m trying to re-familiarize and educate myself on how these things work. The last one was bad enough, but they didn’t even get the original actress who played Sidney back for this one.”

    “Whatever. Can you just tell these two that I have every right to be upset about this?”

    “Sure, I guess,” he says, which only causes Osana to cross her arms and scowl at him. “What else do you want time to say?! If anything, going to talk with Sidney is a good idea. After all, I can’t be completely certain it’s not you.”

    “What do you mean by that!?” she shouts. “I was on the phone with Raibaru all last night, and we were texting at the time of Kokona’s murder, remember?”

    Shrugging, Taro says, “Well, multitasking is an easy thing to do, and one could always text on one phone and call on the other. I don’t know.”

    Dumbfounded, Osana glances around at him, Budo, and Raibaru several times, before finally letting out a loud groan and walks towards the chair where Sidney and Mark are waiting.

    Ayano watches as Osana walks to the chair to be questioned, phasing out the conversation happening around her. 

    Well that leaves one, and really the main, obstacle in talking to Taro undisturbed out of the way.

    Ever since she realized just how screwed he is due to her obvious crush, she decided an apology is a must. She just needed an opportunity. 

    It further presents itself when Taro moves away from Budo and Raibaru's table and towards an empty one, evidently to get some peace and quiet as he pulls out a book.

    She sits and waits a few minutes, before she couldn't bear it anymore and walked over to him.

    “Hi … Taro,” she says awkwardly as she approaches, startling him slight.

    "Ah!" he says startled as he turns to her. "Oh, it's just you. Hello, Ayano. Uhh what are you doing?"

    "I ..  uh," she starts,  not sure what to say, "I want to apologize to you."

    "Apologize?" Taro say, confused. "For what?"

    "For putting in the crossfire for these killers."

    "Well if it isn't you and your the target," he starts, "why would it be your fault that I'm in danger?"

    Ayano starts blushing wildly, realizing that now she has to spill her guts to him now, before they both get their guts spilled. She glances around, seeing the few remaining students talking amongst themselves. 

    "Can we go somewhere a bit more private?" she asks  

    "Uhhh, sure," Taro says, rising from his seat.

    Ayano and Taro then walk to the far side of the room. Once they're far enough away from the others, she turns to face him. 

    "So…" he starts,  "what do you want to tell me?"

    Ayano grabs her arm and looks down. “The thing is …” she starts, very quietly and hesitantly, “I… I-”

    “WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE, BITCH!”

    The two turn their heads back to the center of the room, where they see Osana looking behind her at them, a look of death on her face. She rises up and storms at them.

    “Miss, we’re not done yet,” Mark says as he and Sidney attempt to stop her.

    “Calm down, Osana!” Sidney says as she rushes past her.

    “WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO MEDDLE WITH US AFTER ALL THE TROUBLE YOU’VE CAUSED US?!” Osana shouts, causing Ayano to back away a bit.

    Budo and Raibaru, also rising up, rush to intercept their friend, managing to grab onto her shoulders and hold her back when she’s just over a foot away.

    “LET ME GO YOU IDIOTS! I HAVE TO SHOW THIS BITCH WHAT’S UP!”

    “Calm down!” Raibaru says. “Attacking her isn’t going to change anything and just make you look worse. And stop squirming!”

    Budo then turns his head and looks sympathetically towards Ayano and says, “Again, I’m sorry about her attitude towards you. She hasn’t been herself lately, and is not normally like this.”

    “I mean, she is a little,” Taro says with a shrug.

    Offended, Osana turns to Taro, shouting, “Why are you taking her side?!”

    “I’m not,” Taro says defensively.

    “She’s the one who’s getting us involved with all this bullshit to begin with, and she’s only making it worse by further associating with you!”

    “So I can’t apologize for that?” Ayano shouts back. “I can’t just say a simple' I'm sorry for getting you targeted from being loosely associated with me so they don’t get hurt?”

    “You should know then that further associating with us by talking will only make it worse for us!” she shouts back.

    “I know that!” she shouts, raising her arms. “One of my best friends is in the hospital, another hates me, and the rest are looking at me with suspicion! I understand, and believe me when I say the second I’m done with this, I’ll never talk to any of you again.”

    Rolling her eyes, Osana says, “Like you could do that.”

    “What do you mean?” 

    Osana forces herself from Budo and Raibaru’s grips and begins to walk towards Ayano. “Don’t play dumb,” she says quietly. “He may be a dense idiot, but I’ve seen you taking looks at him. When you think no one else is looking.” A smug grin curls on her face, now inches from hers. “Is that it? With this crisis going on, you decided that now's the time to shoot your shot? Pathetic.”

    Despite being visibly angered by this, Ayano maintains composure. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says through gritted teeth.

    “Whatever,” Osana says, turning around and walking back to Budo and Raibaru. “It’s not like you stood much of a chance anyways,” she says, stopping and turning back to face her, “what with your mediocre looks, strange hobbies and weirdo friends.”

    And that’s it, the straw that broke her.

    Without even stopping to think, Ayano rushes up and socks Osana right in the face, knocking her into Raibaru’s arms. She pulls herself back up and rushes back towards her. The two exchange a few punches before Raibara pulls Osana back and Buo, running around behind her, grabs and pulls Ayano back, the two still taking swings and shooting profanities at each other.

    The two adults in the room promptly run up to the scuffle as it gets physical, Mark rushing between them saying, “Stop fighting, you two!”

    “This is the kind of girl she is, Taro,” Osana shouts, still staring daggers into Ayano. “Just a violent psychopath.”

    “Says the girl who’s shoved me against a wall twice and is constantly aggressive,” Ayano pipes back.

    Scoffing, the orange haired girl turns to Taro. “Do yourself a favor and ask yourself if you really think having this girl anywhere near you is a good idea.”

    He turns to Ayano, who was already looking at him, her angered expression now one of pleading. He looks at her for a few moments, expression hard to read, evidently considering.

    “I …” he starts, only briefly pausing as Ayano shakes her head. “I guess you’re right,” he continues, taking a few steps away

    Aaaaaaaand there was the other break.

    Completely overcome with emotions and barely keeping them contained, Ayano wrenched herself from Budo’s grasp. But instead of taking another swing at Osana, which she really wanted to do, she just stormed off towards the hall.

    “Ayano, are you-” Midori starts, attempting to get in front of her, but is cut off by Ayano bumping into her as she rushes past, down the hall.

    It’s only once she’s out of sight that the tears start flowing.

Chapter Text

Creeeeeeek

Woooooooosh

Splash

    Like everyday, after Friday classes students were required to provide assistance in cleaning the grounds with the faculty. Whoever has that duty each day changes from person to person. Sometimes a person only does it once a week, none at all, or everyday.

    It’s because of this that, in the girls bathroom on the third floor, a girl with shoulder length brown hair is in the midst of cleaning the sicks against the back wall, with two rows of three stalls on the other walls, the door opposite her with a half wall blocking it from view. A partially full black trash bag sits at the girl's feet as she cleans.

    Due to being alone, the girl starts to hum happily and loudly to herself as she works, due to her generally happy demeanor.

    She only stops at the sound of the door opening and footsteps. She lets out a little yelp and turns around.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the voice of a girl calls out as she gets closer. Rounding the corner, with her own garbage bag, is a beautiful, tall girl with black hair tied in a ponytail at the back and side bangs that go past her chest. Smiling sweetly at who she ran into, the girl says, “Oh, hello, Sumire. Did I scare you?”

    The brunette by the mirror, Sumire, lets out a sigh of relief and a light chuckle. “Yeah, you got me, Ryoba. Good one.”

    Laughing lightly as well, Ryoba says, “I didn’t even mean to scare you, but I guess your right. I mean, after all, everyone is entitled to one good scare.”

    Sumire does a double take by what she said. “Did you just…”

    “Well we all know you love those American horror flicks, so I had to throw one in for you,” Ryoba says, walking up to the stalls to her right (Sumire’s left when facing her) and heads to the one closest to her. Opening the stall door, Ryoba takes a step in, before turning to Sumire and asking, “Do you mind?”

    Shrugging, she just says, “One use won’t make a difference, and as long as we keep talking, we won’t hear anything.”

    With a thumbs up, Ryoba fully enters the stall, shutting the door and locking it. Sumire then hears the sound of Ryoba’s trash bag being placed on the toilet paper holder as she turns back to the sinks to resume her work.

    “Oh hey,” Sumire says as she resumes cleaning the middle sink, “I heard through the grapevine that they’re developing a new Jason movie, and filming is gonna start next month.”

    “Oh really?” Ryoba says from within the stall, her voice barely masking the sound of the garbage bag being shifted around. “Wasn’t a big fan of the last one, especially since they got rid of Tommy Jarvis.”

    “True, and the film certainly had problems…” Sumire says, either not noticing or uncaring about the noises from Ryoba’s stall, ones that wouldn’t be happening normally in the bathroom anyways, like cloth being pulled over skin. “...but I liked that Tina girl and would love it if this new movie continued her story. Plus that Jason look was badass. Whoever was behind that makeup and costume will forever have my respect, especially with how much they kicked the shit out of him.”

    “So are you looking forward to the new one?”

    “Hell yeah,” Sumire says. “Even if the films aren't great, seeing Jason doing his thing is fun.”

    Ryoba lets out a giggle. “Fair, I guess.” There's a few seconds of silence, before she then asks, “How are you and Jokichi doing?”

    “Huh?” Sumire says, a little caught of guard by her question. “Oh, we’re fine. Why do you ask?”

    Sighing, Ryoba says, “Shi told me you and him were having troubles, so I wanted to make sure.”

    “Well,we’re fine,” she says, piping back up. “What she was referring to was probably me and him deciding on whether or not we’d become official. Like we’ve been together since Halloween, but we’re deciding on whether we want to officially become boyfriend and girlfriend. I get his hesitancy, since the school year is almost up and we’ll be going away to different universities, but I still want to say I had a boyfriend in high school. You get me, right?”

    “Right.”

    “Of course you do,” she says jokingly. “You’re no slouch when it comes to boys, considering you have half the male seniors chasing your tail, as well as that Yakuza kid you’ve been messing around with.”

    “Well, he’s nothing serious to me,” Ryoba says emotionlessly. “So other than that, you guys are fine, right?”

    “Correct,” Sumire responds as she scrubs up the last sink. “Aaaaaaaand I am done,” she says excitedly.

    She turns off the water just as she hears a flush. She turns around and sees the stall door open and Ryoba taking a step out, both her arms behind her back and smiling sweetly. It’s here where Sumire notices that she’s wearing a pretty pair of black gloves that go halfway up her biceps. What’s weird is that she could’ve sworn Ryoba was bare-armed when she entered, bur just shrugs it off as misremembering.

    Picking up her trash bag, Sumire says, “Well, I guess I’ll get going,” and gestures for Ryoba to move out of the way, which she promptly does, backing up into the stall again. “Glad we could talk. I really do respect you a lo-”

    Just as she walks in front of Ryoba, she feels a hand forcefully press against her mouth and nose, cutting her off, and feels a sharp pain to her gut. She, panicking, then feels herself getting pushed against the stall door opposite of the one Ryoba was just in.. The door being unlocked, it’s forced open and she falls back, landing seated onto the toilet.

    Breathing heavily, Sumire looks down at her gut, blood pouring out of the spot where she was stabbed, her shirt already stained red. Looking up, she sees Ryoba looming over her, stepping into the stall, bloody kitchen knife in hand and the sweet smile, now with a hint of sinisterness, still on her face. 

    Sumire raises an arm to defend herself, but Ryoba just slashes very deliberately down her forearm, trying to open as many blood vessels as possible. Sumire starts to scream, but Ryoba stuffs her hand onto her mouth to stop it, stabbing her in the gut again, much deeper and even twisting the blade.

    Already disorientated by the surprise attack and now drowsy from her rapid blood loss, Sumire attempts to fight back against Ryoba, each time only resulting in more stabs and slashes against her torso, arms, and face.

    Finally, Ryoba goes for the kill, and attempts to plug the blade into her neck, but Sumire is able to catch it with her hands. The two struggle for a bit, the knife inching closer and closer to Sumire’s neck, until the girl promptly stomps on her attacker's foot.

    Evidently, Ryoba had taken her shoes off so as to not make any footprints in the blood, as she lets out a yelp of pain, allowing Sumire to push her off and out of the stall. She rises back up, dizzy due to the blood loss, as she attempts to make her escape to, at the very least, die in a public place so her attacker won’t be able to get away with it.

    However, she underestimated how quickly an Aishi can recover, and just as she rushes out the stall door, Ryoba plunges the knife into her chest and pushes her back onto the toilet seat.

    Panting as she walks up, she says, “You got some fight in you, I’m impressed.”

    Shocked and even a little offended by how casual her attacker is being about this murder, Sumire says, “You’re not getting away with this. You’ll never get away with this you fucking bi-”

    Again she’s cut off, this time by the knife plunging into the side of her neck deep enough to there it sticks out the other side, severing her vocal cords and who knows what else. As life starts fading quicker, the only thing she could do now was stare down her attacker.

    “We’ll see about that,” Ryoba says with a smirk, before quickly dropping it for a more threatening expression. “Jokichi is mine,” she says as she pulls the knife towards herself, completely slicing through the front of Sumire’s neck.

    Blood begins to hemorrhage out, both down her neck and in spurts that splash onto Ryoba’s face and body. On pure survival instinct, Sumire just begins to paw at her completely open neck as she gurgles on the copious amounts of blood going down her windpipe.

    Mercifully, it’s short lived, and soon the gurgling stops, her head leans forwards and her eyes flutter shut as her hands drop down the sides of the toilet.

    Only when the movement stops does Ryoba move, and the first thing she does is smirk gleefully at what she did. Snapping back into composure, the then grabs Sumire’s limp left arm and places the knife handle into her grasp, letting it fall to the floor when she lets go. She then carefully pulls the girls shoes from her feet, taking great care to avoid stepping on or touching the growing blood puddle. She places them at the front of the stall, thankful that the only traces of blood on them would be easily wiped off.

    Carefully edging out of that stall and back into the stall she was preparing in, she grabs the now empty trash bag from the toilet paper holder, taking care to avoid dripping blood onto the folded blue skirt, white shirt, black socks, her black shoes and a cheap white towel that she has folded beneath it. She grabs the towel before walking out of the stall, again making sure to not touch anything.

    She then walks up to the sinks and looks at herself in the mirror, laying the towel on the counter. No doubt, the blood drenched white shirt and black gloves would need to go. There’s also some stains on her skirt and her socks, so they’d need to go too.

    Opening the trash bag, she peels off her gloves, blood having seeped through onto her hands, and stuffs them into the bag. To her dismay, once her shirt and skirt were off and into the bag, she saw decent staining on her torso, bra and underwear. While the pantie stains could potentially be explained away, it was too risky, and both had to go too. So the bra, underwear, and socks were promptly removed and stuffed into the bag.

    Now standing in front of the mirror in her birthday suit, Ryoba examines herself for blood staining from seeping through her clothes. Obviously her hands are red, as well as her face, arms and most of her upper torso. Her lower body and legs had only a few blotches of red, and nothing below the knees were stained, as well as her entire backside, meaning should anyone come in, they not see a thing, since Sumire’s body was hidden by the stall, and would probably leave right away, so she could still get away with this.

    Using her elbows to turn on the warm water, she begins to scrub her hands and arms clean of the blood, taking about three minutes. Once that’s done, she then spaces her face clean. Miraculously, her hair was mostly unstained aside from her front bangs, which are promptly squeezed out. She then leans forwards to wash off her chest of blood, making sure not to drip any bloody water onto the floor. Once that’s done, she lifts herself onto the counter, positioning her body under the faucet, slowly sliding as the water cleans up most of her body until the stains are not as visible. Since she intends on showering after she returns home, these lower body stains are low priority to clean, just to make them less visible just in case. She does take the time to clean her thighs as they’ll be visible once she’s clothed again.

    Shutting off the faucet and jumping off the counter, she examines herself for any stains she missed. Satisfied, she grabs the towel and dries herself lightly, only enough to give the illusion of sweat, since it’s a decently hot day.

    Once she’s done drying, Ryoba looks at the towel. Aside from a few light pink splotches, she’s satisfied she got everything, and stuff the towel into her garbage bag. She then slides on the spare socks, skirt and shirt. She probably should have brought spare underwear, but since she’s heading right home for her alibi, no one will notice, and even if someone does, it’s none of their business why she “decided to go commando” that day.

    Once she’s dressed up again, she grabs a few paper towels to carefully wipe off the blood smears on Sumire’s shoes, before stuffing that into the trash bag. She then stuffs her trash bag into Sumire’s dropped trash bag. 

    Then she quickly washes her hands again, just to be sure, before picking up the trash bag and making her way to the bathroom door.

    Making a quick stop, she turns back to Sumire’s lifeless body, and smirks. “We’ll see,” she says as she walks away out of the bathroom.

    Her destination is the incinerator at the side of the school building, where she’ll chuck the bag full of evidence into it and light it, then to head home to showers and formulate her alibi, leaving Sumire dead in the bathroom stall in the third floor girls room until being found by a very unfortunately first year girl early Monday morning.

    In that very stall, in the very same bathroom, thirty three years and almost five months later, the daughter of both Sumire’s murderer and her boyfriend sits on the very same toilet her dead body was found on, bawling her eyes out.

