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Asano Gakushuu the student council president of one of the most prestigious schools in all of japan, a well respected and feared teenager, his intelligence is revered throughout not just his prefecture or country but through the entire world, when he puts his mind to it he can complete or figure out anything he wants to.
And recently his attention has been fixated on a specific string of issues happening in his own back garden, Kunikogowka junior school, it started off simple an unfortunate incident in the old E class building. Rio Nakamura a girl praised for her beauty but most specifically praised for her long blonde hair was found dead. No not just dead mangled decimated, brutalised.
You see the official cause of death was an accidental decapitation, she had been standing by the fans on the roof and her hair got sucked in killing her brutally. But that answer didn’t satisfy Asano Gakushuu, no, because he is no idiot he knows the physical logistics of what happened he went over them several times after he had noticed the pattern.
Rio Nakamura was not an accidental death, it just physically could not have happened leaving only one of two options, she either could no longer withstand the pressures of being in e class and ended her own life… or someone took it upon themselves to end it for her. And while suicide seems logical the more he thought about it asano just knows that it has near nil possibility of being the reality not only was there no suicide note, no goodbye, no signs from anyone but when looked at through the lenses of hindsight it really does just make sense that she was murdered, after all that would make 10.
As asano began to sink his teeth into this case –asked for closure by one of Rio’s closest friends and one of the only people asano will ever respect Karma Akabane- more and more deaths began to plague the school, all seemingly accidental or tragic enough that most did not even dare to question what happened and why, not even the police.
The next body found at Kunikogowka junior high was that of Sumire hara found charred to a crisp next to the oven she had been working with during an unsupervised home economics class. Being in e class she could rarely find time or space in the kitchen when it wasn’t after school hours, she and her new friend karma had been teaching each other how to make cultural dishes from their home lands after school each day for the past few weeks. It had started as a way for Hara to pull karma out of his greif and it had worked.
…
Obviously until he left to take a call that fateful day chatting with his parents who were and still are oversees about some finical issue and had came back into the room to find her dead body. In such a state of shock it took an hour for the police to be called by him, when they arrived obviously Akabane was suspected but they found some faulty wiring in a rather obvious spot so he was released, the school held their second funeral in two weeks and life went on with one less oven in the home ec rooms.
This was yet another ‘unfortunate accident’ ‘could have happened to anyone’ ‘oh dear lord no why her’ ‘she was suck a sweet girl’ but by now Asano was getting suspicious actually allocating time in his very busy and ever shortening day to help karma in his research, the red head was too emotional to actually be able to research anything on his own obviously.
When investigating the faulty wires Asano had noticed something odd, they were cut like not by a rat or rodent’s teeth, not by one of Komaya’s science experiments gone rouge they were just cut clean. Obviously innetntial and obviously a murder.
Not that the police ever listen to him, despite his reputation, despite his father and despite his evidence they shooed him away telling him not to worry his pretty little head and complementing him on his great ‘junior detective work’ clearly they didn’t and still don’t care much, it would create too much of a toll on their police force both emotionally and obviously financially to look into a death which would much easierly be explained away with faulty wires.
Jasu Redredown was the next body found at Kunikogowka though it didn’t start off that way, he went missing five days after sumire hara’s death snatched up on the way home from school. Jasu was a drama student through and through even if his parents never supported his dream Asano did, he was well aware of the amazing potential that Jesu had and the amazing potential there was to gain stuff from supporting and becoming friends with a future actor could give to him.
One day he was in the drama club happily setting up for the next play –much ado about nothing- alone painting the sets and moving the costumes to the right area and the next he was gone. The last person who saw him that day being Akabane Karma yet again… the red head had been hanging around in the lesser used areas of the school since two of his friends passed away which often led him t o the drama club.
Karma and Jesu had struck up a sort of friendship during the five days between his kidnapping and Hara’s murder, often spending lunches together just talking, it was quiet so karma liked it. Jesu enjoyed having someone to talk to about his shows so it worked out well for both of them.
That day just like before karma had left for a second to pick up some graded homework he left on his teacher’s desk when skipping earlier that day, three minutes later when he went back to the drama studio Jesu was gone everything he was working with left behind just as they had been three minutes ago the only difference being the missing boy.
Two days later he was declared officially missing by his parents.
…
And four days after that he was found again wandering the Kunikogowka halls muttering something incoherent and being unresponsive to those who tried to ask him where he had been or if he needed help.
