~ Thursday 7th April 2016 ~

I woke up earlier than normal, and I couldn't determine why. Had I had another bad dream? I put my hand to my head, trying to remember what had happened. There was nothing there, no memory of Yandere killing me a third time. I took a deep breath, now wondering what had woken me. I looked around my cluttered room, until my eyes rested on my glowing phone. I checked my clock for the time. Someone was calling me? At four in the morning?

I got out of bed, fixed my shorts and vest before reaching for it. I opened the phone to see it was a blocked number. Should I answer it? It could be a friend of mine too drunk to realise they were calling me. Wait…my friends had been out of contact with me since yesterday, so this made that phone call stranger. I pressed the call button, and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked, not sure who had called to begin with.

"Ms Yukiji?" a man asked, and I felt nervous. How had this man gotten my number?

"Who's asking?" I answered back.

"This is Sergeant Yuuji Shinozaki," the man replied, "I work with the police."

"Em…why are you calling me?" I asked him, knowing the situation was grave when a policeman was calling you at four in the morning, "I swear I haven't done anything!"

"I'm sending two of men to collect you," he replied, not addressing my concerns, "they should be with you soon."

"Why?" I demanded, standing, feeling indignant.

"You are coming in for questioning," he replied, "we have some questions we need to ask you in relation to this current week."

The door was knocked and I screamed. My body was shaking that it took me a moment to remember what Shinozaki had said to me. He had sent two men to retrieve me…at my home…

"Ms Yukiji?" the sergeant asked as I sat on my bed, "are you alright?"

"My door was just knocked…I wasn't expecting it…" I replied weakly, "I better answer it."

"I will stay on the phone," he stated, which gave me some comfort. If it wasn't his men, then he would hear me scream again. Oh God…what if it was Yandere? What if she was here to "talk to me"?

"Em…Sergeant?" I asked as I stood in the doorway of my room, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he answered, clearly not sure what was on my mind.

"There's this girl in my school…she's a bit crazy…so, do you mind…if I arm myself before opening that door? I'll drop it as soon as I see badges…I swear to that!"

"Has this girl threatened you in any way?" Shinozaki asked, taking this threat seriously.

"She's threatened me in a general sense," I answered. He clucked his tongue which told me he thought it was a prank on my part about Yandere.

"You may, but do not harm those officers!" he snapped.

I took that as permission and ran to my kitchen. I grabbed a knife, a long thin blade and held it tight. It was four in the morning, I'm sure the officers would understand. I crept slowly to the door as it was knocked again, this time someone was peering in. I unlocked the door, keeping the chain on as I stepped onto the cold tiles. The chill reminded me that there were worse things out there than two police officers.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Ms Yukiji, please open the door!" one man shouted.

"You are under arrest!" the other man shouted.

"Show me your badges!" I snapped back, holding the knife tighter, "I'm not opening that door until I see badges!"

"Open this door!" one snapped.

"Kizumi!" the second man said, "miss, I'll just put my badge through the gap…if you can open the door enough for that?"

I leaned forward and opened the door, and an arm moved in, a badge in his hand. I took it, my fingers grazing his calloused ones. I then brought it over to the kitchen and looked at it from the light over the stove. Inspector Sebastian Tachibana looked back at me, his hair a soft brown. His eyes were a bright grey that promised security. I walked back to the door and looked out, seeing how dark it was. I flicked on the light so I could see their profiles, and Tachibana was indeed there, his hair a little shorter.

"Kizumi, just give her your ID," Tachibana muttered.

The disgruntled blond took the badge from his pocket and handed it in through the door. I brought it over to the stove and saw Satoshi Kizumi looking back at me, his blond hair to his shoulders and his eyes a dark blue. He had a scar that ran from the corner of his mouth to his ear, but looked like the man outside my house. I put down the knife and went into my room, grabbed a fluffy white cardigan to put on and fixed my shorts once more. The black vest hitched up to reveal my stomach and the small scar there. My sister had needed a kidney…so long ago.

I took my phone and the badges back to the door, put on a pair of flats and turned my attention to Shinozaki who was listening on the phone.

"Your men are outside, I'm ready to go with them," I said to him.

"You put away your weapon?" he asked me.

"It's gone, I'm only going with myself," I answered.

"Then I will see you at the station," Shinozaki said as he hung up.