    It's hard to tell how long she was in there, as Ayano was too busy either raging at either Osana, Musume, or Pippi, or sobbing at the fact that Taro Yamada essentially rejected her on the grounds of  “staying safe” despite the current circumstances, or rage sobbing at how no one’s trusting her despite Sidney having her back and the litany of evidence showing that she’s innocent. What’s not clear about that?

    Well one thing for sure is clear, and that’s once this crisis is over, assuming all or most of them survive it, Ayano’s gonna seriously reevaluate her friendships with those people. Midori and Yui, and by extension Mai, are cool since they at least seem to believe and trust her enough, and Oka’s someone she’d like to remain friends with once this is done. Ryuto and, to a lesser extent, Gema are in a gray area since while they obviously don’t trust her fully, were at least cordial and seem willing to at least hear her out. Then there’s Pippi, who was a bit aloof towards her yesterday and full on antagonistic for no reason today, and based on her reaction to the others taking Ayano’s side, or at least willing to listen to her, was any indication, it won’t be changing anytime soon. 

    Needless to say, assuming they both survive this killing spree, they’re going to have a long talk.

    Of course, there’s also the possibility that Pippi’s one of the killers, and her antagonism is meant to drive a wedge between the friend group so they could be more easily killed. That or her significantly intense anger towards her could be the result of getting the shit kicked out of her last night.

    Ayano tries to flash back to her attack the night prior, on the killer specifically. The grunts, in hindsight, do sound a bit familiar, but thanks to both how brief they were and the muffling from the Ghostface mask, it’d be impossible to determine who it was. Body wise, the killer was somewhat on the skinnier side and was around her height, which fits Pippi’s body shape remarkably well.

    But it also matches Midori’s

    And Yui’s 

    And Mai’s

    And Osana’s

    And Musume and her posse’s

    And Homu’s

    And the Basu sisters

    Really the only girls on the suspect list who it probably isn’t are Raibaru, Megami and Oka, all three being around a head taller than her, with them having the body types of an Amazonian, an ancient marble statue, and a couple trips to the gym away from being a skeleton respectively.

    Frankly, among the thirteen girls it could be, the only immediately apparent difference in body shape would be bust size, and even then it wouldn’t work because the Ghostface cloak is very form concealing. She could rule out the longer haired one’s like Midori and Osana, but from her Halloween experiences it’s not all that hard to put that mask on with longer hair.

    So then what?

    After crying herself dry, Ayano rises from the seat and begins to make her exit, only to halt in her tracks when she hears the door to the bathroom open, followed by the sounds of footsteps.

    “This place will do,” the unmistakable voice of Musume says, “no one’s here.”

    Ayano quickly backs up, steps back onto the toilet and crouches down as more and more footsteps are heard. Then shadows begin to appear beneath the stall as people enter the bathroom.

    “So,” the voice of Hoshiko says as the all enter, “any particular reason we’re here instead of in class?”

    “Yeah, I have a chemistry exam in ten minutes, so this better be quick,” Kokoro says.

    “Oh, can it, Koko,” Musume says. “That stupid exam means nothing right now.”

    “Still upset about earlier?” Koshiko asks.

    “What the fuck do you think?!” she shouts back. “After that Prescott lady came to our school, trying to interfere with our problems, she has the audacity to take sides with that psychopath! As if she knows better.” Ayano could feel Musume fold her arms through the stall wall.

    “I mean, she kinda does,” Hana says. “After all, she’s been through this five times already. Three before any of us were even born, too.”

    “Yeah, if anyone knows how this shit works,” Kokoro says, “it’s Prescott.” The others murmur in agreement.

    “Whatever,” Musume says. “But she doesn’t know us, our school, our culture. She has no clue who any of us are, and she comes here like she’s the ultimate judge of who’s guilty and innocent.”

    Ayano proactively covers her mouth in preparation for what she knows must come next … and also to prevent herself from screaming profanities at Musume for what she just said.

    “She has the gaul to think it could possibly be me, and thinks that creepy psycho is completely innocent. As if it’s not completely obvious it’s her, and it’s always the obvious one to be the killer in those movies.”

    “Well…” Hana says awkwardly, “in Stab films, it’s really fifty fifty on whether the killer is the obvious suspect or the person no one is suspecting.”

    “I know that!” she shouts. “But there’s always two killers, one usually fairly obvious and the other less so. Billy was the obvious suspect in the first movie with Stu as the more low key one, then Mickey was the obvious one, then Angelina, so on and so fourth. And right now the only super suspicious one is Ayano!”

    “Still, both she and Prescott have a point,” Hoshiko admits. “I mean, what evidence do we have that it’s her?”

    “Yeah, the fact that she’s a Stab fan is kinda irrelevant,” Kashiko says, “especially since she’d know better than to play into certain tropes of those movies, both practically and in order to subvert audience expectations.”

    Kokoro leans up to her ear and says, “Didn’t Stab 8 do that and it ended up sucking?”, which she only shrugs too.

    “And the whole Aishi thing only really says that someone in her direct family tree killed someone,” Hana says, “but that doesn’t mean anything about her. I mean, yeah, we all know she’s a creepy weirdo, but that doesn’t always mean she can kill.”

    “Yeah, not all freaks are the same,” Kokoro says. 

    “Don’t any of you get it?” Musume asks, genuinely getting madder. “My reasoning isn’t that she has killer in her blood. I mean that she had that monster, Ryoba Aishi, as a mother figure and teacher for the first fifteen years of her life. And the fact that she goes completely without interview despite all of that, while I have only a mild connection to the first killing here yet I’m completely reamed through and humiliated in front of all those people is why I’m pissed.”

    There’s murmurs of agreement, including one of the girls saying, “Yeah, I guess you have a point.”

    “You see now?” Musume asks. “Killer or not, it’s complete bullshit that she’s going completely unmolested, all because Sidney and Officer Taku are on her side and trust her.”

    “You’re right,” one of them says, to the collective murmurs of the others.

    Musume lets out a sigh. “I just needed to vent. None of this leaves this room, okay?” she asks, to which she gets only silent nods as an answer. “Good, no one needs to know any of this. You can go now.”

    With that, the four turn and begin to walk out. Musume trails behind them, but stops right in front of Ayano’s cell.

    Ayano freezes and seizes making any noises as the one shadow becomes two, indicating that she’s turned. Whether Musume’s looking at Ayano’s stall or the one across from her is hard to tell.

    She doesn’t leave for a bit, and curious, Ayano lightly peers down, seeing that Musume is indeed looking at the stall across from Ayano.

    Almost as soon as she peeks down, Musume lets out an indecipherable mumble, before turning and walking away. She does stop again right as she’s about to leave, evidently looking back at the stalls, before slinking back out into the hall.

    Only once she was sure they were gone did Ayano decide to finally leave the stall. Slowly edging out she turns her head to the mirror and sees her face is now red and puffy.

    She fully wipes her eyes as she walks up to the sinks. Turning one on, she begins to splash some cold water on her face, of course shutting her eyes as she does. She splashes a few times, before shutting off the water. She then leans over and grabs a few paper towels and begins to dry her wet face. 

    It’s only when she tosses the towels aside that she realizes that she can still hear the sink running.

    Opening her eyes again, she sees that they’re all off and, aside from the one she just used, all the basins were stone dry.

    Then she notices that the noise isn’t coming from the sink, and is beginning to sound a lot less like running water and more like static. She turns in the direction it’s coming from, it being the stall opposite the one she was just in.

    “You understa… seriousness of these cha… you face, corre…?” the faint sound of a static filled male voice says, startling her.

    “ Yes ,” a static filled young female voice says, followed by a strange noise that might be a sob, but poorly conveyed through a shitty recording device. “ I …stand Your Honor. ”

    More staticky sobs are heard as Ayano slowly begins to edge herself towards the stall.

    “ And you understand tha… found guilt… face far more … charges than if you … right now, cor…ct? ”

    There's more staticky sobbing, but the female voice evidently didn’t answer verbally. Then there’s a very loud burst of static that nearly causes Ayano to yelp in pain, but she resists as she slowly attempts to get away.

    “ Ryoba Aishi ,” the static male voice says clear enough for the name to be audible, further freaking out the girl, “ ho… you plead? ”

    “ N-n-n-n-not… ” the static obscures the rest of the girls response, but as Ayano is walking past the stall it’s coming from, she fully understands that the girl said “Not guilty”.

    Then there’s a clicking noise and the static stops completely. This makes Ayano stop in her tracks, but it’s quickly followed by another click.

    “ Miss Aishi, is it? ” a different female voice says, much clearer than the previous recording. “ I’m correct in saying that you pleaded and were found not guilty of the murder of Sumire Saitozaki, correct? ”

    “ Yes your honor ,” the unmistakable voice of Ayano’s mother says from the stall, especially since it’s from the recording of her retrial almost two years ago.

    Ayano resumes her slow tread to leave the bathroom, though she does keep one eye trained on the stall as she edges out.

    “ And it is evident that you intend to alter your plea, or else you wouldn’t be here. Is that correct ?”

    “ Correct, Your Honor ,” Ryoba’s voice says. Ayano then begins to slow, not by what she’s hearing, but seeing.

    Within the stall, through the gap, she could see a pair of legs with the black school shoes lower slowly to the ground, the person inside evidently still seated.

    “ With that in mind, ” the voice of the judge continues, as the frilled, black bottom of a cloak is lowered over the legs, and the person inside visibly rises up to a standing position, “ how do you now plead? ”

    There’s another clicking noise and the audio recording abruptly stops. It’s followed shortly by another

    “ GUILTY! ”

    Ayano halts in her tracks as behind her, Ghostface bursts from the bathroom stall. She turns to the killer, seemingly fairly taller than the one who attacked her last night, and ducks as they charge at her, hunting knife drawn.

    She slams her torso into the killer's legs as they reach her, causing them to trip over her and fall to the floor. She then gets back to her feet and runs back towards the mirrors, before promptly turning back towards the killer.

    She sees them rising back up to their feet quickly, before slowly turning their head to glare at her.

    “Why are you doing this to me?” Ayano asks, backing up to the sinks as she realizes she’s basically trapped herself. “What did I do to you?”

    The killer does a Michael Myers-esque head tilt at her, before slowly raising their free hand to their neck. A click is heard, and a red light begins to glow from beneath the cloak.

    “ Because of what you are! And what she did! ” Ghostface says, before raising the blade menacingly. “ YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE ALIVE! ”

    The killer then charges. Ayano backs up against a sink to avoid a swipe with the knife, before Ghostface grabs her head with their free hand, then slamming it into the mirror, shattering it.

    Throwing her to the floor, the killer looms over Ayano, readying the hunting knife to deliver a killing blow to the girl. 

    Ayano, in pain from the slam and several small glass shards imbedded on the right side of her face, raises one arm to defend her while the other feels the floor for something to use.

    The killer brings the knife down, Ayano feebly fighting their superior strength with her one arm, when she finally feels a glass shard large enough. Grabbing it tightly, she pulls it up to her and quickie jabs it into the killer's right leg. They let out a howl of pain as Ayano pushes them off to the side, her getting to her feet and running. 

    She stops at an open toilet stall, grabs the door, and turns back. Sure enough, the killer’s already on their feet, using their free hand to pull the shard from their leg.

    “ You little shit! ” they shout, turning to Ayano and rising up. They then begin to charge at her in a blind rage. “ I SWEAR I’M GONNA SLICE YOUR FUCKING-! ”

    They’re promptly cut off by Ayano slamming the bathroom door into them, knocking them on their back and out of breath. 

    Seizing her opportunity, Ayano turns and sprints out of the bathroom, only to immediately bump into something else upon exiting.

    “Woah! Woah! Woah!” Midori says, wrapping her arms around Ayano to keep the girl stable. “What’s got you all panicked?”

    Walking beside her are Yui and Oka, who are confused and very concerned respectively.

    “Are you good?” the redhead asks, gesturing to Ayano’s face. “Cause your face is kinda bloody.”

    Breathing too heavily to form proper words, Ayano just shrieks and points to the bathroom and just looks horrified.

    So is Oka, who’s staring at her wide eyed. “You saw her, right?” she asks somberly. “Saitozaki?”

    Ayano just shakes her head rapidly, before resuming pointing at the bathroom. “The ki- the- the kil,” she says between bated breaths.

    “Okay, okay,” Yui says, waking up and calmly grabbing Ayano’s shoulders. “Calm down okay. Just breathe like me.”

    She then starts to slowly inhale and exhale, which Ayano begins to mimic quickly. After a few seconds of this, Ayano’s shaking steadily stops and her composure partially regains.

    “Okay,” Yui continues, “so what was it?”

    Again pointing to the bathroom, Ayano shouts, “The Killer!”

    “What?” Midori shouts as she and Yui exchange a glance. “That’s impossible! How could they get in?”

    “I don’t know…” Yui says, turning to the bathroom. “...But since we didn’t see them leave,” she continues as she starts to rush for the bathroom, “and we’re on the third floor, they should still be there.”

    “Yui, wait!” Ayano shouts as Yui opens the door and waltzes right in.

    “Calm down,” Midori says, walking back up to her. “There’s four of us and one of them. If she’s in trouble, she’ll scream and we can come in and jump the fucker.”

    Oka shakes her head violently in protest of this motion, but fortunately for her she doesn’t need to fight, as Yui’s voice calls from the bathroom.

    “Uh, there’s nothing in here,” she calls, much to the confusion of Ayano.

    “What?” she shouts, rushing towards the bathroom, Midori and a reluctant Oka following.

    To her surprise, upon entering the bathroom, while the shattered mirror and partially open stall door she used to slam on the killer's face remain intact, there’s no sign of the killer anywhere. The only thing different is now Yui’s standing where the killer was, with a confused look on her face and throwing her hands up as if to say, “What the fuck?”

    “HOW?” Ayano shouts, looking all over the room, peeking into each stall to confirm the impossible.

    That somehow, Ghostface has escaped.

    “Wow,” Midori says as she walks up to the two. “You really fucked up this place good, didn’t yah?”

    “Listen,” Ayano says to the girls, Oka slinking in behind Midori, “the killer was in here. I swear I’m not bullshitting you. I know it looks strange, but it’s not what it looks like.”

    “It kinda is when we’re on the third floor and there’s no windows, with no way for the killer to get out,” Yui says, pressing her glasses up. “No offense, and as much as I don’t think it’s you, unless you have a good explanation for where he went, I don’t know what else to say.”

    “She does have a point,” Midori says with a shrug.

    Ayano was about to attempt to defend herself further, but was cut off by a yelp from Oka. The three turn to her, and Ayano says, “What is it?”

    Raising a finger to the side of the room with the broken mirror shards, the navy haired girl says, “She’s here.”

    “Who?” Midori says, turning in that direction.

    “Sumire.”

    Scoffing, Yui says, “Impossible.”

    “No,” Oka says in the same somber tone as before. “She’s right there.”

    “Well,” Yui asks, still skeptical, “what’s she doing?”

    “Pointing at us,” she says, eyes wide.

    “What?” Midori says as they all turn back to the spot. “Why would she do that?”

    “Wait,” Oka says, eyes slowly drifting up “She’s raising her hand.”

    The three turn to Oka as her eyes rise above to the ceiling for a minute. Then she points to a spot directly above the stall the killer first emerged from. 

    “There, she’s pointing there.”

    “What’s up there?” Midori asks.

    “Crawlspace,” Yui answers. “Most circuitry and piping. Between each floor, those panels can pop right off with ease.”

    “Is it big enough for a person to crawl through?” Ayano asks.

    “Looks like it,” Yui responds.

    “Then that’s how the killer got out,” she says with a smirk. “And it’s probably how they got in too. Got into a janitor's closet, changed into their costume, snuck in, attacked me, snuck out and changed out.”

    “Yeah,” Yui admits, pressing her glasses up again, “that makes sense.”

    “How do you know this?” a confused Midori asks the redhead.

    “This shit’s on the school's building plan, which is easily accessible online,” Yui responds. “Plus you can see the spaces between floors on the stairwells. I can show you when we leave.”

    “Speaking of,” Midori says, looking back down to Ayano, “we should probably leave now if we want to have enough time to talk to Mai in the hospital.”

    “I thought visiting hours for the hospital ends at six,” Ayano says.

    “We need to do something first,” Yui says, walking up beside the green haired girl.

    “That's why the three of us were looking for you,” she continues.

    Confused, Ayano asks, “What is it?”

    “No!” Ayano shouts as Midori drags her by the arm down the hall. “I don’t wanna!”

    “Too bad,” Yui says as she and Oka trail behind them, “this is happening.”

    “If we’re gonna visit Mai later,” Midori says, “she’ll be expecting all of us. Besides, if things are escalating, we need to stick together.”

    “But whyyyyyy,” Ayano groans. “Why her? After all the shit she said?”

    “Because we’re all friends, and friends need to stick together in times of crisis.”

    “I was just attacked by the killer and reconciliation is your first concern?”

    “Yes.”

    Suddenly, there’s a vibrating sound, and Yui stops in her tracks. She pulls out her phone and reads it. “They found her,” she says, rushing in front of Midori. “Follow me.”

    They do, and Yui leads them to the other side of the third floor, coming up on an open janitorial closet, where there’s an audible argument going on as they approach.