Students and faculty alike observed his seemingly broken walk towards the occult club even asano himself had seen him and left to ensure the police were notified that he was safe and no longer kidnapped, none of them could have possibly expected what came next.
Hazama Kirara was alone in the occult club though not for long that day. She had been organising the books and candles which where all messed up from her friends affectionately known as the ‘Terasaka Gang’ or less affectionately known as ‘The Delinquents’ visit a few minutes ago. She never really took the club seriously she obviously believed in the supernatural and was excited to share her belief but no one had ever really cared to join her it was just a way for her to prove that she attended a club even if it was a one member club most of the time.
A little startled from the sudden influx of students around her club as well as a thought to be missing student walking in and towards her Hazama Kirara had given a creepy but awkward smile as she had opened her mouth ready to ask if he was ok and if he needed help calling the police she had been pushed to the ground.
You see Hazama Kirara was not week, Asano knew this, no one could live with parents abusive disgusting neglectful parents and not turn out strong, no one could do what she did hang out with who she did and no be considered strong… but physical abilities had never been her string suit.
As she struggled trying to push Jesu off of her people gathered round, confused and concerned but no one bothered to help –the bystander effect truly is a bitch-. Then as she spat in his face the third and fourth corpses to be found in Kunikogowka junior high in just four weeks where discovered. Jesu slit her throat then pierced his own both bleeding out in a matter of seconds.
The murder suicide was thought to be due to Jesu snapping no longer able to take the pressure from his parents to stop messing around with drama and simply become normal, it was thought that he targeted Hazama Kirara due to her obviously being able to stand out and stand up to her parents, all the things Jesu clearly wanted.
A few days later and no one was questioning the motive, everyone accepted what had happened and moved on just a little more cautious of bullying their slightly weirder or more eccentric peers. No one mentioned the now permanently empty occult room and drama room.
But Asano couldn’t just let this go, there were too many unknown variables where did Jesu go the week before he snapped? Why Hazama Kirara because he knew that Jesu barley even knew who she was, why did he not try to take anyone else with him and why… why was Akabane Karma involved yet again?
Karma had always been cordial with his E class getting along with most of them but after the murders –but still only called accidents by the police despite Asano’s insistence- started they got closer much more close knit. Karma was obviously becoming more and more withdrawn all of his friends all of the people he cared about where dying, that led him down the path of intrest in the occult.
He had grown a much better friendship between he and Kirara Hazama in the days before her death often being found reading her occult books on what happens after death on the sofa next to her. And just like before karma had just been in the occult club and had just left when Hazama was killed.
This is getting far far too much of a common occurrence for Asano who by this time was trying to keep tabs on who and why karma was hanging out with people. He didn’t suspect the boy despite what others might be saying, karma was violent yes but he wasn’t this cruel he wasn’t kill his only friends cruel and he wasn’t stupid. Obviously people would suspect him, so he can’t be the killer.
But if not him then who?
After the people he talked to one on one started to die Karma tried to hang out with lots of people –only because he knew his classmates would not let him self isolate in his grief- due to this Karma joined the sports club. One of his best friends Sugino was part of it and it was the most populated club in the entire school, clearly eh had hoped that this death following him would leave them be.
…
Asano would applaud him for effort but it didn’t work.
Sugino Tomohito’s body was found at the bottom of the Kunikogowka school pool exactly five weeks after Rio Nakamura’s body was found. He had weights in his pocket and the police naturally brushed it off as an accident he tripped and fell and couldn’t get out.
But once again Asano is no idiot, sugino had marks on his chest hand marks he had fought, why had he not taken his shorts off to escape? Asano does not know but he knows he should off. Most likely he was attacked and knocked unconscious then pushed into the water. Most likely once again he was killed… most likely this was the fifth mysterious murder in the school in just five weeks.
Karma was distraught even though he didn’t find the body this time, he broke down in front of the entire school as the police arrived sobbing into his pe teacher’s arms as Sugino’s cold wet body was wheeled away on a stretcher covered in a white sheet.
He quit the sports club the next week and started to skip more and more school being found by his teachers sobbing by his friends graves, they let him skip and none of them really knew what to say to him, even Asano Didn’t know.