"Till then," I replied to the dead phone.

I put the phone into my pocket, and closed the door. I took the chain away and opened the door once more. I stayed on the tiles, knowing it was rude to wear my shoes inside the house. The two men stood there, their eyes scanning me as I looked to them.

"Do you have any paper?" I asked.

"Sure," Tachibana said before handing me his notepad and a pen.

I scribbled a note for Mariya and dad to find, knowing dad wouldn't have heard me. He took some medication to sleep and Mariya had her own home. She would be by in the morning, and would see it. I put it down near where she put her keys and stepped out of the house. I locked the door with my own keys, ones I had grabbed from the bowl by the door and put them in my pocket. I placed my hand on the door.

"Sleep well, dad," I said as I followed the officers to their car.

Kizumi opened the back door and I sat in, only to see that I was alone. Tachibana sat beside me, holding handcuffs.

"Just for security, Ms Yukiji," he said as he fastened one cuff to my wrist and then the other to his.

"You can call me Yukiji," I replied, "that is my name."

"Yukiji," he repeated, "I bet your friends call you Yuki or Yu-chan."

"They did," I replied, "no one calls me that anymore."

"Oh why?" he asked as Kizumi started driving.

"They stopped speaking to me yesterday. I haven't heard from any of my friends since lunchtime yesterday…and that was Luka."

"Oh," he said, something was upsetting him with that information.

I turned to look at the window as we passed Academi High School. Maybe I'd see Luka there tomorrow, or Megumi, Hatsune, Kira and Teto. They would laugh at me about Tuesday, and my clown make-up. I could tell them I was going to see Senpai and tell him I loved him. They would insist on doing my make-up and changing my clothes. I would stand under the cherry blossoms at the back of the school, the pink petals floating around me like confetti. And my dream was that Senpai would accept my feelings, and he would want to be with me.

While I had been thinking of Friday, the car had parked and Tachibana was calling my name.

"Yukiji?" he asked and I shook my head to look at him.

"Just away with my thoughts," I said as I gave him a smile.

"We're at the station," he said sadly as he slid towards his door, "ready?"

I nodded and followed behind him, his hand reaching forward to steady me once it was my job to get out. I fixed my vest, wishing I had worn something else, when I was led into the police station.

It was loud, and very bright. I squinted, my eyes found it hard to focus on things. Kizumi took the rear as Tachibana took the front, my arm outstretched with his. So this was what it felt like to be a criminal. I could understand now why dad liked those cop shows so much. I was brought past some bigger drunk men who leered at me, one attempted to snag my leg. Kizumi caught his arm before he could, and I was moved on. What exactly was I supposed to do?

A door opened and in front of me was a man with black hair, his eyes a dark chocolate brown. He smiled at me, but it never reached his eyes.

"Ms Yukiji," he said as he stepped forward, "I'm Sergeant Shinozaki."

"Hello," I replied awkwardly.

"We'll talk in my office, do you want anything to drink?" he asked me.

"Some coffee?" I asked and he looked to someone near his office.

"Kazuki, please fetch some coffee for Ms Yukiji," Shinozaki said.

"Sure thing, Sergeant. Ms Yukiji, do you take sugar?"

"Three sugars and milk please," I said and he nodded, "you can call me Yukiji."

"Coming right up…Yukiji," he said before running off.

I was brought into the office and placed in a chair. Tachibana stood beside me, one arm hung down to relax my cuffed one. The other was behind his back. Kizumi stood behind me, a baton in his hands. Why did he need a weapon? Shinozaki sat down behind a big mahogany desk, his hands stapled under his chin. It felt like he was assessing me, similarly to when our principal had assessed me before I became class rep. I could withstand the stares, and I only broke contact when the door opened.

"I have your coffee, Yukiji," Kazuki said with a smile as he put a coaster down with the cup, "hope you like it."

I used first my cuffed hand before the rattle and the sudden movement of Tachibana made me freeze. For a moment I forgot it was Kizumi with the baton and not Tachibana. I lowered my hand and sighed.

"Sorry…I'm right handed," I said to no one in particular.

"Tachibana, switch hands," Shinozaki said and it was done.