    “No! I refuse!” the voice of Pippi shouts as the four turn the corner into the room, seeing Pippi being surrounded by Gema and Ryuto.

    “Just do it, Pips!” Ryuto says as they enter the room. Then the three turn to them, Gema nudging Pippi in the back, pushing her closer to them.

    Midori does the same and throws Ayano into the room, and the two girls glare at each other while the others stand in silence. Ryuto and Gema behind Pippi, Midori and Yui blocking the door, and Oka awkwardly poking her head up from behind them.

    “C’mon,” Gema says, prodding her further, “get on with it. We don’t have all day.”

    Folding her arms, Pippi lets out a scoff and, completely deadpan, says, “I’m sorry for the harsh accusations, being a hypocrite, and for being a bitch to you.”

    “And I’m sorry for unjustly throwing it back at you when you were just being paranoid,” an equally deadpan Ayano says back.

    “There,” Gema says, walking beside the two, “it’s settled and we’re all friends again.”

    Walking beside him, Midori gestures to them and says, “Now hug it out.”

    Turning to her, they both say, “Do we have to?”

    Midori folds her arms, and Ayano and Pippi groan, and reluctantly hug each other.

    “There, now we’re all friends again,” Midori says.

    “And even if there’s both killers among us, we’ll outnumber them,” Gema says.

    “Exactly,” Midori says, wrapping her arm around Gema’s shoulders. “Now let’s get outta here before the killer shows his face and attacks one of us again.”

    “What?” Ryuto says as the others start to walk out.

    “I’ll explain on the way,” Ayano says as she leaves the room.

    And with that, the seven exit the janitorial closet and the school itself, heading for the hospital to visit number eight.

    “So,” Headmaster Shuyona says after Sidney and Mark debrief him on everything they’ve learned, “has your little investigation yielded any results? Do you know who’s doing this?”

    “Not yet,” Mark says, shaking his head, “but we have some more information that could clue us in to their identities.”

    “‘Could’,” he says sarcastically. “Well when will this “could” turn into a “will”? Because my school’s reputation is in danger, and the longer this drags on the worse it’ll get!”

    “I’m sorry to disappoint you, headmaster,” Sidney says, folding her arms, “but it’s not that simple. We need to go through what we’ve been told and see which of them were lying, as well as which alibis are backed up.”

    “You’ve been through this five times already, haven’t you?” the Headmaster asks. “Shouldn’t you be able to tell who’s the killer?”

    “I don’t know these kids,” Sid retorts. “I can’t know any of their telltale signs of lying. And the killers have caught me off guard before, I freely admit that. 

    “It’s not perfect by any means,” Mark says, “but our method is preferable to letting your students be slaughtered and us not to do a thing about it.”

    “I understand that,” Kocho says, frowning, “but you two need to understand that I just can’t allow you two to interrupt classes all willy nilly like you have been for the past two days. Feel free to continue conducting your investigation, but it’ll have to happen outside school property. Do you understand?”

    There’s silence for a moment. “We understand,” Mark says.

    Just then, someone else walks into the Headmasters office. “What is it, Megami?” he says as Sid and Mark turn, seeing the silver haired girl standing stiffly with her hands behind her back.

    “After a thorough search of the entire grounds, none of us could find anything suspicious,” she says, with a bow. “It has been reported through the halls that apparently Ayano Yudasei ran screaming from the third floor girls restroom, claiming the killer attacked her in there, but we have yet to verify if this is true.”

    “Thanks, Megami,” Sidney says, taking note of this development.

    “Yudasei,” the Headmaster says to himself, "that brings me to my other point.” The two turn back to him as he continues. “I’ve had several complaints from students that, during today's interview process, you, Mrs. Prescott, have been showing favoritism towards Miss. Yudasei, despite the, how you say, decent likelihood she has something to do with it.”

    “Decent might be too high,” Sid says with a shrug, “and I’m not playing favorites, I’m merely being logical. We know where she was last night already, both via her Yan-chan streams where she was attacked, and afterwards at Aia Taku’s house. The evidence simply tells me it’s improbable that she’s the killer. I could be wrong, but my instincts are telling me otherwise.”

    “Well certain students seem to believe otherwise, Mrs Prescott,” Kocho continues, “and some aren’t exactly appreciative of your special treatment of her when their alibis are just as valid as hers.”

    “Well I wouldn’t know,” Sidney says. “I can’t be everywhere at once to verify that each suspect is telling the truth. I have to rely on what I have, and what I have tells me that Ayano Yudasei isn’t the killer.”

    “Regardless,” the Headmaster says sternly, “I cannot afford for you two to continue disrupting classes. While your husband has an excuse of guarding Miss Saikou, I will not permit you to be on school grounds at any point unless it is absolutely necessary. Do you understand?”

    Sidney glares at the old man for a good while, until she eventually says, “I understand.”

    Nodding, Mark wraps his arm around his wife’s shoulders and says, “Let’s go, Sid. Ichirou is probably expecting that we head back to the estate as soon as possible.”

    As the two turn and walk towards Megami, Sidney says, “Not yet, there’s one more person I want to talk to before we wrap things up for the day,” she pauses as she turns to Megami, “provided you’re fine with a quick pit stop to the hospital.”

    Megami just shrugs. “I don’t have anything important to do until later, so why not?”

    And with that, the three exit the Headmasters office, intent on heading for the hospital.

Chapter Text

Beep … Beep … Beep

    “Are you sure I’m not intruding?” Oka asks the group as they stand in the middle of the hospitals reception area, while Midori asks the front desk for the extra visitors, and Gema still outside being lectured by his mother. “I… I mean … not that I don't appreciate you bringing me with you to see your friend, but I don’t feel like I fit in with you.”

    “Probably because you don’t,” Pippi says, folding her arms.

    “Pippi,” Yui says sternly, “be nice to her.”

    “I’m just saying,” she says, throwing her hands up. “We barely know her.. As far as I’m aware of her, she’s the creepy weirdo everyone says she is.”

    With a shrug, Ryuto says, “She’s kinda right, Yui.”

    “You just got to get to know her,” Ayano says, walking up to the lanky girl's side. “Then you’ll see she’s just an awkward outcast like the rest of us.”

    Oka smiles at her statement, while Pippi just shrugs and says, “I guess you may be right, assuming we even have the time to get to know her.”

    “Can you not bring that up now,” Yui says, lowering her voice slightly. “Don’t think now's the time to bring all this up when we’re about to visit Mai.”

    Speaking of Mai, Midori thanks the person at the desk before turning back towards the group. “Good news,” she says as she walks towards them, “I’ve managed to get our group approved to see her.”

    “That’s good,” Ryuto says as they all gather around her. “How is she from when you saw her yesterday?”

    “Sore,” Midori says as she crosses her arms. “Pain meds were wearing off when I came here after class, but other than a hurting back and hand she was basically fine.”

    “How is she handling everything?” Ayano asks.

    Midori just shrugs. “As good as one can in the given circumstances, but she was happy to see I was okay?”

    “What does that mean?” Oka asks.

    “Well, since she spent the whole school day either unconscious while getting stitched up or high on pain meds, she might have been under the assumption that we were all attacked, or that the killer struck again during her sleep.”

    “Well there has been another attack on one of us,” Ayano says curtly. “Two, actually.”

    “I still don’t understand how you believe the killer got in there,” Pippi says,shaking her head.

    “I’ll show you tomorrow before class,” Ayano says, raising her voice slightly.

    “Don’t start,” Midori says, folding her arms and glaring at the two. “You just made up and I don’t want you fighting when we see her.”

    “Sorry,” they both awkwardly say, glancing away from each other. 

    Then they all turn to the hospital doors, where Gema is standing, looking back outside.

    “Love you too, Mom,” he says as he quickly stuffs something in his pocket. Letting out a groan, he turns back to his friends and says, “Sorry about that.”

    Snickering, Midori says, “What did Mommy want, Gema?”

    Sighing, Gema says, “She just wanted to make sure I was following our safety protocol. Nothing else.”

    “Suuuuuure,” Midori says with a slow nod as Gema walks up.

    “Well, let's go see Mai now,” Ayano says, gesturing to everyone to get moving.

    “Right,” Midori says, leading the others towards the elevators. “It’s on the third floor at the other end of the hall, then down the right and four doors down to the left.”

    The seven being to walk, however, they’re quickly stopped by an attendant at the front desk rising to his feet and saying, “Uh, excuse me!” gesturing towards Gema.

    “What?” he asks as they all stop and turn to the desk.

    Gesturing to his pants, the clerk says, “You can’t bring those in here. You’ll have to leave them with me.”

    Sighing, Gema walks towards the desk and sticks his hands into his pockets. As he walks over, he pulls out the taser and pepper spray and places them on the desk. “I told her this wouldn’t be allowed,” he says as he turns and walks back to his friends. “Sorry about that.”

    “It’s fine,” Ayano says with a smile and nod.

    “If anything, this delay is better for us,” Midori says, lightly pushing the others to the elevator.

    “Why?” Ryuto asks.

    “Because the desk guy said that there’s people already talking to her.”

    This causes a bit of confusion, as Mai was one of them, aka the outcasts, so it was unlikely she had any other friends, and her parents both work at this time and would’ve visited her earlier in the day.

    “Who else would be visiting her, “ Ayano asks as the elevator doors close.

    “Appreciate you for doing this,” Mai says with a smile, laying down in her hospital bed, head resting on the pillow, looking at the girl leaning beside her.

    “It’s no big deal,” Raibaru says, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. “Besides, it’s been a while since we’ve spoken and now's as good a time as any to catch up.”

    Mai lets out a pained laugh. “Yeah, I guess me being the victim of an attempted murder makes everyone want to be my friend now.” Raibaru’s face starts to drop, so Mai quickly says, “Not that I mean you’re one of them, Rai. I’m glad you came  to visit. Been meaning to chat with you for a while, so I’m glad you found an excuse.” 

    The pink haired girl then shifts her gaze to a bit behind Raibaru, where Budo stands a little bit behind her. Then she turns her head straight forward, seeing Osana and Taro by the wall opposite her bed, her leaning against the wall further away with her arms folded and head turned to the door and him seated in one of the chairs with his hands balled up between his legs.

    "And I appreciate you guys being here," she continues, "even if I don't really know any of you."

    “It’s no problem,” Budo says, holding up a hand and shaking his head. “Any friend of Raibaru is a friend of mine.” He holds his hand there for a second, waiting for her to shake it, only to then remember that it was her right hand that was stabbed yesterday, and awkwardly pulls back.

    “Yeah,” Taro says, awkwardly shifting in his seat a little, “what Budo said.” Turning to the girl standing next to him, he asks, “What about you, Osana?”

    “Whatever,” she says with a scoff, clearly not wanting to be here. “Gotta stand by my friend, even when she’s actively making herself more of a target.”

    “Osana,” Budo says, crossing his arms.

    “Am I wrong?” she asks, throwing up her arms.

    “Can we,” Mai says, cutting a potential response off, “just not talk about this. I’m still hurting, and I don’t want what’s going on to be all we talk about.”

    Just then the door opens again, and they all turn to it.

    “Hi,” Midori says to Mai, before turning her gaze to the others in the room, Raibaru and Taro rising up to their feet. “Oh,” she says as Ayano and Yui walk in on either side of her, Gema, Pippi, Ryuto and Oka standing behind them.

    “Hey, Midori,” Mai says with a somewhat forced smile as the green haired girl rushes to the left side of her bed. “Wasn’t expecting you now, and everyone else too.” She looks up as Ayano walks up beside Midori, trying really hard to keep her gaze away from Taro and Osana, the latter shooting daggers at her. Gema, Pippi, and Ryuto slowly slip into the room, Oka laying back by the door as Yui walks more towards the end of the bed by the two there. “I assume by now you guys have gotten a bit more acquainted, right?”

    “I guess,” Taro says, before turning to the new people, giving them an awkward wave and a, “Hello.”

    Ayano keeps her gaze away, Midori’s still focused on her hurt boo, while Gema, Pippi, and Ryuto just shoot him looks of varying degrees of aggression.

    Yui, folding her arms and glaring at him, is the only one to verbally respond. “Hey,” she says in an audibly annoyed tone, causing Taro to lower his gaze.

    Annoyed by the increasing number of people, Osana folds her arms and shouts, “What are you doing here?”

    “Miss Wakahara here happens to be my girlfriend, Osana,” Midori says, turning to her.

    “We could be asking you the same thing,” Ayano counters, finally fessing up the courage to raise her gaze at the girl.

    “What does that matter to you, huh?” Osana challenges as the two start to close the distance, causing the others to get between them, spooking Oka back into the relative safety of the hallway.

    “Woah! Woah! Woah!” nearly everyone shouts as they attempt to stop another fight between the two girls.

    Finally, Raibaru gets between everyone and manages to say, “Calm down. I’m here because me and Mai were friends growing up, and still talked semi-regularly up until yesterday's attack. Can we stop this now?”

    With a mutual sigh, things calmed down slightly, and to avoid further conflict, Midori and her friends remained at Mai’s left side and Raibaru and her friends moved to the right side of the bed.

    “So,” Pippi says, lightly nudging between Ayano and Midori, kneeling beside Mai’s bed, “how are you feeling?”

    “Better,” Mai says, a bit hesitant, “hand still hurts like a motherfucker, though, especially when I try to move it at all. And my shoulders are very easily aggravated, so the doctors said not to move my arms around much.”

    “Why not just ask for painkillers?” Budo asks.

    “I would, but the amount they’ll give me will only numb them for a bit.”

    “You could always ask for more.”

    “True, but I doubt they’ll agree to it since they don’t want to hook me on the stuff,” she says, before turning her gaze to her girlfriend, “especially because they know that a certain someone’s a druggie.”

    “Hey!” Midori shouts, rising up and placing her hand on her chest. “I’ll let you know that, with the current crisis going on, I’m going completely clean. No more pothead Midori, thank you.”

    Osana chuckles, before saying under her breath, “Doubt that’ll last long.”

    Slightly leaning closer to her, Gema says, “She isn’t even doing it voluntarily. Her dealer cut her off,” which causes her to giggle.

    This earns the guy a smack to the chest, courtesy of the back of Yui’s hand.

    “Ow! Sorry.”

    “Well, glad you’re feeling better,” Ryuto says, “things haven’t been the same without you around.”

    “Yeah,” Ayano says, walking right up to the bedside and crouching down to be eye level with her friend. “Do you know when you’ll be discharged?”

    Mai stares deeply into Ayano’s eyes for a good few seconds. With half her face obscured by the pillow, it’s hard to get a read on her expression.

    With hesitance, Mai says, “If my injuries aren’t aggravated, the doctor said I’ll be back on my feet by monday.”

    There’s a general happiness in the room at this news. Even Osana seems at least happy that this girl she doesn’t know will be better relatively soon.

    “That’s good,” Yui says with a light smile and nod.

    “Glad to hear that,” Taro says with a thumbs up and smile.

    “And hopefully by then,” Raibaru says in a celebratory tone, “this whole crisis will be over and the guy who did this to you will be behind bars.”

    “Or dead,” Ayano says, immediately bringing down the mood of the room, causing everyone to turn to her again. “What?” she says defensively. “That’s how it works. We’ve all seen the movies, and the killers always die in the end.”

    “Not helping,” Gema says quietly.

    “What, do you expect Sidney to keep this batch of maniacs alive?” 

    “You didn’t need to bring it up,” Pippi says.

    “Oh,” Ayano says, realizing that what she said wasn’t really appropriate. “Sorry.”

    But this talk spurs another topic in Mai, one she must ask about. “So that means that woman was Sidney Prescott , right?” she asks, enthusiasm picking up slightly.

    “Yes,” Ayano says with a nod.

    “Really?”

    “The real deal,” Midori says.

    “Same with her husband and kids,” Taro says.

    “Wow,” Mai says, a smile on her face, “I can’t believe you guys were in the presence of such a living legend.”

    “Not just that,” Ayano says, getting a bit hyped. “We all actually spoke to her!”

    “What?”

    “No joke,” Ryuto says, “she gathered a bunch of us into a room to give us advice.”

    “And make us all suspects,” Osana chimes in, folding her arms and turning away at being reminded.

    “As if you weren’t already one,” Ayano says.

    “Zip it,” Gema says

    “Oh reall-” Osana starts, only cutting off when Raibaru puts her hand on her shoulder.

    “It’s actually how we got to know and befriended Oka here,” Midori says, moving her head out of the way and gesturing towards the navy haired girl, surprised at the limelight being on her.

    She gives an awkward wave, but Midori gestures for her to move forward, which she reluctantly does, walking up behind Midori, Ayano and Pippi.

    “Hello,” she says quietly, “it’s … very nice to meet you. Midori said many good things about you.”

    “Awww,” Mai says, also kinda awkwardly, her having heard the rumors and gossip about Oka Ruto. “I've heard a lot about you too.” Turning back to the collective crowd, she then asks, “Wait, why were you all questioned by her?”

    The silence is deafening, and extremely awkward. No one really wants to break the mood even more by saying it specifically, even if they all know.

    Not standing it anymore, Yui steps forward and says, “Look, I’ll be honest. We,” she gestures to her friend group, “were there because you were attacked and we’d both be suspects and potentially in danger because of it.” She then turns to gesture towards the other four. “And they’re here because of Osana’s association with Aka.”