However one person did know what to say, their school nurse Miss Muja, she is new this year not yet having been fully indoctrinated into the Kunikogowka E class mind set –though if she had survived Asano is certain that she would never have been fully taken in by the cruel ideas-.
After finding karma one day by himself grieving and picking at his wrist till it bled Muja had sat with him gently professionally keeping her distance as she comforted him. After that day Karma had started having daily hour to three hour long therapy sessions with Muja.
Finally, Karma seemed to be a little more happy occasionally smiling and having stopped his self harming quirks he had developed, Asano even witnessed him beat up an annoying asshole who was harassing a girl from a lower class.
Muja seemed genuinely interested in making sure that karma gets better she is constantly sending emails to the rest of the faculty to ask them to update accommodations or just to stop being insensitive assholes basically. She also works very hard with Karma’s homeroom teacher Mr Karasuma to help look after Karma’s mental and physical health.
But as both Karma and Asano have learnt recently the people around Karma seem to die. And poor caring Muja was next, her body was found impaled on her own syringes six weeks, three days and five hours after rio nakamura’s death. The official cause of death was she tripped while holding a packet of syringes and one just managed to puncture her heart, everyone accepted it if with a bit more scepticism, Muja was always a clumsy woman.
Once again the death didn’t feel accidental but Asano didn’t even need to do any investigation this time, it was plain and obvious to see she was stabbed to death but neither the police nor his father the principal cared. But at that moment that wasn’t the most important thing to Asano. No. The most important thing was the dishevelled and depressed red haired boy who had shown up on his doorstep sobbing.
It’s a little unfortunate but Asano has grown much closer to Akabane the past few weeks, his untouchable nature meant the red head felt safer being seen with him than others because no one could ever even conceive a though of asano Gakushuu being hurt let alone killed. Furthermore Asano is the only one who actually believes Karma about the murderer following him right now.
The next day after Muja’s small and lack luster school funeral –they seem to be getting smaller and more insignificant each time someone dies which Asano knows isn’t fair but does not have the time to complain about right now-, Gakushuu Asano and Akabane Karma walked to the 3 – E homeroom teacher.
Muja’s death meant that Karma’s care was shifted onto him; honestly Asano wasn’t sure what to think about the revelation at first he had suspected Karasuma of being the killer but the man has been so accommodating to Karma’s changing needs and paranoia that he has been all but scratched off of the suspect list.
…
That didn’t mean Asano was leaving Karma alone with that man. Every single meeting every single talk Asano ensured that he was there, both for karma’s safety and Karasuma’s.
Karasuma was awkward with his emotions only really being able to calm karma for the sheer reason that karma trusted his teacher implicitly after the whole fiasco the previous year with Ono Kensaku –one of Asano’s main suspects at the moment – karma had all but latched onto the next adult who showed care and luckily Karasuma was genuinely caring and protective despite his awkward exterior.
Or perhaps one would consider that unlucky as despite all preventative measures Karasuma Tadaomi was found dead slumped over his desk a week later. Accidental cyanide poisoning, his cause of death apparently he got confused and mixed cyanide into his coffee. Honestly at this point the police’s excuses are just becoming outrageous and egregious they have been added as suspects to the ever growing list.
This death had left Akabane looking and feeling numb inside he didn’t cry for Karasuma he probably didn’t have any tears left to cry after the seven solid weeks of crying he had been doing. He just sighed and went on with his life one less person in it.
Terasaka’s gang Hazama’s friends and the delinquents of Kunikogowka are all in Karma’s class obviously; despite Hazama’s death their friendship has still stayed strong. By the time the eighth week since the murders started they started following Karma around, not maliciously but because their beloved class is falling apart. Several of them have died.
… Several of them have been murdered.
They may be stupid but they are not oblivious obviously their friends, their family where murdered it isn’t stupid.
Karma is clearly the most effected member of their class, clearly everyone are friends, and clearly everyone is close so their deaths affected everyone. But they had their individual friend groups in their class and while most groups have lost one person from their friend groups… Karma has lost all of his closest friends the only remaining being Kayano his childhood best friend practically sister.
Terasaka, Okajima, Yoshida, maehara, muramatsu and takebayashi all ensure that karma is ok, they follow him and just watch making sure no one gets close to him or within arm’s reach to hurt him. Clearly all convinced karma will be the next target; Asano will give them some credit it does make some sort of sense.