I reached for the coffee again and sipped it, grateful I had asked for one more sugar than normal. It sent a buzz through me, giving me some sense. I was in trouble, there was no doubt about that. But when I had normally been in trouble, mum had used to sit me down with some coffee, an extra sugar, and tell me where I stood. I missed those days, when I could come home from school and she would be standing at the door waiting for me.

"Hello, Yu-chan!" she had said, almost singing it to me.

"Mama!" I had replied before running into her arms, my feet still on the tiles with my shoes.

"I missed you, Yu-chan," she had said, one hand circling my waist while the other fixed my hair that had come undone, "you must have had an adventure today. Your hair is messy."

"Luka showed me this forest path at lunchtime!" I replied, wanting her to know everything.

"You'll have to show me sometime," she had answered before coughing, "maybe when I'm feeling better?"

"Em!" I replied, and I held onto her.

She didn't get better, only worse. Eventually she couldn't leave her bed and the days of her greeting me at the door disappeared. No one waited for me, until Mariya came home. She saw how depressed I had become, missing mum waiting for me. So one day, I came home from a terrible day at school. A boy had pulled my hair, and it was a mess. But there no one to impress, so I didn't fix my hair. I had opened that door, familiar but not.

"Hello Yu-chan!" a voice had called and I turned to see Mariya, her arms outstretched for me, "welcome home."

"Mari-chan…" I sobbed before running to her, my eyes brimming with tears.

"I missed you," she whispered, "and you have no need to cry. Here," and she put one arm around my waist while the other fixed my hair, "did you have an adventure?"

"A boy pulled my hair," I mumbled into her chest.

"I'll have to talk to him then," she said softly, "but I'm glad you're home."

She did that for me, waited for me to come home. She left school early so she could be there for me. One day however she had an exam, and I had opened the door, expecting to see Mariya. But no one was there, and I went about the day like I would have. Mariya apologised when she got home, only to find me with some ramen and watching Totally Spies. A few days later, mum was taken into hospital, to be put on a respirator. Dad unplugged her a month later when there was no hope of recovery. I was seven when my mother died, and at her funeral, I could still hear her.

""You'll have to show me sometime…maybe when I'm feeling better?""

When I was ten, I went to the forest path with a small plaque and flowers. I put it next to a tree that had Luka and my initials in it, and placed the flowers down.

"Here's the forest path, mum, I've finally shown you. Sorry it took so long. I guess…we never know how much time we have, huh?" and I had talked to her, as if she was standing there.

"Tell me, did you have an adventure today?" her voice echoed around me.

"I did, Mama, I had the best adventure," I had whispered to her and told her it all.

I remembered that all when I looked into the coffee, and that third spoonful of sugar. I drank some more and looked back up to Shinozaki, feeling calmer. It felt like my mum was watching over me, like she was in that room with me.

"Ms Yukiji," Shinozaki said as he cracked his fingers, "I have a few questions for you."

"Sure," I said as I sipped my coffee.

"Where were you yesterday?" he asked me.

"At home," I replied.

"Can someone verify this?" he asked.

"My sister Mariya was with me," I replied, "I was sick."

"At any point was Mariya not there?" he asked.

"Em…once that I remember. She went in to hand in an assignment and pick up some sweets for me. That was at about…half seven? Nearly eight?"

"Why are you not sure?" he asked.

"I was on the phone with Luka," I replied, "she saw Mariya and brought her into the school."

"And then Mariya returned?" he asked and I nodded, "the rest of the day?"

"We watching a movie she had rented for me, she told me she had got it before coming over since she lives with her boyfriend. His name is Raku."

"Does he live nearby?" Shinozaki asked and I shook my head, "where does he live?"

"I don't know, I've never been there. All I know is it takes Mariya fifteen minutes to drive to our house in her car. Did Mariya do something wrong?"

"No," he replied, "we're establishing a timeline for yesterday. Now, you called Luka…she called you at lunchtime. What did you talk about?"

"Why?" I asked him.

"We want to know if you fought with her, maybe got a little annoyed. Maybe you were tired of her, she was getting more attention than you…maybe you decided you didn't want to be in her shadow anymore…"

"Luka and I never fought!" I snapped, "we've been friends since we were five!"

"How old are you now, Yukiji?" he asked.

"I'm sixteen," I replied.

"Eleven years in someone's shadow…that must feel horrible. Tachibana, bring her with us."

"Sir!" Tachibana said as Kizumi got me to my feet, "you can't!"