    “Aka Nishin?” Mai asks, confused. “Why him?”

    “He was killed the night before your attack,” Raibaru says.

    “And whoever did it evidently knew that by killing him,” Osana says, still audibly annoyed, “I’d get the police’s attention and let them go scot free for the time.”

    “Oh,” Mai says, surprised by this development. “Who else?”

    “Well,” Gema says, “The Basu’s only showed up because of gossip.”

    “Okay that’s not surprising.”

    “Kaga and Homu because he and Saki were neighbors. Megami and the student council were there both because she’s being protected by Mr. Kincaid and the fact that they’d all be threats to the killers. And Musume and her clique were there because of her daddy’s connection to the Haruka’s.”

    “Wow,” Mai says, taken aback, “this is getting really out of hand.”

    “Tell me about it,” Pippi says.

    “I was drawn to her due to her aura,” Oka says, somewhat shamefully, “but now I see that my curiosity about her has dragged me into this thing, and there’s no way out now. Even if I run.”

    They all look at Oka for a good few seconds, causing the girl to freak out a little and zoom away back to the far corner of the room.

    “Annnnny ways,” Midori says, getting everyone’s attention, “there’s also the fact that a certain someone couldn’t miss the chance to meet her idol in person.”

    “Shut up,” Ayano says, lightly tapping the rim of Mai’s bed.

    “Well thanks for telling,” Mai says, her unease a bit more obvious, “especially since those people are all in the same creak as me, or are the ones who did this to me.” Turning her head to the whole group, she continues, “Why me, anyways? Out of all the students at Akademi, why was I chosen to be a part of the bodycount? I didn’t know Kokona, or Saki, so why me?!”

    The group is silent again, though Ayano could tell that many of their eyes were subtly shifting towards her.

    “Well,” she starts awkwardly, trying to ease her way into telling the one person who doesn’t yet know, so she can at least tell her on her own terms, “it’s not a complete certainty, bu-”

    “Oh, come on!” Osana shouts, causing everyone to turn to her. “Just say it, bitch!”

    “Can you let me talk?” Ayano shouts back.

    “Osana,” Budo says, “can you please-”

    “Why should I?” she asks the karate club leader. “We’re all up shits creek now and it’s all her fault, so why is she being all koy about it?” Then she turns back to Ayano. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you might not be the killer, but even if you’re not them, the only reason we’re in this situation is because of you! So why not tell your good friend, Mai Wakahara, just how much your fault this is?”

    “Ayano?” Mai says, causing her to turn back to her. “What does she mean by that? This isn’t really your fault, is it?”

    Letting out a sigh, already attempting to suppress a sob, she says, “I wish I could tell you it’s not, I’ve been denying it myself, but…” she pauses to look her friend head on. “...but I can’t anymore.”

    “What?”

    “I was attacked twice,” Ayano says, voice quivering, “last night in my home, and just an hour ago in the third floor girls room.”

    “What?” both Osana and Budo say as Raibaru’s jaw drops and Taro raises his hands to his face.

    “And…” Ayano continues, breathing heavily, “and both times they made it clear why, and I'm so very sorry, Mai. I’m sorry, but now I know I’m the killer’s main target.”

    “What are you talking about?” she asks, audibly getting concerned.

    “Whoever is doing this,” she continues, tears starting to fill her eyes, “for whatever reason, it has something to do with my mother, what she did.” She pauses to attempt to wipe the tears from her eyes, to little success.

    “Ayano,” Midori asks, putting her arms around her shoulders, “are you okay, because you can stop now?”

    “No,” Osana says sternly, “let her continue. Mai of all people has the right to know the truth.”

    “Yan-yan,” Mai says softly, “what is it?”

    “You’ll hate me!”

    “No I won’t,” she says reassuringly, “but I need to know why you think this is all your fault. What did your mother do?”

    Sniffling, Ayano raises her gaze again, not even attempting to stop the tears from flowing.

    “My mother is Ryoba Aishi.”

    Silence again fills the room as Mai’s eyes start to widen.

    “What?!” she shouts as she pushes herself up, only to wince in pain as she aggravates her hand injury. “You can’t be serious.”

    Sighing, Ayano says, “Unfortunately, it’s true.”

    “And you never said anything?!” she says, before turning to everyone else. “Did any of you know!”

    There’s a collective murmur of no’s as the others try to deflect.

    “No,” Ayano says firmly, “I told no one. They all only found out yesterday, and it wasn’t because of me.”

    “Well why didn’t you ever say it?” Mai asks, letting the disdain and anger she’s been feeling out. “After two years of knowing us, you never thought it was important to tell us that your mothers a murderer!?”

    “What choice did I have?!” Ayano says back, defensively. “I came here in the middle of October. I’d have a difficult time fitting in and meeting people then. Imagine how hard it would be if I just flat out said, ‘Hey, my name's Ayano Yudasei and my mother killed a girl when she was my age.’.” She then pauses to calm down a bit. “We came here so I could escape what she did.”

    “Then why move back here?” Osana buts in. “Moving back to the place where your mother killed a chick to avoid the backlash from her killing her is not a very smart move.”

    “Well we didn’t have a choice,” Ayano says, turning to address the room. “The house was cheap and already in mom's name, dad didn’t keep up with his high school friends when he and she left for uni, and we reasoned that anyone who noticed that I was a single child would assume that my mother was just dead or divorced, not in prison.” 

    “Fat load of good that did yah!” Mai shouts, causing Ayano to turn back to her. “Look at me!”

    Voice quivering, Ayano says, “When we moved here, dad said we could be free from the pain she caused, and that we’d be the only one’s who’d know…” she pauses to stifle a sob. “...but someone found out, and for a while based on how long Mr. Ghostface was talking to me...”

    “Huh?” Mai says, confused.

    “Ayano’s Yan-chan,” Midori says

    “What?!” she says, turning to her girlfriend.

    “...and I don’t know why,” Ayano continues, “but whoever it is wants me dead, and is willing to cut through all of you to do it, and Mai,” she says, walking back up and leaning down to her, “I am so very sorry this happened. If I had known that-”

    “Get away from me!” she shouts, scooting away from her on the bed, grunting in pain as she aggravates her back wounds.

    “Oh please don’t tell me you think I did this to you,” Ayano says, already sobbing as the one person in the group who holds them all together aside from Midori completely turns her back on her.

    “It doesn’t matter if I do!” she shouts back. “Being around you is a death sentence! So just fucking stay away!”

    “Finally!” Osana shouts, raising her hands to the ceiling. “You all are finally realizing it. Killer or not, we need to stay away from her.”

    “You're not helping, bitch,” Pippi says.

    “Mai, please,” Midori says as she leans up to replace Ayano’s spot at her bedside, “just calm down for a second.”

    “Your heart rate is going up,” Raibaru says, taking the same spot on the other side. “Just breathe slowly and-”

    “You too!” Mai shouts at no one in particular. “Any one of you could’ve been behind that mask, or are in cahoots with the person who was, so all of you go away!”

    “Hey, it wasn’t me!” Ryuto pipes up. “Both Ayano and Yui saw me at school yesterday.”

    “For the record,” Osana says, “I was at the police station, and-”

    “Shut up!” Mai shouts between pants. “All of you just shut up!”

    “Mai,” Midori says, placing a hand on her chest. “Please, just calm down.”

    “Don’t tell me to calm down,” she says, turning to her. She stares down her girlfriend for a few seconds, breathing slowing down a bit. “You knew,” she says.

    “What?”

    “Yesterday, you knew about Ayano, who she is, yet you said nothing when we spoke after class.”

    “What does that mean?” Midori asks. “I didn’t want to ruin your mood when you woke up, plus we didn’t know for sure back then if Yan’s mom was the reason all this is happening.

    “Riiiiiiiight,” Mai says, scrunching her eyes at her, before grabbing her hand with her unharmed one and tossing it off her chest. 

    “Mai, please, you have to trust me,” Midori says.

    “How can I?” she asks.

    “Okay you know what, fuck this!” Gema suddenly shouts, raising his hands up. “Fuck this, fuck all of you, I’m getting away while I have the chance!”

    He then begins to walk towards the door, continually repeating, “Fuck this,” as he goes. Due to him being completely distracted by his rant, he fails to notice the person waiting outside the door until he collides into her.

    “I can’t believe this,” an audibly annoyed Sidney says as she and Mark exit the elevator, “only a single security camera in the lobby and did you see how understaffed they are?”

    “Place must not have a whole lot of injuries or people addicted to drugs, I imagine,” Mark says as he scans the hall. “If there were ever a town near Tokyo to commit a killing spree, this would be the perfect place.”

    “Especially in this place,” Sid says, before lowering her voice a little, “and after what happened in Woodsboro last year, I know they’ll come after this place, and the girl.”

    Both knowing and remembering who she’s referring to, Mark lowers his head a little and says, “Yeah, this isn’t a mistake we can make again.” 

    The two then begin walking down the hall, Mark saying, “Her room is 319, so just down the hall.”

    “Right,” Sidney says as they walk out of the entrance area and down the hall towards the intersection, which is when they start hearing faint voices. 

    As they approach, the voices become more audible, since it’s pretty obvious even from their that a lot of shouting is going on.

    Pausing to look at each other, Sid and Mark continue down, much faster, as they turn right. Sure enough, the fourth door on their left is wide open, showing several shadows inside, and there’s an audible argument going on inside.

    “Someone has to break this up,” Sidney says, breaking into a run towards the door. She’s almost at it when.

    “Ow!” they both shout upon collision.

    After stumbling back a bit, Mark running up to make sure she doesn’t fall, Sidney looks up and sees the semi familiar dark blue hair and glasses. “Taku?” she says.

    “Oh, sorry  about that Mrs. Prescott,” Gema says anxiously, awkwardly sliding past her and Mark into the hall. “But I’m done with this shit,” he continues as he walks down the hall. “Fuck it! If you meet mom when you leave, tell her I went home.”

    Before either could intervene he had already turned the corner out of sight. Sid and Mark exchange another look, before turning and walking into the crowded hospital room.

    Naturally, all eyes are on the two now, mostly surprised and even a little embarrassed at having been caught arguing, though Mai is noticeably almost as starstruck as Ayano was when she first met her.

    “We’re here to speak to you, Miss Wakahara,” Sidney says to her, snapping the girl out of her haze.

    “Oh,” she says, surprised, “me?”

    “Yes.”

    Turning to the others, Mark says, “If you don’t mind, me and Sid would like to have this talk alone.” He then gestures towards the door, and one at a time, each of them begins to file out into the hall. “It’ll only be a few minutes. If you still want to talk to her after, just wait and we'll let you know when you can come back.”

    So they file out one at a time. First Oka, then Yui, followed by Taro, Ryuto, Osana, Budo, Pippi, Raibaru, and Ayano, leaving only one other person in the room.

    “That includes you, Gurin” Sidney says, causing Midori to sigh and rise up.

    “Talk to you later, I guess,” she says, hurt by her girlfriend's accusation, which is only met by Mai turning her head away, before walking out.

    “So, Miss Wakahara,” Mark starts as the door closes, “are you ready to talk?”

    “In a sec,” she says, calming down a little, but still breathing a lot, “it’s just that I’m still a bit surprised.”

    “Surprised?” Sidney says while she’s in the midst of grabbing a chair and moving it to the girls bedside. Sitting down, she continues, “What are you surprised about?"

    “Well,” Mai stutters, “it’s just that with everything, the attack, my friends betraying me, you being here. It’s all a little overwhelming.”

    “Oh,” Sidney says, before giving Mark a quick glance. “You see me as a legend, do you?”

    While she doesn’t speak it, after a few seconds, Mai gives a little nod. 

    Leaning in a little closer, Sid then says, “Listen, Mai, I may be many things, but a legend isn’t one of those things. Believe me when I say that when I was your age, I was no more remarkable than you are.” She then grabs the girls not bandaged hand and gives it a little squeeze. “The only thing different between us is the fact that I have both amazing and terrible luck. I’m only remarkable in that every few years people try to murder me, and each time they try I only get stronger. I’m just a regular woman, and when I was young I was nothing more than a regular teenage girl, no more special than you.”

    Mai, stunned by Sid’s words, especially after the few years of hyping the lady up in her mind, simply remains silent, wide eyed, before glancing down at Prescott’s hand around hers.

    “Really?” she asks.

    “Really,” Sid responds.

    “Sorry about the blood.”

    Sighing, Sidney says, “For better or worse, I’m used to having someone else's blood on my face.”

    Walking up beside his wife’s chair, Mark crouches down slightly and says, “Are you ready to talk now?”

    In response, Mai nods slowly.

    “Okay then,” Mark says, standing back up, “tell us everything that happened before you encountered him.”

    A downcast Midori slides out of the room and closes the door behind her, before looking up at the very tense group of her peers looking at her.

    Letting out a sigh, the green haired girl lowers her gaze and starts to walk forward, Ayano and Yui catching her in an embrace.

    The hall is silent save for Midori’s muffled sobs and the muffled conversation going on inside.

    “Well,” Ryuto says abruptly, “that went well.”

    “Ryuto!” Yui says, shifting her gaze to him.

    “Now's not the time to be funny,” Pippi says quietly towards her friend.

    “I dunno,” Budo says, rubbing the back of his head, “the Stab movies have always been rather funny…” he slows as everyone shifts their gazes to him. “Sorry,” he says awkwardly.

    “This is getting bad,” Oka stammers, slowly edging herself away from the group.

    “Tell me about it,” Osana says, folding her arms again.

    “Really bad,” Raibaru says, walking towards the center of the group. “If Mai of all people is getting angry, there’s really no hope.”

    “That’s not what I was referring to,” Oka says, before shutting her eyes and pressing her three middle fingers into her temples. “The cloud of death is hanging over us all.”

    “Oh great, with this shit,” Osana says.

    “Rude,” Ayano says quietly.

    “It’s too late for any of us to escape,” Oka says, panic audible in her tone. “It’s coming for us all.”

    Noticing how heavily she’s breathing, Midori separates herself from Ayano and Yui and walks towards the girl. “Are you good?”

    The girl then crouches down to the ground, pressing her palms against her head and gritting her teeth.

    “The black spector is everywhere,” she says, before raising her gaze and taking her time staring into Midori’s. “Black form… White face… Long mouth…” she says as she shifts her gaze from her to Ayano, Pippi, Yui, Ryuto, Osana, Taro, Budo, Raibaru, before finally shutting them again. “It’s surrounding all of us!” she shouts, rising up again, gaze darting from each person again, panic quickly engulfing the poor girl. “...and the source of it is right here, but I can’t see from who!”

    Before anyone could ask her to elaborate, Oka turns and runs off, pressing her hands against her temples again as she darts around the corner and out of view.

    “Honestly,” Pippi says flatly, “don’t even fault her.”

    “Unless she’s one of the killers and that whole spiel is bs,” Ryuto whispers, to which Pippi nods.

    “I don’t blame her either,” Ayano says, letting her arms drop. “It is too late. You’re all in too deep now, too close to me.”

    “Now she finally fucking admits it,” Osana says, before pointing at her. “You’re damn misguided fantasies about my friend are gonna get us stabbed! I hope you’re happy!”

    “Osana!” Raibaru says sternly.

    “Now don’t say that,” Budo says, walking up to her. “None of us were attacked yet. Only Ayano’s group is for sure in the killer's sights.”

    “What about Aka?” Osana counters. “Or Haruka for that matter. She sat next to Taro in their homeroom class, just like how that Casey Becker chick sat next to Prescott.”

    “Where did you get that from?” Taro says, looking up from his phone. “They never said anything like that in the film.”

    “She’s talking about the real life murders, not the movies, dumb ass,” Yui says from the other side of the group.

    “No, Budo,” Ayano says, “Osana’s absolutely right. Maybe if I had been less open about it, you guys wouldn’t be in this shit.” With a sigh, Ayano walks up to Osana. “Listen, I know you don’t like me at all, for good reasons, and you don’t have to. I just want you to believe me when I say that I mean no ill will towards you, and I am truely, deeply sorry you were dragged into this.”

    Folding her arms, Osana scoffs and says, “Fat load of good an apology will do now.”

    “Osana,” Raibaru says, attempting to get in between the two girls.

    “Me and my friends could fucking die because of you, and you think saying sorry is gonna fix all that?!”

    “I don’t know what else to fucking say!” Ayano says, stepping closer, Osana doing the same. “All I wanted was a normal fucking life at this normal fucking school, and leave behind all the shit my mother did! Is that too much to fucking ask?!” 

    “You still could have said something,” Pippi says, raising her own voice slightly.

    “Oh don’t start on this shit again,” Yui says, shaking her head.

    “I’m still not even fully convinced it’s not her,” she says, turning to the redhead, “and even if it’s not, it’s still her fault that this shit is happening to us at all.” She then turns to Ayano. “And you still could’ve said  something, at the very least as a possible heads up!”

    “Guys,” Midori says feebly, still hurting from what Mai said, “please…”

    “Yeah,” Ryuto shouts, ignoring Midroi, “you could’ve given us some kind of warning. Like “Hey, my mother did this fucked up thing and got away with it for decades and that might make some people angry and want revenge on me.” You don’t even need to be specific on what she did, just basic fucking warning could’ve been nice.”