But just as before eight weeks after Rio’s death the dead body fo Terasaka Ryoma was found at school by karma, the rest of Terasaka’s gang where behind karma by a few bushes keeping an eye on himw hen the red head just collapsed to his knees. The others had ran over and saw it too.
Where there once had been an often grumpy looking head with blonde and brown hair now resided a smashed puddle of blood and viscera. It was horrifying.
The most graphic death yet.
A weight had been dropped from the roof down onto Terasaka’s head bellow, a large weight not just a simple dumbbell. The only mercy anyone could see in this death was that it must had been quick and hopefully not painful.
This was a murder.
No doubt about it.
Everyone in Kunikogowka knows this, no weight just falls from the roof onto a boy’s head, but just like before his death was somehow classified as an accident. The police refused to investigate and at this point Mr Asano has just stopped giving funerals for the dead of his school, most where in E class anyway so it doesn’t matter if the weak die.
Asano has so many questions and this time he managed to get some answers for them, Terasaka’s friends are desperate and angry they want to know who has killed now two of their own and six others. They team up with Asano and tell him how Terasaka had received an anonymous note in his locker wanting to meat behind the dumpster at the back of the school about Hazama’s death.
Then his body was found there.
This is suspicious.
Obviously.
The next week Asano waits and watches something is bound to happen this week, something has happened the last eight weeks someone will die this week no matter what he does to stop them. No one really knows who it is going to die next, Terasaka’s gang are never leaving each others sides even going to the toilet together too scared that if they are alone they will die.
However by late Sunday evening as the group of Karma, Asano, Okajima and Itona sit in the corner of the library Karma and Itona slowly falling asleep –neither really having been able to sleep all week- no one is dead yet.
Praying it is the end would be childish and illogical, but that doesn’t mean Gakushuu doesn’t indulge in it anyway. Maybe the killer is gone; maybe they have given up on their rampage. Maybe… maybe no one else has to die.
Just as Asano himself seems ready to fall asleep the calm silence making him drowsy the heavy oak doors of the library slam open hard. Yoshida and Muramatsu run in.
And they know.
Everyone knows what they found.
No one wants to ask.
Ask who is dead, who now?
But Asano has always excelled at asking the awkward questions so he sucks it up, “Who?” He croaks out.
Yoshida is the one who speaks staring sympathetically at the dead empty eyes of karma as he does, “Its… Kayano she’s dead I- her body was found at the airport apparently she never even got on her flight… she was that decomposed.”
Kayano, better known as Akari, was karma’s closest ever friend having grown up together in the rich socialite class, Akari a movie actor even from such a tender age and karma the son of some rich directors. She was his sister in all but blood and Karma had begged her to leave Japan until they figured out what was going on. Who was responsible.
She had agreed despite asking karma to accompany her. Packed her bags quickly and left to fly to America for a few weeks already signed up to help on a production.
…
And now she was dead.
…
…
…
In the week that follows Asano’s house became a stronghold, a battle field. Every door and window locked tight every security guard they pay for on shift twenty for seven. Gakushuu even set up traps outside of his room that only his most trusted maid knows how to get through.
Why?
Because Karma broke.
That day in the library after finding out Kayano was dead Asano walked him home slowly and carefully when they arrived at the red heads house… blood. Blood was everywhere.
You see Kayano’s body was found bloodless completely dry, no one had known where the blood went but the police made some bullshit excuse that Asano and Karma where no longer listening to.
…
They found the blood.
…
Karma can no longer sleep for longer than ten minutes, he has become paranoid and jumpy the conformation that he was being targeted caused ripples of blame to surge through him, nine… nine people dead. Nine of his friends his family dead.
Despite wanting to just isolate himself so no one else dies Karma has eneded up in the Asano household curled into a ball on Gakushuu’s bed flinching at the slightest move, why? Because Gakushuu is strong, unshakable. He is smart, scarily so and can orchestrate anything to be how he would like it to seem.
The police come by to try and talk to karma to figure out why and who could possibly be targeting him and his nine friends who were murdered accidentally killed, but Gakushuu asks them to leave. Karma only trusts him now you see and the police should just mind their own business.
As Asano had walked back into his –and now karma’s aswell- bedroom his foot catches on something sharp left on the floor, blood drips from his foot onto a small blue strand of hair. Must be from one of the new security guards he hired. Oh well.
That…
Everything goes blurry.
shit…
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…
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