"I can and will," he replied.

I was pushed along, with Tachibana giving me another sad look. What had happened? They were scaring me. I was brought down stairs and into a darkened hallway. The only sounds I could make out were my footsteps and my heavy breathing. What were they going to do to me? Should I have called Mariya? I should have! I should have demanded that one call Dad's shows testified to.

"I want my phone call!" I demanded.

"You'll need a lawyer, Ms Yukiji," Shinozaki said and opened another set of doors, "Kyle, show her."

A man dressed in white walked over to a table, and I saw a white cloth covering something. What was there…? He pulled it away slowly, and I saw short yellow hair, more yellow than blonde. It was messy, from someone roughly pulling the ponytail free. It went down to the body's shoulders, which were a dark red. The blanket was moved further, revealing breasts that were about average, but they were ravaged. The blanket revealed a stomach, marks decorated it like medals of honour and the blanket was removed completely to show off long legs. Her legs were like her stomach, except so damaged as to stop her from running. Blood decorated her skin like a fancy dress for a party, as Shinozaki unlocked my cuff and pushed me forward. My hands rested on the metal tray, my eyes closed tight. I didn't want to see someone's dead eyes looking back at me.

"Open your goddamn eyes!" Shinozaki snapped as he slapped me, "look at what you did!"

I opened my eyes out of surprise, to find myself looking into the eyes of my best friend. Luka was pale, horribly so. Her eyes were vacant, no longer a bright golden colour. Someone had been cruel to her, probably broke her legs so she couldn't run. I felt the coffee I had drunk come up a little and I turned to run out of the room, my eyes brimming with tears. I found the bathroom and barely made it in before getting sick. I was shaking, and I couldn't catch a breath. Someone had murdered my best friend, stabbed her repeatedly.

"Yukiji?" a voice called out as I got sick once more, seeing her eyes looking at me.

"Ahh!" I sobbed as I put my head on the rim of the toilet, "ahh!"

"Yukiji," the voice said and my hair was pulled away from my face as I cried and got sick.

My stomach was empty a few minutes later, and I was only dry heaving. The person rubbed my back, until I moved my head to rest on the floor. The cool tiles felt nice against my too warm skin.

"Why? Who did that to her?" I asked, my voice so small.

"Sergeant wanted to see your reaction," the voice replied, "and there was DNA on her that belonged to you. A handkerchief I think. One with a pink fringe on it was found near her body."

"Mum left me that when she died, I left it in my locker at school. I must have forgot it last week…" I mumbled.

"Well, you can understand now why you were brought here…right?" the voice asked.

"I would never do that to Luka. Sure we fought on small things like who got the last muffin, but we never went to the extreme of saying we'd kill each other. We knew that we were all we had in the end. I would never hurt her the way that monster had…and if I had gotten angry at her, I would have talked to her about it. She knew I hated to fight with any of our friends. I guess I know why she didn't come over yesterday."

"Our mortician placed her death at around 4 in the afternoon yesterday to 5."

"Did she have a DVD on her?" I asked the voice.

"There was a copied DVD in her bag with R.I.P.D. on it," the voice said.

"She said she was going to bring over a movie for us to watch. She knows how much I like Ryan Reynolds…"

"So she was on her way to see you," the voice said though now it sounded like a whisper.

"Yeah…" I whispered back before I fainted.

"Yukiji!" was the last thing I heard…

I think it's called sensory overload, that's what it was when I saw Luka. I could see her, in a way I had never wanted to see my best friend. I guess with getting sick and feeling faint, I just couldn't handle the information that my friend was dead. I woke up in an office, a blanket wrapped around me as I blinked against the sunlight. Wait…sunlight?

"She fainted!" a voice said, the same voice that had been with me in the bathroom, "doesn't that say she didn't kill Luka?!"

"Her handkerchief was found at the scene of the crime! The last phone call on the victim's phone was hers. This all points to her being the murderer! We need to know what was said in that phone call!"