    “See,” Osana says, causing Ayano to turn back to her, “even your own friends think I’m right.”

    “Shut up!”

    “Make me!”

    The two girls then start shoving each other, the others quickly attempt to separate them. Some punches are thrown, some insults are flung, and one thing leads to another and the whole hall quickly devolves into a shouting match.

    Naturally, the shouting drew attention, and within a matter of seconds two nurses, a man and a woman, were rushing towards them to break up the fight.

    “I ran as fast as I could,” Mai continues, both Sid and Mark nodding along, “and before I knew it I was bumping into that car.”

    “The Saikou limo,” Sidney says.

    “Yes,” Mai says, shaking a little, “then I saw you two, which was when things started to get fuzzy. After you left, everything started to get woozy, and when I came back to my senses, I was here, Midori looking over me, and that’s it.”

    “Ok,” Mark says, raising back up, “with the full story of your attack, I’ll start asking you some other questions. Is that fine?”

    “Yes,” Mai says with a nod, voice quivering a bit.

    “Now, can you please tell me-”

    He’s cut off by the sounds of shouting coming from outside the door, getting all of their attention.

    “I’ll see what’s going on,” Sidney says, raising up and heading for the door. “Keep up the questions.”

    Mark nods as Sidney opens the door, seeing the two nurses forcing themselves to the middle of the students, the woman holding the two girls at the center of this fight apart.

    “This behavior is not appropriate!” she shouts in a stern voice.

    “Not only is it potentially hazardous,” the man says, “but it’s distressing for our patients, especially Miss Wakahara.”

    “All of you need to leave now,” the woman says, “separately.”

    Immediately, Pippi and Ryuto head down one hall, and Taro down another.

    “I can’t leave,” Osana says as Budo heads down another hall, waving her and Raibaru off. “I still have shit I need to do here.”

    Folding his arms, the male nurse says, “Then get done what you need to get done, then leave.”

    As Yui heads down the hall Taro went and Raibaru follows Budo, Osana lets out a groan before heading down another hall, though not before deliberately bumping into Ayano as she walks past.

    After glaring at the redhead, Ayano turns to Midori, who looks just miserable. “I’m so sorry that happened.”

    Not being able to form words, Midori just lets out a sob, and as Ayano opens her arms, Midori walks into the hug.

    “Girls,” the lady nurse says, walking up to them, “I’m sorry, but you both still need to leave.”

    “Actually,” Sidney says, walking up to them, “if you don’t mind, I’d like to say a few things to them.”

    The nurses nod and walk off, leaving them alone.

    “I take it, you still want to talk to me?” Ayano says.

    “Yes,” Sidney says, “and since I couldn’t talk to you during your lunch I figure now's as good a time as any.” She then turns her gaze to Midori. “And Gurin, once Mark’s done questioning Mai, you should be able to be alone with her. You did say she was your girlfriend yesterday, right?”

    “So you no longer think it could be me?” the girl asks dryly.

    “I don’t have enough evidence to fully rule you out,” Sidney admits, “but for what it’s worth, after my attacks, Billy never emoted this much in response to it or my suspicions of him, so either you’re a good actress or you’re sincere.”

    Stifling a sob, Midori says, “Appreciated, but I don’t think she wants to talk to me at the moment.”

    And with that, the green haired girl separates herself from Ayano’s grip and slowly walks down the hall Pippi and Ryuto went down, leaving Ayano alone with her idol.

    “So…” she starts, “what did you want to talk to me about?”

Chapter Text

“Osana Najimi.”

    The attending pharmacist nods his head and turns back to his computer to type in the name the orange haired girl just said to him.

    “Osana Najimi,” he repeats, before turning back to her. “It says here you were supposed to pick your prescription up yesterday.”

    “I know,” Osana groans, still a bit worked up after the fight earlier upstairs and all  that’s going on in general, “I was going to get them, but the police questioning me and everything going on, it slipped my mind.”

    The pharmacist nods and turns back to the computer to type something else.

    “Okay then, Miss Najimi, you have been approved,” he says, not turning to her, “and since you seem to now be eighteen you no longer need a parent or guardian to sign off on the paperwork.”

    “I’d hope not,” Osana says, lowering her gaze. “The last thing I’d want is to see how I acted upstairs.”

    “I see,” the pharmacist says before sliding a paper and pen under the slot. “Okay then, I just need you to sign this and I’ll get you your medication, Osana.”

    Osana nods and grabs the paper and lowers her head to get a good view of it before signing.

Patients Name: Osana Najimi

    “Here you go,” she says, sliding the paper back to the man.

    “Thank you,” he says, taking the paper and nodding. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with your medication, Miss Najimi. Please don’t go anywhere.”

    And with that, the pharmacist turns and walks into the back room and out of right, leaving Osana alone.

    Instinctively, her gaze shifts behind her to the pharmacy doors and into the eerily empty hospital hallway. Buraza town is not the place known for having many injuries, and most of the resident population of Buraza’s hospital are senior citizens either coming from or about to be sent to old folks homes, so the hallways are almost always this empty, even when she would fetch her meds before. While the hospital always freaked her out to an extent, she was always able to keep that fear in check.

    However, in this case, two things were different. One was that she was completely alone, with neither her parents or friends present with her like they normally are, making her feel truly alone right now. 

    Well, mostly alone, as the second reason why things are different is the fact that there’s an active serial killer running around, one she very well could’ve just been talking too minutes ago back on the third floor. That combined with what she heard happened in Woodsboro’s hospital the previous year almost to the day makes her feel like she’s being watched despite seemingly being utterly alone.

    A chill runs up her spine as she stares into the abyss that is this hallway, staring back at her.

    Her eyes suddenly widen as she thinks she sees something moving. Was it her mind playing tricks on her, or was that a sparkly black cloth brushing out of view?

    Thoroughly on edge, the girl begins to slowly walk towards the pharmacy door to perhaps shut them and feel even a little bit safer.

    She’s about halfway between the desk and door, when…

BZZZZZZZZT!

    “AHHHH! FUCK!” she shouts, her phone’s text notification startling her.

    She pulls out her phone from her pocket and reads the message.

Rai: Are you still at the hospital?

    Osana rolls her eyes, before glancing back down at her phone to respond.

YES

And you scared the absolute shit out of me!

Rai: Ooops

Rai: Sorry about that

It’s fine. Just a bit on edge. Yah know

Rai: Did you get your meds?

Guys fetching them right now.

Where are you, btw?

Rai: Aaaaah Ok

You always stay with me.

Rai: Shit sorry. I’m already in mom's car.

    The second she reads that, she shouts, “WHAT!” typing it as well.

Rai: Once they split us up I called mom and she’s taking me and Budo back to school right now.

Why? Aren’t we supposed to be sticking together while this is all happening?

Rai: Sorry, but with how early we left, we both figured we can make it back to Judo.

    Osana rolls her eyes again at this.

Well then what am I supposed to do?

I’m not fucking walking home alone with a serial killer running around!

Rai: Isn’t Taro still there?

Rai: Can’t he walk you?

    Just as Osana is about to respond, she hears a door opening behind her, which startles the girl, causing her to drop her phone.

    Turnjing, she sees the pharmacist walking back up to his desk, bag in hand.

    “Here’s your methamphetamine prescription,” he says, sliding the bag under the glass divider.

    Walking back up to the desk, she grabs the bag containing her prescription paperwork as well as the orange pill bottle containing the little circular white pills. Bowing lightly, Osana says, “Thank you kind sir.”

    She then turns and begins to walk out, though not before stopping to pick up her discarded book bag left on one of the lounge chairs, and nearly forgetting to pick up her phone.

    She picks it up and walks out the door of the pharmacy, reading the few missed texts.

Rai: Osana?

Rai: You good?

Rai: It’s never taken you this long to respond.

Rai: ?

I’m fine, Rai

Just dropped my phone.

Picked up my pills.

    At this point she could’ve walked out of the hospital and be done with it, and while her gut was telling her to do that, she decided against it, as she had a “tradition” for every time she gets her meds, and being alone in a creepy hospital while a slasher killer is on the loose isn’t gonna stop it.

    On the second floor at the far end of the hall was a nice break room that was actually open to the public as a sort of leisure area for visiting guests. It was this room that Osana would always head to with her folks or friends after fetching her pills.

    On the far side of the wall the room contains two vending machines, one drink and one snack, with a trash and recycle bin beside it, and next to them are the counter with a sink in the middle, cabinets above and a mini fridge that’s strictly for employees only. In the middle of the room are three round roller tables with a handful of chairs around each. By the other walls there are a few blue sofas and several tall, white storage cabinets that are never open. A familiar sight for the eighteen year old girl.

    Like always, she’d enter, put her phone into her pocket, and head straight for the sink, and as always she’d open the drawer beside it to grab one of those mini paper cups. She turns on the cold water and fills it. Opening her pill bottle, she pours two into her hand and promptly raises her hand up to her mouth. She then grabs the cup and drinks it.

    Osana lets out a sigh as she takes out her phone again in her free hand, seeing her newest text.

Dummy Taro: I know I said we’d hang out later, but I need to wait for Hanako to come home.

Dummy Taro: Dad’s being held up at work again and mom’s still with her parents.

Dummy Taro: Sorry 🙁

    Osana rolls her eyes as she drinks the rest of the water, before tossing the cup towards the trash can. She then starts to walk towards the vending machines as she texts back.

Are you serious?!

When does she get off again? Cause I won’t be long and we can still walk back home together.

    She hastens her pace towards the drinks vending machine, pocketing her phone again as she scans her options. Deciding on a cola, she pulls her wallet from her school bag, feeling her phone vibrate from text messages. She slides the 100 yen into the machine, selects the option and waits.

    As she grabs the coke bottle from the machine, she feels her phone vibrate again, but not as if she were getting a text. Someone’s calling her. She stands back up, coke in one hand, pulling out her phone with the other to see who it is.

Unknown Caller

    Without a second thought, she hits decline and goes on to read her texts she missed.

Dummy Taro: Oh

Dummy Taro: I’m already walking home.

Dummy Taro: Too far to come back to collect you.

Dummy Taro: Sorry again.

    With a groan, Osana walks towards one of the tables, opens her coke, and texts back as she drinks. 

Are you fucking serious!?

I’m not walking home alone

Dummy Taro: I said I’m sorry

There’s a damn serial killer running around and I’m on his shit list!

Dummy Taro: C’mon, don’t say that. I’m sure you’d be perfectly fine.

IDIOT!
HOW THE FUCK HAVE WE BEEN FRIENDS ALL THIS TIME WHEN YOU’RE THIS UNRELIABLE?

    She was going to text more profanities towards her friend, but she’s cut off by…

Unknown Caller

    “Ugh!” she shouts, taking another drink of coke, before deciding to supplant her profanity towards her crush towards whoever this is. Clicking answer to the call, she shouts, “What! What the fuck do you want?”

    “ Hello, Osana ,” the unmistakable voice of Ghostface says from the phone, causing her to quietly say, “shit.” “ I want to play a little game with you .”

    Of course, this immediately freaks Osana out, with the killer now talking to and probably watching her, all the while she’s alone in this criminally understaffed and creepy as hell hospital. She tries to reply, but all she gets is stammering, “I… I… uhh…” which audibly amuses the caller.

    “ Surprised to hear me? ” the voice says mockingly, “ After all, you are the one that said I was coming for you. Now here I am .”

    “Listen here you fuck,” she shouts, rising to her feet, “I don’t know what sort of grudge you have with Yudasei, assuming you’re not her, but whatever it is, it has nothing to do with me, or Taro, or Raibaru, or Budo. So just leave us the fuck alone.”

    This only causes the killer to laugh.

    “What?”

    “ So you’re the one who’d condemn your classmates, your peers, to death, so long as I leave you and your friends alone. You are one selfish bitch. ”

    “You’re the one killing people!” she shouts back, slowly walking away from the table. “I have to save myself and my friends. And whatever fucking crusade you’re on about what that Aishi woman did, her kid rubbing herself at the thought of my friend in no way connects us to what she did. So leave us alone, asshole!”

    The killer snickers again. “ All these harsh words and no thank you for dealing with that skeevy creep Aka. For shame. ”

    “Fuck you!”

    “ Still too early for that. ”

    “NO! Fuck you, asshole,” Osana shouts. “That fucker, as much as I despised him, deserved to rot away in jail or his shitty apartment, not be immortalized as the victim of a Ghostface killing spree. And second, you doing that put me on the cop’s radar. So listen to me-”

    “ NO YOU LISTEN TO ME, BITCH! ” the voice shouts, startling the girl and causing her to stumble back a bit, bumping into one of the tall cabinets. “ No matter what you say, or what you do, or who you throw under the bus, you’re in here for the long haul. ”

    “Fine,” she says through gritted teeth, taking a few steps forwards, “so just fucking show yourself, coward. I’m right here!” She glances out towards the door, seeing the hall is as abandoned as it was when she entered.

    “ That’s the funny thing, I’m not there ,” the voice says.

    “What do you mean?” she asks. “Where are you?”

    “ In a house, one belonging to a boy that you may or may not know. ”

    “What?!”

    “ He’s not home yet ,” the killer continues, “ and that’s where the game comes in. ”

    “What game?” Osana shouts.

    “ Simple ,” the killer says with an audibly cheery tone, “ this classmate of yours could be back at any minute, and before then, if you can convince me to leave, I won’t kill him. ”

    “DON’T!” she shouts, clear desperation in her tone. “Just don’t, okay?! Taro’s a nice, kind boy, and I know for sure that whatever grudge you have he has nothing to do with. So just leave him alone.”

    “ Oh, so you’re convinced that I’m at Taro’s house, don’t you? ” the killer asks in a mocking tone.

    “Who else would it be?!” she shouts, failing to notice the sounds of creaking behind her. “I don’t always show it, but I care about him.”

    “ Really? ”

    “YES Really! Who else would you go after to further hurt me beside someone I love?”

    The killer starts cackling. “ Really, you love him? ”

    “Yes!” she shouts, going a bit red. “Yes, I do.”

    “ Well frankly I have my doubts, considering how everyone at Akademi sees how horribly you treat him. Call him stupid, shove him, yell at him. You’re nothing but a bitch to him, and you expect him to care about you? He’s been by your side all this time for you to tell him, but not now. Are you ?” The voice then goes quiet for a second, only for Osana to hear the muffled sounds of a door opening. “ Oohhh, looks like your classmates come home? ”

    “NO!” she shouts, hoping her voice is loud enough for whoever is inside the house to hear and run. “No, don’t!”

    “ Too late, Osana ,” the killer says tauntingly, “ now when news breaks of the next victim, you’ll know his blood is on your hands. ”

    “I’m right here!” she shouts again. “Don’t kill him, I’m right here, completely alone. Come and get me!”

    The voice on the phone then says something else, but Osana can;t here it, thanks to what the voice from behind her says.

    “ WITH PLEASURE! ”

    Dropping her phone and turning around sharply, Osana lets out a scream of terror at the now open tall cabinet, the tall figure of Ghostface, hunting knife in hand and the other pressing at their neck as a red light shining from under the cowl shuts off, stands there, before slowly walking out and onto the floor.

    The killer then charges, raising their knife arm, prepared to slash at the girl.

    Osana on instinct begins to back up quickly to avoid the slash, but quickly bumps into the table. Thinking quickly, she grabs the chair she was just sitting on, and swings it in front of her, successfully deflecting the slash. 

    Not perturbed by this, the killer attempts another slash, which Osana deflects again. And again. 

    After deflecting a fourth swipe, Osana then thrusts the chair forwards in an attempt to push the killer back to provide some space so she could make a getaway.

    She’s partially successful, as the killer is pushed back and disoriented for a second as the four legs push against their torso, but it’s short lived. The killer promptly grabs the upper two legs and, using their superior strength, pushes it hard right back at her.

    The top of the backrest of the chair slams into Osana’s torso, knocking the wind out of her and pushing her backwards onto the table itself.

    The killer tosses the chair aside and, with a perfectly swift hand motion, shifts from an overhand to an underhand grip of the knife and approaches, raising their arm high into the air.

    Osana just barely manages to avoid the strike as the hunting knife embeds itself into the wooden table top, and as they attempt to pull the blade free, she grabs the half full coke bottle and turns to smack the killer in the head with it, knocking them to the ground.

    Osana stands up on the table and turns, prepared to make a running start to jump to the adjacent table to put further distance between herself and Ghostface. Unfortunately, as she begins to run to the edge, the table suddenly shifts beneath her feet, and she lets out a help as she falls onto the floor hard.

    Hurting, Osana tries to recover quickly, but just writhes on the floor.

    Ghostface, however, has managed to get to their feet. The tall figure looms ominously as they slowly walk around the table, only stopping to pull out the knife from the table.

    Osana, finding it difficult to get back on her feet, begins to crawl away. As she slowly moves, she turns back and screams again at the figure slowly advancing towards her with a noticeable limp in their right leg.

    However, even with the limp, the killer grabs onto her shoulder and turns her onto her back, before swiftly shifting their grip to an overhand one, to begin slashing.

    Osana, thinking quickly, forcefully kicks Ghostface's right leg with both her feet. They let out a rough and vaguely feminine howl of pain as they fall to the ground, allowing Osana to get back to her feet and rush towards the door, not even bothering to collect her phone, bag, or even pills. Her survival mattered more. 

    She’s barely at the door when she hears footsteps chasing after her, so Osana quickly runs behind and holds the door, and when the second the killer is in range, promptly slams it into their face, knocking them to the ground and allowing her to book it down the hall.

    She turns down the first hall she reaches and promptly darts into the first room down it, a women's restroom, and slinks down to hide.

    She then starts hearing the sounds of running, and she promptly covers her mouth and nose with her hands to stifle her heavy breathing as they get louder and louder.

    And before long it begins to fade, quieter and quieter.

    Osana, however, only feels safe enough to leave this spot when the sounds are long gone.

Chapter Text

Beep… Beep… Beep.

    “Things aren’t exactly looking good with you lot,” Sidney says the second the hallway clears.

    After letting out a deep sigh, Ayano says, “No, not really.”

    “Yeah, I can see,” Sid says with a nod.

    “It’s just that…” Ayano says, voice raising slightly, “Everything I’ve done to rebuild my life for the past two years, new school, new friends, new everything, is all being taken away all for something I didn’t even do!” She pauses to bite down on her knuckle to suppress a sob, after which she continues. “Now my friends hate me, everyone thinks I’m a psycho, and I don’t even feel safe in my own home!”

    Sid, having dealt with her own share of these sorts of problems, especially the latter, understands the girl and wants to help her. Be it her sympathy or her maternal instincts, but she approaches Ayano from behind and softly places her hands on her shoulders.

    “I know things are bad now, but in the end it’ll be okay.”

    “But how can things be okay when everyday it feels like nobody trusts me?” Ayano says, shutting her eyes and lowering her gaze. “I’m hopeless.”

    “Ayano,” Sid says in a calm yet firm voice, “I trust you.”

    A smile creeps onto the girl's face. “Yeah … right.”

    “You’ve been here since you’ve awoken, correct?” Mark asks.

    Nodding, Mai responds, “Yes. Since I woke up yesterday, I’ve been laying here in my bed.”

    “Interesting,” Mark says quietly to himself. “From what I’ve seen, your injuries shouldn’t be affecting your mobility in the slightest, yet you’ve been here the whole time.”

    “Yes, I’m aware I can still walk,” she says with a light chuckle, “it’s just that the doctors told me they don’t want me moving around that much. They don’t want me to potentially aggravate my injuries, especially the shoulder ones.”

    “I see,” he says. “So you haven’t got up once since you arrived, right?”

    “As much as I wanted to, I did not,” Mai says, shaking her head. “It’s just so boring and lonely being here all day.” She lets out a sigh as she lays back down on her pillow, shutting her eyes. “Wait,” she says, looking back at Mr, Kincaid, “why do you keep asking that?”

    “Just clarifying,” Mark says. “You’re already all but off the list of potential suspects as it is, I just wanted to be sure.”

    “So being stabbed in the back twice wasn’t enough?”

    “In a normal attempted murder case, yes,” Mark says. “The problem is that this isn’t a normal murder case, and Ghostface killers in the past have employed that same strategy to get suspicion off them.”

    With a roll of her eyes, Mai says, “Figures.” She looks away from him, before lightly squeezing her right forearm. “I still can’t believe this is happening.”

    Sighing, Mark says, “I can;t either. Sid had just finished fully healing from her gut wound, and with Mr. Saikou hired me for this job, we had an excuse to take a bit of a vacation from California, away from everything. Not only that, but with the recent trend, we hoped that if another killing spree were to happen, it’d continue that trend and not be for around another decade, not the year after, and follow us to another country as well.”

    This causes Mai to turn back to him. “Wow,” she whispers.

    “And now our job is to keep as many of you alive,” he continues.

    “I think you’re succeeding in that regard,” Mai says.

    “Wakahara,” he says coldly, “two of your peers are already dead, along with two others. I wouldn’t consider that a success”

    “Well Mrs. Prescott… Sidney, saved my life, and saved Megami, and I think her presence allowed Ayano to save herself,” Mai says with a genuine smile. “Plus no one else has died since you and Sid started to interfere, so I think you’re being successful with keeping us crazy kids alive.”

    This gets a chuckle out of Mark. “Yeah, I admit you’re right.” 

    “To tell you the truth,” Sidney says, she and Ayano sitting on a bench beside the wall, “even if I haven’t heard of your Yan-chan side, I think I still would have trusted you.”

    “Really?” Ayano says with genuine disbelief. “Why me, after everything you know?”

    “Well I don’t think I need to mention the whole deal with your mother, right?”

    Shaking her head, she says, “No.” Out of everyone involved in this crisis, Sidney would be the first to tell you that genetics mean next to nothing when it comes to this sort of stuff, her late half brother and cousin could attest to that. “And you’ve already told me why me being a Stab fan doesn’t mean anything either, so what is it?”

    Sidney leans back a bit. “I don’t really know how to describe it,” she starts, “but something about you screams that you’re someone I should trust.”

    This causes the girl to raise her eyebrow, still a bit confused.

    “I mean, I feel like, deep inside, you have the survivor’s instinct.”

    “Survivor’s instinct?” Ayano repeats.

    “What it takes for one to survive something as awful as this,” Sid continues, “the intense will and desire to save yourself, regardless of the circumstances.”

    “Really? You see that in me?” she asks, to which Prescott nods. “Wow … Did Gale and Dewey have that as well.”

    Sid shrugs. “Probably, but the three of us have been in this shit together since it started, and by the time I was able to somewhat tell, we had already survived three of these things together and I didn’t need to tell. But when the 2011 killings started, I didn’t feel it at all with Jill. She gave no signs of being a survivor like me, I got more of that vibe from Kirby Reed, and look how things turned out.” Ayano turns away and nods in agreement. “The same thing with Samantha last year, and that’s with her family history. Despite the two generations before her ending up how they did, I still trusted her, and it’s the same with you. Truth be told, I do see a lot of myself in you, especially when I was your age.”

    “Really?” Ayano says, turning back to her. “But I’m nothing like you. You had a lot of friends, a boyfriend, and people who even looked up to and admired you, not to mention pretty, confident, popular and a total badass, all things I’m not.”

    Sidney can’t help but chuckle at the “admiring”, since the only real person who admired her before this all started was her classmate Judy after their production of Peter Pan.

    “Kid, when I was seventeen, I had a smaller friend group than you do and was really only popular by association thanks to Tatum, and when Billy first asked me out, it was hard for me to even get out the yes, I was so awkward. The confident and “total badass” stuff I only got after this all started. I’m only human after all, and even if I’m the main character of your favorite film series, it doesn't mean I’m nothing like you.”

    This surprises the girl quite a bit, having grown used to the image of Miss Sidney Prescott she’s cultivated in her mind her entire life. “Well at least Billy asked you out,” she says, “doubt Taro would even know I existed if not for this shit, and now I doubt he would accept or ask me, with how much of a black stain I am.”

    “Don’t say that,” Sidney says softly. “I was in the same boat after the ninety six killing spree, thinking I was a bad omen, both with Billy and my mother, even after I moved to Ohio. Derek showed me otherwise.” She pauses, lowering her head slightly. “God I wish I could change that night so I can trust you,” she says quietly to herself, before turning back to Ayano. “After Windsor, I thought I didn’t deserve love, since every guy I’ve dated was either a psychopath or would end up dead because of me, so I hid away. Then Two thousand happened, and Mark came into my life. It took so long for me to finally lower every single barrier I built for myself, even during our off and on phase, until I finally said yes.”

    Ayano just looks at her, taking everything in. “Wow,” she says quietly.

    “So don’t let yourself down just because things look bleak now,” Sid says, nudging the girl lightly. “You can find love if you believe you can, so go for it. Find that Taro boy and ask him out. Worst case scenario he says no, ends up dead or one of the killers, and I think regardless you should keep an eye on him, but the best case scenario is that you find something special. You’re a pretty young lady, and even if it won’t end up being Taro, I have no doubt you’ll find that boy, even if it takes a while.”

    Genuinely moved by what she says, Ayano says, “Thanks for saying that.”

    “So you don’t have any idea as to who it could be,” Mark asks.

    Shaking her head, Mai says, “No, not really. I honestly can’t rule anyone out or have any clear indication who it could be.”

    “So statically,” he says, “it could be anyone.”

    “Pretty much,” Mai says , visibly downcast. “I will say that on the night of the first attack, myself and Yui Rio were at Midori Gurin’s place watching a movie, but it was early in the evening and from what I was told the attack was late, and I admit I was a bit inebriated that night, so one or both of them could have snuck out and did … that. And on Tuesday night I was alone, so I have no idea.”

    Mark nods, taking mental notes of this. “So based off circumstances, it could be anyone. Since we can’t figure out anything based on that, who do you personally think it might be?”

    Mai starts to scratch the back of her head. “I don’t know, really. There’s way too many people to think about, and I’d rather not honestly.

    “Well, let’s start within your friend group.”

    Mai groans, not wanting to think about her friends in that light, even regretting how she yelled at them earlier. “I really don’t want to think it’s Midori, she has no reason to and she doesn’t strike me as someone capable of killing, but … it’s always a love interest in those movies … fuck. I don’t think it’s Ayano either, honestly, despite it being an easy answer. I both want to go with everyone else thinking it’s her, but also I don’t think she’d do that. Yui, I don’t know. Me and her don’t always get along, but she’s small and without us I doubt she’d even leave the house. Gema, maybe, but I don’t think he’d get away with it with his mother breathing down his neck. Ryuto wouldn’t do anything unless Pippi told him to, and she is really the only one I can imagine doing this, but even then it’s so unlike her. She settles her disputes by shouting at people, believe me when I say that. I’ve heard what she shouts when playing FPS’s.”

    “I see,” Mark says with a nod, “how about the rest.”

    “Well,” she says, thinking over the other people she knows are suspects. “Oka’s weird and creepy, but I don’t think she’d be a serial killer. Musume’s an utter bitch and was hard sussing on Yanyan that first day, but I don’t know if she’d go this far. Even if we haven’t talked I don’t think Rairai would do this to me, she’s too much of a sweetheart, and I don’t know her friends close enough to know if any of them would do it, and to be frank I don’t know anyone else that closely to suspect them.”

    Mark takes a second to digest what he just heard. “Okay then. Thank you for cooperating with me, Miss Wakahara.” He then rises up and nods. “I wish you a speedy recovery.”

    “I wish you and Sid a speedy investigation.”

    Mark smiles weakly at the injured girl. “So do we.”

    “And I’ll tell you another thing,” Sidney says, giving Ayano a pat on the back, “despite what’s going on, I think you have it a bit easier than I did on my first go around.”

    “Really?” Ayano says after a chuckle. “Everyone at school thinks it’s me, I’m not safe in my own home and I’ll probably need to stay at Taku’s place again, dad’s away on business, my mom is still haunting me despite it being two years since she was sent away, and nobody’s supporting me aside from you.”

    Putting her hands on the girls shoulder, Sid says, “Listen, kiddo, despite the books and movies being pretty accurate to the actual events, it was pretty exaggerated or sensationalized for the big screen. After I was attacked the first time, everyone at school treated it as a big joke. Hell, one guy even dressed up as Ghostface and scared me in the bathroom, they were taking it that seriously.”

    “Wait, that wasn’t Billy or Stu?” Ayano asks, to which Sidney shakes her head. “So I guess that is one way I have it harder than you do,” she says with a light smirk, “since I’m confident mine was real.”

    “I guess you have me there,” Sidney says. “But still, it could be a lot worse. For instance, after I was attacked in my home, I didn’t go back there until everything was done, not how the movies portrayed it. I had to stay with Tatum and Dewey, and even then, Stu still found a way to fuck with me. Speaking of, I don’t know where you get it, but I think you have a much stronger support group than I had back then.”

    “Okay now I know you’re lying to make me feel better,” Ayano says, shaking her head.

    “I’m serious. Look at who you have. Midori, who absolutely seems like a friend to die for, and that Yui girl seems to be sticking with you and is keeping a cool head throughout all this mayhem.”

    Chuckling lightly, she says, “Well that’s Yui for you, always has her head on straight. And Midori, she really is an amazing friend. The first one I made since I moved and has stuck to me like glue since.”

    “And it’s not just them,” Sidney continues, “you have Aia and her son, who trust you enough to let you stay in their home, and even if, yes, there do seem to be some tension, the rest of your friend group still stood by you during that scuffle.”

    Ayano bends forward a bit, expression dropping. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

    “Plus you have myself and Mark, which is another thing. You’re dealing with it the sixth time around. When I had my first run through it was THE first time it happened, and back then my support group was no bigger than yours. There’s Randy and Tatum who were by my side, I mean why else would I name my children after them, but they had more focus on the murder mystery and desire to party respectively. Billy and Stu were not only actively working against me, but were an obsessive boyfriend and an uncaring friend respectively. Gale was more focused on trying to get a book published, with the added bonus of getting Cotton exonerated, and Dewey, despite having a noble heart, wasn’t the most competent of police officers. So you see,” she says with a smile, “I’m no less a normal human being than you are, Ayano.”

    Ayano, having spent the past several minutes having her idol tell her just how similar they are, was actually now starting to believe it.

    “You know what?” she says.

    “What?”

    “I think you’re right.”

    “That’s what I like to hear, kiddo,” Sidney says, patting the girl on the back again.

    “Can I ask you something?”

    “Sure?”

    Inhaling deeply, Ayano asks, “How’s Gale doing?”

    There’s a pause as Sid ponders what she asked.

    “She’s surviving,” she answers. “It’s what we always do. Survive.”

    “But is she?” Ayano asks, pushing forward a bit. “I saw the interview. I’m reading her new book. She doesn’t seem well.”

    Sighing, Sidney says, “She’s barely keeping it together, and that’s when she’s in public. She blames herself for what happened to him. You know she wanted to come over here.”

    “Really?”

    “Yeah,” Sidney says. “She said she wanted to help me out in solving this case and putting those fucks in the ground.” She pauses. “I think she has a death wish.”

    “She does?” Ayano says, surprised at hearing Gale Weathers, the legendarily badass reporter, feeling like this.

    “I think she might be feeling like the only way to atone for what happened is for her to die at the hands of another Ghostface. Then she’ll be with him in heaven.”

    “Damn,” the girl says quietly. “She’s not coming right?”

    “I told her not to,” Sidney says, “and I told Sam to keep her in New York, but honestly, I think-”

    The sound of muffled screaming cuts her off.

    “-Something’s happening,” Sidney says, jolting to her feet, gun already in hand. 

    As she begins to run down the hall, cocking her glock, Ayano rises up as well and begins to walk after her. “Was that a scream!?” she asks, panicking.

    “Absolutely,” Prescott says sternly.

    “What’s going on?” Mark shouts, startling Ayano as he steps out of Mai’s room, his gun also locked and loaded. “Did someone scream?”

    “Downstairs from what it looks like,” Sidney says, walking up to the main stairwell. “Elevator’s too slow. Mark, stay in there and keep Mai safe, and call Aia and tell her we have a situation.”

    Mark nods and slips back into the room, him telling Mai, “Stay calm. I’ll keep you safe.”

    Ayano, standing now alone in the hallway, hesitates for a moment, before chasing after Sidney. “I’ll come with you!” she shouts.

    It was almost immediately apparent that the screaming came from the second floor, and the ground floor was both too far and far more crowded (comparatively speaking). So Sidney only descended a single flight before stepping back into the hallway. She was out so quickly that Ayano nearly missed and went further down before seeing her out there, slipping down another hall.

    As she walked, she scanned each hall and door, any one of them potentially holding a killer. Each step she takes is slow and deliberate, both to not be heard and to hear for any potential screams or other noises that’ll give away the location.

    However, her hearing is quickly flooded by the sounds of less cautious footsteps.

    “Sidney?!” the voice of Ayano calls from behind her, catching her off guard.

    Sid turns sharply behind her, accidentally pointing her gun at the girl as she walks into the hall.

    “Woah! Woah!” she says, holding up her hands. “It’s me.”

    “Keep quiet,” Sidney says in a quiet but harsh voice, before turning back to the hall in front of her. “Any sound you make could give your location away to him.”

    “The killer?” Ayano whispers.

    “Yes,” Sidney says, resuming her slow tread. “Just walk slowly like me, and keep your ears open.”

    Nodding, Ayano begins to mimic what she sees Sid doing. “Keep quiet,” she says to herself. “Listen.”

    With this slow method, especially with Sidney taking pauses to check behind each door, they make it half way across this hallway, when…

SLAM

    “There,” Sid says, before breaking out into a sprint in the direction the sound of what has to be a door slamming came from, Ayano following close behind.

    Turning down one corner, she scans around each direction, finger on the trigger. Finally, down a long hall, she spots the partially open door of a break room that, even from quite this far, looked like there’s been a struggle.

    This, along with the unmistakable sparkly black fabric of a cloak disappearing down another hall.

    “Found you!” she shouts, charging down the hall, fully ready to kill whoever is underneath the cloak. “You can’t run from me, fucker!”  After all these years of being the one getting chased, it does feel a little cathartic for Sid finally being able to chase one of the killers in return. 

   Sidney manages to cover the entire distance of the hall in around half a minute, Ayano barely being able to keep up.

   “Jesus Christ,” she says, coming to a stop quite a fair way behind Prescott. “I need to start jogging more.”