"She told me something weird was going on," I said, catching their attention, "that the nurse had lost another vial of tranquiliser and our science teacher Mr Aido had lost a vial of cyanide. He kept the vial on hand for experiments, to show us how dangerous it was. She told me Meiko had been poisoned during lunch and the EMTs were too late to save her. The police were at the school and since Meiko's death could be linked to the missing cyanide, all students were to remain on campus. Only my other friend Megumi was in school, but Luka said she was nervous and she thought Luka was behind all the weird things happening. Luka asked me if I trusted her, that she was innocent and I told her yes, I did. I told her to stay with Megumi and the guys, thinking she'd be safe in a big group. I told her I thought Yandere, a girl in our class, was out to get us; that she had been acting suspiciously for the last few days. Luka agreed with me, and told me the same reasons I had felt suspicious for."

"Which were?" Shinozaki asked.

"She was always complimenting us," I replied.

"How is that strange?" Kizumi asked and I turned to look at him.

"She never varied the compliments. Every day, at least once, she told us, "I just thought I'd tell you, you look lovely today." It never changed, and she always said it in a stiff way, like she couldn't grasp the feelings required to make the compliment genuine. She also sometimes looked like she was about to go crazy, as in psycho bitch alert. She's in love with this guy in my class called Senpai, and she called us her rivals."

"Okay…" Kizumi said, clearly retracting his earlier statement.

"What else?" Tachibana said, clearly happy that I was being cooperative.

"I told Luka that someone else was in love with Senpai, and she asked who. I told her I'd tell her when she came over, because I didn't want to tell her if Yandere was nearby. She told me she thought Yandere was batshit crazy…and then said she thought Yandere had heard the conversation between us. I asked her if she could leave the school; that it wasn't safe to be there. She had probably pissed off Yandere. But then the police decided to call them both over and Luka told me she's talk to me that evening…which she didn't. Because well…she was dead…"

"Is that all the phone call was about?" Tachibana asked me and I turned my eyes on him.

"Yes," I replied in what I would later describe as a monotone, "because the police officers beckoned my friend away with Yandere. My friend is dead because you wouldn't let her leave…"

"Yukiji-" Shinozaki said as I stood, pushing the blanket aside.

"I'm going home, you can call me if you want to talk again but I don't think I can help you any further," I said in that same monotone as I fixed my shoes and left the office.

I stepped out into the sunlight, and put my hands in the pockets of my cardigan. My fingers brushed the metal of the keys and the hard case of my phone. I also felt the leather of the badges. I should have returned them, but I must have forgotten. I took them out and put them in the mailbox. I then walked home, not sure where home was. Where exactly was I? What time was it? I took to my right and started walking, gazing at my shoes hitting small stones.

Luka was dead, stabbed to death after some monster broke her legs. They had probably heard her scream, and then dropped my handkerchief near her so I would be incriminated. It would look like a fight broke out between us, and she had pulled a pocket and the handkerchief had come free. Her phone would have been in her bag, the front pocket so she wouldn't have rung anyone to talk to. I wish she had, then at least someone could have caught her murderer or been there to stop her being killed.

I stopped there, my knees buckling as the full weight of what I had seen came crashing down on me. I had seen my friend's body, I had been accused of her murder. I had been through a lot in the last few hours, I think that was why I broke down again and cried.

"Yukiji?" a voice asked but I didn't look up, "hey, Yukiji."

Someone dropped to their hunches to lift my chin carefully, and I looked into Gackpo's eyes. They were a soft blue and they promised me a buoy in these raging waters. I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder, his arms circling my waist.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked me.

"Luka…Luka…" I sobbed and he nodded, "did you know?"

"Ms Kanade held homeroom today, to tell us the news," he said, "you weren't there…so who told you?"

"The police…they thought I did that to her…they thought I had attacked her…I didn't…I could never do that to her…" I sobbed as he rubbed my back, "I'm not her murderer, I swear Gackpo!"

"I know," he answered, "Ms Kanade has told us to walk home in pairs for the next few days, that it isn't safe to be alone. I'll walk you home, I'm only two houses down from you."

"You don't need to," I whispered as he put on arm at my waist, his satchel across his body and caught one of my hands over his shoulder, holding it gently as if I were about to break.

"Well, Luka would want me to. You know she wouldn't want her friend crying in the middle of a road," he said, "you're lucky I was taking the long route home. You're not that close to Academi."

"Thanks," I whispered to him and he walked with me.

He got me to my front door and I handed him the keys. He opened it wide before he was called.

"Hey Gackpo!" a voice called and Gackpo turned so we could see Kaito.