    Upon reaching the door, Sidney promptly turns down the hall she saw the killer run down, which is also completely empty. There’s another distant door slamming sound as she scans for any sign of life.

    Panting, Ayano manages to finally catch up with Sidney. “Did he go down there?”

    “Look like it,” Sid says, beginning to take slow steps down the hall. “Lost sight of him. Could be anywhere now. To dangerous for you, so stay here or go back.”

    Ayano, not wanting to question Sid’s judgment, begins to turn back, but the break room catches her attention. As Prescott goes down the hall, the girl turns and walks up to the door and peeks in.

    Indeed it looks like there was some sort of struggle going on, and it only reveals itself more as she slides into the room. Of course there’s a decently high possibility that there’s a body inside, but based on the door slamming it might not be. Still, there could be blood, which was also something she does not want to see

    The thing that caught her attention immediately was not a body, but one of the larger cabinets, which was wide open with nothing inside. Laying right in front of it was a dropped cell phone. Also eye catching was one of the tables, specifically, the chairs around it. Nearly all of them seemed to have been knocked over, one of them fairly far away from the table itself. Beside this chair is a brown splatter stain on the carpet that could be blood, but she doesn’t know how fast blood dries, and seconds later she spots a nearly empty coke bottle with no lid, explaining that. As she walks up to the table, she notices something else.

    A small gouge that digs almost completely through the wooden top. Based on the shape, there’s fairly little doubt in her mind that this was carved by a buck 120 hunting knife, Ghostface’s signature blade, and it’s here where her blood goes cold.

    As she looks away, she spots a few other things on the floor. Specifically, a small baggie with some papers and an orange pill bottle inside, and a school bag decorated very obnoxiously.

    Now the bag was identifiable on sight, but just to double check, Ayano picked up the bill bottle and reads the name on it

Osana Najimi

    So Osana is still here.

    And she was attacked.

    Those were what filled Ayano’s mind as she looked down at the bottle. There’s no doubt about that.

    There’s also no doubt in her mind about how this will affect things going forwards.

    It was obvious that Sidney wouldn’t be killed until the end, when the killer reveal themselves, and she wouldn’t allow Megami to be any more hurt than she was, and since it’s abundantly clear that she’s the primary target, she wasn’t in any real danger of death in either of the two attacks against her. 

    Osana’s a different story. Aside from the Aka connection and Ayano’s crush, there’s nothing at all to bridge her with anything Ryoba did. And the fact that she was attacked, and even more so that she survived. Whoever is doing this clearly has more plans for her too, that much is clear.

    No doubt that in the coming days Najimi’s gonna be way more aggravated, which is just a delight to Ayano, the thought of which causes her to grimace. That aggression will, no doubt, be directed at her, afterall, especially since her fairly reasonable fear has just been confirmed.

    Hearing the sounds of multiple footsteps in the hall, Ayano puts the pill baggie back down and turns back to the entrance of the break room.

    “And it happened right in there!” the voice of the girl in question shouts from outside the room. Ayano promptly takes a step back as Osana, along with Sidney, enter. “And you can see quite clearly that there wa-”

    She cuts herself off as she and Ayano make eye contact, both frowning at the sight of the other.

    After a few seconds of silence, Osana says, “What are you still doing here?”

    “Could ask you the same thing,” Ayano says back, despite knowing she probably shouldn’t be hostile, since she’s for sure in the same boat.

    Scoffing, the orange haired girl waltzes right past Yudasei, picks up the baggie with her pills, and holds them right up towards her. “I stayed to pick up my meds, and that fucker attacked me! What excuse do you have, cause you’re not exactly painting yourself as any more innocent!?”

   Stomping right up to her, Ayano says, “For your information, I-”

    “I asked Ayano to stay so I can speak with her,” Sidney cuts her off, walking between the two. “There’s no way she’d be able to attack you if that’s what you’re implying.” Ayano flashes the girl a smug grin as Sid continues. “So, Najimi, tell me exactly what happened.”

    Letting out a sigh, Osana stops glaring at Ayano and turns to Prescott. “Well I came up here, took one of my pills, and started to text Taro.” She pauses to shoot another quick glare at Yudasei before continuing. “After that, I got a coke and then he called me, a-”

    “And I was very much talking to you the whole time and thus could never be the caller,” Ayano says with confidence, “Right, Si-Prescott?”

    “Right,” Sidney says with a nod. “You and I were talking the whole time, and since you were neither the caller or the attacker, that definitely rules you out as being involved.”

    Ayano does a silent fist pump as Osana, reluctantly says, “Yeah, and both the attacker and the caller said different things at the same time, so they’d have to be different people.”

    Nodding, Sid says, “That’s how it’s usually been, and I see no reason why they’d stop now.” She then turns back to Ayano. “Well I guess now I can safely say you’re in the clear, kiddo, since the only way you could be involved in this spree is if there’s three killers, which is possible though unlikely considering the track record. Once the police arrive, I’ll tell them to strike you off the suspect list.”

    With a nod, Ayano says, “Thank you.”

    “Though please don’t interrupt Miss Najimi again.”

    “I won’t.”

    Turning back to the girl, Prescott says, “What happened next?”

    “Well,” Osana says, already getting chills as she begins to recall the more intense events, “the killer started to threaten me, told me he was about to attack a boy that I’m certain is Taro, and-”

    “What do you mean, Taro?” came another voice.

    The three all turned to the door and saw three people standing in the door frame.

    One was Officer Taku, who was already approaching them. Behind her is another officer who’s tall and sporting very bright green hair.

    Most surprisingly, at least to Sideny, was the third person in this group. Not in the limousine, her silver hair now in a ponytail, Megami stands there with her arms folded still in the hallway.

    Walking up to Sidney, Aia says, “Me and Officer Maaka will take it from here,” before approaching Osana. “Tell us exactly what happened.”

    As the ginger begins to explain her story to Taku and Maaka, Sid turns to Megami.

    “What are you doing?” she asks. “Shouldn’t you still be in the limo?”

    “I was,” the silver haired girl says, lowering her head slightly, “but I stepped out for a minute to get some fresh air, and heard a noise. When I turned, I saw that one of the emergency doors was wide open. Like it was just opened. So I decided to fetch Miss Taku.”

    “That is true,” Aia says, leaning a bit away from Osana. “She ran up to us and told us that the emergency stairway door was wide open. Ran here as soon as we could.”

    “Well, at least now we know that there was a reason for the door being open,” Megami continues. “And we know how Osana’s attacker got both in and out.”

    “Or just out,” Ayano says bluntly. “Any one of the others could’ve simply looped around, got into costume, and snuck into the closet.”

    “Was just about to say that,” Sidney says, giving the girl a smirk, and even if it wasn’t one of the others who was with Mai upstairs, anyone else could’ve simply walked through the doors, found a place to slip into costume, snuck in here, attacked Osana, and ran off before I could catch up to them.” She stays there silent for a second, before turning to Taku and asks, “Does that emergency door have a lock?”

    The officer only shakes her head.

    Wrapping her hand around her chin, Prescott then says, “Then really none of our suspects could be ruled out, though both Yudasei’s friends and Najimi’s friends seem the most likely right now.”

    Shaking her head, Osana says, “It can’t be Taro!”

    “And why is that?” Officer Maaka asks.

    “Because when the killer was calling me, he implied that he was in Taro’s house and was about to attack him when he came home and…” she pauses, realizing that, in the heat of the attack and her fearing for her own life, she completely forgot that part of the exchange. “...and he’s probably dead now,” she continues, on the verge of sobbing.

    However, Aia looks confused. “Taro Yamada?”

    Wiping her eyes, Osana nods.

    “Don’t the Yamada’s live on the complete opposite side of town?” she asks her fellow officer.

    Nodding, Maaka says, “I think so, and it’d be like a twenty five minute walk from here to there.”

    “Yeah, and I clearly remember seeing him walk out of the hospital as I was lecturing Gema before sending him home, which was around ten minutes ago. Speaking of which…”

    Officer Taku then pulls out her phone and begins to text someone.

You made it back safely, right, Gema?

Something cropped up at work. Will probably take a bit of time for me to get home, so I just need to make sure.

    “What are you saying?” Osana asks.

    “She’s saying that it’s highly unlikely that Taro Yamada would’ve reached him home when you were attacked,” Megami spelt out rather bluntly.

    “Really?” Osana asks in complete disbelief. “But the caller said it was a boy I knew, and Rai told me that she and Budo went back to school for Judo. Who else could it be?!”

    Before anyone could answer, Aia Taku’s phone vibrates and she quickly looks down.

Gema: Everything’s fine, mom

Gema: Just a little on edge

    “I think it’s likely that the killer was just bluffing,” Sidney says.

    “Think so,” Ayano continued. “Threatening her best friend's life, that’s something that’ll cause her to start panicking and thus easier to get the jump on.”

    “But why?” Osana shouts. “Why me and why now?”

    Ayano just shrugs. “They haven’t gotten a kill since they got Aka Tuesday night. I doubt either of my attacks or the one on Sid and Megami were intended to kill any of us, and since they missed their shot to score a kill on Stab Day itself by failing to get Mai, they’re probably getting kill-antsy. Gotta get one in before the big day tomorrow.”

    “What do you mean?” Maaka asks the girl. “Big day?”

    Ayano lets in a long inhale, before saying, “Tomorrow’s the two year anniversary of my mothers arrest, and since I know for a fact now that what my mother did is in some way a motivation for whoever’s doing this, the grand finale of their killing spree will no doubt be tomorrow. The two behind this are probably going to kill a lot then, and with Sidney’s presence inconveniencing them and them only killing four so far, a kill was almost certainly going to happen today before the big bloodbath tomorrow.”

    Scrunching his eyes a bit, the male officer says, “You know an awful lot about how these people are operating for someone who’s supposedly uninvolved.”

    Sighing, the girl then says, “I know the Stab franchise like the back of my hand. I know the pattern each duo of killers follow. Last year's group chose the twenty-fifth anniversary of the climax of the original killings, aka the day the father of their main target was killed by Sidney. I’m confident I’m the main target this time around, and since the twenty sixth anniversary was yesterday, the only other significant date is tomorrow.”

    While the officer's sunglasses hid the slight suspicion in his eyes, Sidney says, “While I do think you have a point, I’m not entirely convinced that this attack was meant to kill Najimi either.”

    “Why?” the girl in question asks.

    “Because based on where you were hiding and how quickly the killer was on your trail, I’m certain he would’ve seen you enter the bathroom. I think this was a test run to see just how viable an attack on the hospital is.”

    Not liking the implications, Ayano reluctantly asks, “Why here?”

    Turning to the girl,Sidney says, “Mai Wakahara, despite her story not being damning evidence, is still a loose end that needs to be cleaned up.”

    “As I suspected,” Aia says.

    Turning to the blunette, Prescott says, “I expect that Miss Wakahara’s room now will be under watch for the remainder of her time here, as is that emergency door, correct?”

    Nodding, Officer Taku says, “Indeed,” she then glances behind Sidney and towards the hallway where audible footsteps are coming from, “speaking of which.”

    Turning, Sidney and Ayano are surprised to see the former's husband rushing into the room saying, “Everyone’s unhurt, correct?”

    “Mark! What are you doing here?” Sid shouts.

    “No injuries,” Officer Taku says, “and I assume Officer Jakushi is already at Mai’s room, correct?”

    “Yes,” Mark says before turning to his wife. “Sid, I just got a call from Ichirou. He heard that something went down at school and wants us and his kid back now.”

    After a second, Sidney nods in agreement, before turning her head to Aia. “We’re free to go, right?”

    Taku nods. “You and Kincaid are free to leave. Even if you both were under suspicion, you have airtight alibis.”

    “Wait,” Osana says, a frown already forming on her face. “Does this mean I have to go back to the station?”

    Sighing, the officer says, “Unfortunately, you are the sole witness to an attempted murder, so we need to question you at the station to have it on record.”

    As the orange head groans loudly, Ayano pipes up, “What about me?”

    Officer Maaka tries to say something, but Sidney cuts him off. “I’m Yudasei’s alibi. There’s no feasible way for her to either be the attacker or the caller. So let the girl go.” The woman then turns around and with a smile, tells her, “Remember what we discussed, okay?”

    Grinning like an idiot, she says, “Okay,” before beginning to walk off.

    “The investigation at your house has finished,” Aia says, causing the brunette to turn back to her, “so you should be fine with going back, though if you’re still scared, my house is still open to sleep in tonight.”

    “Got it,” Ayano says, still walking backwards. She doesn’t even notice the silver haired girl standing beside her until she bumps into her shoulder and leg, hearing a quiet grunt. “Oh, sorry Megami-uh, President Saikou.”

    Recovering immediately, Megami says, “No need to apologize, Yudasei. I’m completely fine. And since we’ve both fallen prey to these psychopaths, there’s no need for formalities.” She then turns her head slightly and glares at the shorter girl standing to her right. “Never do it again, though,” she says in a vaguely threatening tone.

    “Noted,” Ayano says, giving an awkward thumbs up, before leaving the room.

    With newfound determination, she rushes out of the hospital halls and onto the streets of Buraza Town.

    Destination, Taro Yamada’s house.

Chapter Text

Welcome to the Kill Count, where we tally up the victims in all our favorite horror movies.

I’m James A. Janisse and today we’re looking at Stab 5: Clock of Doom, released in 2008-

    It’s been well over a year since Ayano introduced Gema and the rest of their friends to the Dead Meat Youtube channel, and like many others once they were introduced, it was hard to stop watching.

    It’s a big part of how she was able to introduce them into the American side of the horror film landscape, due to the videos being very bingeable and how entertaining and wholesome host James, his now wife Chelsea, and editor Zoran were. 

    While Gema wasn’t the most active watcher among the friend group, he did occasionally watch new videos with the rest of them when they came out. However, starting yesterday he decided he’d start watching again.

    Specifically, the Kill Counts for the seven Stab movies. They were the second horror franchise James covered, after Friday the 13th, and after class Gema managed to get through the first four. 

    As he was approaching home, he loaded up the Stab 5 Kill Count, released on July 28th, 2017. Now, Gama wasn’t as big a fan of these films, only really liking the first, and with 5 being widely considered the worst one before Stab 8, this wasn’t going to be too enjoyable.

    Still, at least he’d get to hear James dunk on the flick, which he starts doing as soon as Gema walks past the door into his house

This one is officially the point in the franchise where all semblance of the realism from the first three have been completely abandoned. From the stupid voice changer in three, which I still don’t buy as actually happening, or the resurrected body of Stu Macher being the second killer in four.

    As his mother drilled into him over the eighteen years of his life, the first thing Gema did once he was inside was hang up his school jacket, making sure to take his phone and other assorted electronics and gaming systems out of the pockets.

    After repositioning most of his stuff to his pants pockets, Gema’s first move was to the kitchen

    Since Officer Taku made it pretty clear that today was gonna be a longer shift, he’d have to feed himself for now. Not being the best cook out there, he decided the best course of action would be to just microwave some ramen.

    Placing his phone on the counter, Gema walks up to the small cupboard beside the fridge and just grabs the first pack he saw. Going a bit lower, he grabs a small plastic bowl and heads to the sink.

    As he breaks the block of noodles and fills the bow with water, he listens to the video.

“Before she died,” a scientist guy played by some notable American actor says to his partner as they walk through a seemingly abandoned laboratory in the opening scene of Stab 5, “apparently Dr. Fargold was developing a machine to take her back in time”

“Yes, he really just said that,” James commentates, sarcasm clear in his tone. “So apparently, while she was resurrecting dead serial killers and chasing Danielle Harris in a Ghostface costume, Fargold was also developing time travel.”

“But she never finished it, right?” the other scientist asks. “I mean, before that Ashely Prescott girl killed her, right?”

“Nobody knows for sure,” the first scientist says with a scoff as they walk towards the room which houses said time machine.

“What’s next,” James says as the scene shifts to the climax of Stab 4 with Ashley Prescott shoves Ulyana Fargold into electrical wires, specifically a closeup of Kate Wisnlet’s face melting off, “are you gonna tell us that she survived her death too.”

Scene cuts to James in his set pointing a finger at the camera. “That was rhetorical,” he says sternly.

    “Oh, I wish, James,” Gema says as he puts the ramen bowl into his shitty microwave and turns it on. “I wish.”

    Then something catches his ears. His headphones may muffle the noise around him, but even through that, he faintly hears the sound of floor boards creasing.

    And were those footsteps?

    He turns his head, seeing his empty front and living room area, with not a living soul inside from the perspective of the kitchen. But one of the plants in the living area is shifting slightly.

    Almost as if someone quickly moved past it.

“And for some reason he didn’t even notice that the killer’s already in the ho-”

    James’s voice is cut off by Gema pausing the video on his phone, leaving it on the counter to go investigate, though not before arming himself with one of the kitchen knives..

    He slowly starts to edge his way from the kitchen towards the living area, knife at the ready in case he needs to attack. Despite not being the fittest guy in Akademi, he was still decently bigger than most of his classmates and could probably hold his own.

    But still, he moves slowly, a twinge of fear permeating each step he takes closer to the living area.

    As he walks, he digs into his pants pockets in an attempt to further arm himself with either the taser or the pepper spray, but quickly finds them empty.

    Seeing this, he scoots over to the coat rack to attempt to find them, only to come up short again, which is when he realizes.

    He had left them both at the hospital.

    “Anyone there!” he shouts, slowly inching closer to the living area, voice loud but a bit shaky. “I’m armed!”

    Finally, he pokes his head past the stairwell, looking into the living area not blocked by the stairs along with an adjacent hallway, both completely empty. 

    Slightly more at ease, with the added help of the microwave beeping, Gema begins to walk back to the kitchen.

    Laying the knife on the counter, the navy haired boy opens the microwave and pulls out the ramen. He then goes to the fridge and retrieves an energy drink, and heads out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards his bedroom.

    It’s while he’s walking past the hallway balcony that he hears his phone vibrating on the kitchen counter, and that’s where he realizes he left it down there.

    He rushes into his room, leaves the ramen and can on his messy computer desk, boots up his computer, and heads back out.

    Down the stairs and back into the kitchen, Gema walks up to the counter and grabs his phone, seeing that he’s gotten two texts from his mother.

Mom: You made it back safely, right, Gema? 

Mom: Something cropped up at work. Will probably take a bit of time for me to get home, so I just need to make sure. 

    With a slight roll of the eyes, he opens up his texts and gives his mother a response.

Everything’s fine, mom

Just a little on edge

    Satisfied that he gave a good enough answer to calm his mothers nerves, he turns away from the counter.

    And finds himself staring directly into the black eyes of Ghostface.

    “Ahh!” he shouts, stumbling slightly in shock and fear at the killer’s sudden appearance. “What the fu-!”

    He’s cut off by the killer raising their knife high and bringing it down, Gema stopping it with his hands.

    They struggle for a few moments, in large part thanks to Gema, despite his natural size advantage, he’s both off guard and far from a physical wonder.

    Turning his head, he eyes the kitchen knife. Then back to the killer, continuing to put more and more of their weight on the knife with their off hand.

    Turning back, he lets go with one hand and tries to grab the blade to defend himself.

    Unfortunately, it’s just out of his reach, and since he’s only holding back the killer with one hand, they start to win the struggle.

    Gema lets out a yell of pain as the tip of the hunting knife starts to dig into his right shoulder, slowly sinking deeper and deeper, his white undershirt already staining with red.

    “Fuck!” he shouts, before balling his free hand into a fist and takes a swing at the killer.

    It connects, and Ghostface stumbles slightly, allowing for Gema to knee them in the crotch, causing a feminine grunt as they stumble fully off the boy.

    One hand applying pressure to his wounded shoulder, Gema makes a run towards the front door, but stumbles with the lock, allowing the killer to regain composure.

    They charge with a slashing motion towards Gema, who barely dodges out of the way, the killer leaving a cut in the wooden door.

    Thinking fast, Gema grabs the coat rack stand, turns it, and trusts it at the killer, knocking them off their feet.

    Without thinking, he then turns and begins to rush up the stairs to the second floor, preparing to lock himself in the room and try to contact the police and his mother.

    It’s only when he reaches the top of the banister when he realizes he let the killer out of his sight.

    He turns and looks down to the front door, seeing the coat rack on its side but no sign of the killer, but that in no way means the coast is clear.

    Slowly, he continues to edge his way up and away from the stairwell.

    “And that should be the last of it,” Officer Maaka says as he and the other on duty police finish bagging the various pieces of evidence, mostly Osana’s stuff like her medication, backpack, and cell phone.

    Speaking of, Najime is standing just outside the break area, arms crossed, a pout on her lip, and visibly steaming with anger as Officer Taku stands beside her. Not helping is the fact that Prescott, Kincaid, and Saikou have left for their limo.

    Add on the fact that Yudasei also left, likely to pay Taro a visit, and the girl’s less than pleased right now.

    Sensing this, Aia tells the girl, “Listen, I know you’re sick of it.”

    “Tell me about it,” Osana says grumpily.

    “But this is important,” the deputy continues, “You want the person who attacked you to face justice, right?”

    With a sigh, the girl says, “Yeah.”

    “Okay then,” the officer says, beginning to walk the girl down the hall, “let’s get to the station, and I promise you this time it’ll only take an hour or so.”

    However, they’re barely away from the door when they hear the distinct, if muffled, sound of a phone ringing.

    All eyes turn to the evidence cart, specifically, the bag containing Osana’s cellphone, the screen of which is glowing.

    Letting go of the girl's shoulder, Aia Taku approaches the cart and looks down, seeing the caller.

Unknown Caller

    Of course, not only would it potentially tamper with evidence, but answering this call would be playing into the killers hands. 

    However, this could be the chance to glean some info, so after quickly donning a glove, Officer Taku pulls it out and clicks answer.

    “ Hello again, Osana ,” the taunting Ghostface voice says from the phone. “ Did you enjoy our little- ”

    “This is Officer Taku speaking!” she says in an authoritative voice, “And I demand that yo-”

    “ Oh I’m so sorry, Aia ,” the killer pauses to snicker as Osana slowly creeps towards Taku, “ but I really need to talk to our friend, Osana, right now. Can you pass on a message to her? ”

    Scoffing, the officer simply says, “What do you want her to know?”

    The Killer is silent for a moment.

    “ Did you actually think I was at Taro’s place? ”

    There’s some snide laughter from the phone, before it abruptly hangs up.

    “Wait, what?” the orange haired girl says, actually somewhat relieved. “So Taro really wasn’t attacked?”

    However, Officer Taku was not relieved. While she was explaining what happened, Osana mentioned that the killer on the phone said that they were hiding in the closet of one of the boys she knows, and that number is quite limited, and one of those options is one she really doesn’t like.

    Slowly laying the phone back on the cart, she turns to Officer Maaka and says, “Please escort Najimi to the station for questioning. I have a… something, and I need to head home for a bit.”

    Maaka nods, and Aia turns and rushes down the hall of the hospital, pulling her own cell phone out of her pocket to make a call.

    Keeping his eyes on the stairwell, Gema slowly edges away towards his room, making damn sure not to get his eyes off of the only way upstairs.

    Considering he’s a bit of a wider guy, there would’ve been no way for the killer to slip past him up the stairs, so as long as nothing heads up those stairs, he should be safe.

    He just has to keep his eyes on the stairs.

    Then his phone starts ringing.

    Gema’s eyes widen at the realization that he left his cellphone on the kitchen counter downstairs, where the killer is prowling around down there somewhere.

    He could take a peek down over the banister, but that’d entail taking his eyes off the stairs, which could easily be the killer's chance.

    So he keeps walking backwards, all the way until he’s past his door frame, at which point he shuts and locks it.

    “Come on, answer!” Aia shouts as she rushes out of the  hospital doors, phone up to her ear.

    As she exits, she first sees the Saikou limousine, where Sidney and Mark were having a conversation with their chauffeur. Scanning around, she also sees Megami sitting in the back of the limo, who looks up from her cell phone at her, her sudden appearance no doubt getting her attention.

    As the heiress rolls up the window, the adults turn to Officer Taku in confusion.

    “Is something wrong, Aia?” Sidney asks in concern, not liking the look on her face.

    Rushing past them towards her own car, Taku says, “Nope. Just something back at home I need to attend to.”

    She holds the phone between her head and shoulder as she opens her car and slides in, not even buckling as she pulls out and down the street.

    “Somethings very wrong,” Sidney says, turning to her husband.

    “You’re right,” Mark says, watching as the car vanishes down the road. “We should trail her, see what’s going on.”

    The Chauffeur interjects, saying, “Sorry, but I can’t do that, Kincaid. Mr. Saikou gave me express orders to bring his daughter home as quickly as possible, so unless you intend on following her on foot, you’ll have to return to the estate with me.”

    “This doesn’t seem right.”

    “I know, Sid,” Mark says, turning fully to his wife, “but this is out of our hands, aside from trying to get backup sent her way. Besides, she’s not stupid and armed, and look.”

    He points across the street to the police station, where a pair of officers are leaving the building and heading to their own car, sirens on.

    “Looks like Maaka’s got the call for backup covered,” Sid says, not fully convinced. “But will that be enough?”

    The two look back at each other, silently agreeing on the answer to that question.

    With his life no longer in immediate danger thanks to the strong wooden door separating himself from the killer, Gema lets out a breath of relief as he walks away from it.

    He looks back at his stabbed shoulder, the upper right sleeve of his white shirt and a good chunk of the lower parts are now soaked in red. No doubt, he’ll need medical attention, and fast. The first aid kid’s in the bathroom and he can’t risk it, however, so he just puts pressure on it as he walks.

    He makes his way to his computer desk, pushing the partially open closet door shut as he passes, and takes a seat at his desk.

    First things first was to signal for help. Fortunately ,despite the lack of a cell phone, he was still able to send his mother a text for help, and as soon as she sees it, she’ll come over guns blazing.

    Next was to send out a massive signal for help, via his social media, mainly twitter, as well as his account on the school message board.

    He spends the next minute or so alternating between one site to another, sending out SOS signals as much as he can, at least until

Device pairing

    The voice emitting from his blue-tooth speaker right beside him on his right causes Gema to stop in his tracks as he turns and watches the device.

Connected

    Something creeks as he turns to watch the speaker for a few seconds of silence, waiting for whatever audio is gonna start playing.

    Because he knows there’s only one thing paired with that speaker, and it should be on the kitchen counter.

“So now Andrew’s all alone.”

    Despite the anticipation, the suddenness of James’s voice coming from the speaker, loud enough to where he can’t even hear his own heartbeat, causes him to jump a bit.

    He quickly sighs in relief, assuming that his phone just randomly connected to the speaker and automatically resumed the video.

“He’s standing there, completely oblivious, as Ghostface slowly slinks out of the closet behind him. He only notices by the time he’s right behind him, at which point, Ghostface brings the knife down on him for the fifth kill in the film.”

    However, Gema starts to be confused by what he hears.

    He’s far from the most adept in Stab trivia, he’s familiar enough to catch some things.

    Like how there’s no Andrew in Stab 5, since basically every character save for Sidney, Ashley, and the two scientists in the opening scene had names which apparently fit within the American Civil War time period most of it takes place in.

    Also, there was no individual kill graphic for the fifth death in Stab 5, as kills three through eight were the six soldiers who died in the Civil War montage that established the time period.

    Also, the scene he was at when this attack started, where the killer was already in the house, was leading up to a chase scene involving Mary-Anne Prescott and one of the family’s slaves, no closet attack.

    Then he remembers, there was no Andrew in Stab 5, but there was one in Stab 6, who was killed fifth by a closet ambush.

    So whoever is downstairs took his phone and played a different video, but why that moment specifically?

    By the time he realizes, he already feels it’s presence looming behind him, but he has no choice but to turn.

    With the closet door fully open, a seemingly taller Ghostface stands over him, knife already going down on him.

    Gama barely has time to catch it with his hands, and the two struggle for a few seconds, before the chair he’s sitting on is suddenly jolted to the side after the figure kicks it’s base.

    Gema trips backwards , landing against the side of his bed as the killer pushes the chair out of the way. He takes a swing at him, but Gema’s able to dodge and get back to his feet. He tries to put distance, but the killer quickly changes the direction of his swing and embeds the knife deep into his lower back.

    After letting out a scream, Gema stumbles, only for Ghostface to run up, wrap their free arm around his shoulder, and plunge the hunting knife into his chest right below the ribs. Another scream, and the killer pulls the blade out and stabs him again.

    And again.

    And again.

    Before he finally loosens his grip and Gema falls to the floor. All he manages is to get on his back, grunting in pain and drowsy from the bloodloss, before the killer walks over him.

    Kneeling down with their knees either side of Gema’s chest, the killer grabs the knife with both hands, raises it high, and brings it down.

    Gema’s able to cross his arms and catch the blade in it’s tracks, just a few inches above the base of his neck with all the strength he could muster.

    Unfortunately, the blood loss and disoriented state caused his inherent brute strength to weaken considerably, and the killer has gravity on their side.

    Ghostface begins to push down with all their body weight, each push brings the tip of the blade closer and closer to flesh.

    Gema tries with all high might, but save for a sudden intervention, nothing can help him now.

    As he feels the tip of the knife press against the base of his neck, all Gema could do was give one last act of defiance.

    “Fuck! Yo-”

    He’s cut off by the knife starting to dig into his neck, blood beginning to pour from it immediately, Gema already finding breathing to be difficult and could only gurgle as salvia and the faintest amount of blood start to fill his throat.

    Still, the killer pushes the blade deeper and deeper, the gurgling becoming louder as more and more blood fills the boys mouth.

    He lets out a cough, or was it a gasp, and blood shoots from his mouth, staining the white ghost mask with a red stair

    Still, the knife was pressed deeper.

    In a gross violation of her own rules when it comes to driving, Officer Taku didn’t even buckle when she rushed into her car. She was in that much of a rush.

    After quickly driving the distance from the hospital to her home, she comes to a stop in the middle of the road, one hand shifting to park and the other opening her door.

    She crosses the distance between her squad car and her front door in a matter of seconds, “Gema!” already passing her lips before she reaches the knob.

    Locked.

    No problem, she has the key. A quick withdrawal from her pocket and the lock giving a…

Click

    She pushes the door open, but it’s stopped by the chain. 

    She struggles against the door, pushing against it a few times, her already palpable stress only getting more intense with each blow.

    Finally, she says, “Fuck it,” and withdraws her gun. The shot into the door chain off. Aia kicks the door open and rushes in.

    She sees her living room, kitchen, and stairwell, exactly as they were left this morning. The coat stood still up, the microwave shut, no phone on the counter, and no sign of any struggle or intruder.

    “Gema!” she shouts, not letting her guard down at all. “Are you okay?”

    No answer.

    Treading carefully, Aia begins to walk towards the living room area, intent on investigating the back of the house.

SLAM

    A noise from upstairs catches her attention instantly. No doubt, someone just forcefully slammed a door shut.

    Cocking her pistol, Officer Taku ascends the stairs, the live round giving her confidence.

    Sure enough, once she’s up stairs, her son’s bedroom door is shut, and a quick scan of the upper level shows that the rest are still at least partially open.

    As she approaches, she becomes aware of two noises. One the sound of rushing water to her left. A quick turn of the head towards the bathroom adjacent to Gema’s room indeed shows that the sink is running.

    Disregarding it, Taku’s gaze turns back to the door, where the other sound is originating.

“The Golden Chainsaw will go to Sherrie, both because the camera lingers long enough to give us a nice look at her bleeding throat, and also because it caps off the opening scene, which actually gave me hope for this movie.”

    “Gema!” Aia says again, desperation in her tone as she inches closer and closer to the door. “Are you in there?”

    Again no response, so she takes one hand off her gun and goes towards the knob.

    She turns it and slowly begins to open the door.

    There’s a squeak, then there’s his messy carpet with dirt, socks, and electronics strewn about.

    Then there’s the red.

    She lets out a gasp in horror at this, not noticing the sounds of a shower curtain opening.

    “Gema!” she again shouts as she prepares to open the door fully.

    Footsteps.

    Then another scream, this one in pain as the blade enters her forearm, the one holding her gun.

    She reflexively fires it, but the bullet shoots into the ceiling, and the sudden jerk of the knifes wielder causes her to drop the gun.

    With no other choice, Aia Taku turns and faces her assaulter.

    Inches from her face, the white mask, with the faint blotches of red staining it, and black eyes stare into her, the snickering unmistakable.

    Pulling the knife from her arm, Ghostface stabs her in the gut underhanded, exactly where her torso isn’t protected by her bullet proof vest.

    Officer Taku screams as the killer pulls it out and stabs again, and again, and again. With each stab, the killer pushes the woman further and further from the door, until she’s up against the railing overlooking the front room.

    And the killer keeps going, stabbing her in the torso again and again, slamming her against the railing until cracks from the wooden beams are audible.

    Again, and again, and again, until…

Crash

    The railing gives out and the woman falls from the balcony, landing hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her.

    Aia gasps loudly as she writhes on the ground floor, looking up at the second floor balcony.

    Ghostface walks up to the edge of the new hole in the railing and gives a slight tilt of the head. He then wipes the blood from his blade with his hands before turning and disappearing from sight.

    Grunting, weak from the fall and her rapid blood loss, Officer Taku turns onto her stomach and begins to crawl towards the still open door, yelling loudly for help of any kind.

    Then a pair of black boots mostly covered by a black robe walks into view, shutting the door in front of her.

    Looking up, Aia sees Ghostface, mask pure white with no blood stain and a completely spotless knife, holding their hand over the door, before giving a taunting shake of the head.

    They then walk up to Aia, crouching down and grabbing onto her shoulder to turn her on her side. Slashed open torso exposed, the killer then straightens up and pulls something from their pocket.

    A cell phone, which they hold up to Officer Taku.

    The camera flashes a few times, before the killer turns and begins to walk away, not pocketing the phone and not even bothering to finish Taku off. She’s as good as dead anyways.

    With her strength waning, Aia Taku rests her head on the ground, before she hears the sound of something small hitting the floor.

    Shifting her head, she sees Ghostface walking away, heading towards the back of the house to make their escape.

    Her gaze lowers to the floor, where she sees what the killer seemingly intentionally dropped. It’s something she’s seen before, but hasn’t seen for months.

    As the light fades, the last thing she’s able to see is Ayano’s old, missing cell phone, laying on the ground before her.