"Hey Kaito," he replied, "mind waiting for me?"

"Is Yukiji making tea?" Kaito asked as he ambled towards us, "where were you? You missed a hell of a day at school."

I ignored him as Gackpo sat me down to undo my shoes before kicking off his own. He then brought me into the living which was empty. A blanket was got from my room to wrap around my shoulders as I curled up tight. I stared at the blank television set, trying to see anything but Luka's dead body. That was something I never wanted to see again. I wanted to remember her as my friend, the one who wiped my make-up off and said I looked like a clown. I wanted to see her easy smile, one I had earned the right to see. I wanted to see her pulling on her ponytail when she was nervous…I wanted to see my friend alive again.

"Here," Kaito said as he handed me a cup of tea, "Gackpo told me."

"Why?" I asked him without looking at him, "why Luka?"

"She was alone," he whispered, "she told me that she was walking to see you and since you were only five minutes away, what was the worry. I should have told her that it didn't matter how far you lived, I would walk with her."

"I offered the same to her," Gackpo said, "until Megumi asked me to walk her home. Takuma was with us and said he would walk with me since he lived next door to me."

"Megumi thought she was behind it all this week," I whispered.

"Yeah, she did spin some fantasies yesterday. Too bad she didn't hear about today," Kaito said, "ow!"

I hadn't noticed that Gackpo had punched his side, warning him against something. But oblivious to that, I looked between them, now curious.

"Why didn't she hear it today?" I asked.

Sure Megumi had sounded down but why would she miss school? She, like Hatsune, hated being out, and often came in even when she looked like a living corpse. We had laughed at her about it often, but she got us back when we were in sick for a test.

"Who's the living corpse now?" she would say when that happened.

"Maybe I shouldn't tell you, I don't want you to get any more upset," Kaito said to me, his eyes on the cup of tea he must have made himself.

"Tell me," I said, knowing I needed to know.

"Yukiji…Megumi wasn't in school today," Gackpo said gently, "because…"

"Her mum found her," Kaito said, "she was in her bathroom…in a bath full of water."

"So?" I asked, not grasping what they were avoiding.

"She slit her wrists," Gackpo said, running an agitated hand through his hair, "she left a note saying she didn't want a certain person coming for her."

"Megumi is…dead?" I whispered, "when?"

"Since last night, about eleven," Kaito said, "her funeral is Sunday with Luka's."

I put the tea down and pulled my phone out, seeking that phone call I had made to Gumi. There…I had called her at…10:59pm last night. She had sounded depressed, and I closed my eyes to listen to her again, to hear what was around her.

"That bitch killed them all! You're next if you aren't careful…I can't let her kill me…"

"You're so naïve…so naïve. I was naïve once, but now everything is clear to me. I was tricked…but no more. No more. Goodbye Yukiji, you were a good friend…"

Her words echoed in my head as they had in the phone call. She had been in a room which could echo, or at least distort her voice. Something told me, I had rung her while she was running the bath. But before she cut her wrists. My friend had killed herself to get away from a murderer, one she thought was Luka. Which means that Luka had been dead hours prior to that but her body hadn't been discovered. Gumi hadn't known the truth…and she had died thinking Luka was the monster. Luka had been murdered thinking Gumi hated her…

"I spoke to Gumi," I whispered as I dropped my phone, "I spoke to her before it."

"Oh God!" Kaito said as he touched my hand, "Jesus, Yuki-chan, you're freezing."

"I could have stopped her…I should have known," I looked into their eyes, "she told me goodbye. That I was a good friend to her."

"She said that in her note," Gackpo said as he caught my other hand, "Yukiji, is there anyone I can call for you?"

At that point, the door slammed open and the two guys jumped. Shoes were quickly taken off and Gackpo was moved away. I was moved so my eyes rested on my sister's. Mariya looked angry, but when she saw me, that expression smoothed out to fear.

"Yu-chan," she said, "Yu-chan, speak to me. I was just at the police station to be told what they had done to you. You should have called me!"

"They said they'd let me…as soon as I saw her…" I whispered in reply.

"Those bastards!" Mariya snapped, which shook me out of my shock a little. She never cursed, it was not like her.

"I'll sue them for putting you through that shit!" she said as her eyes heated up once more, "you're sixteen! They should have gotten Dad to go in with you!"

"He was asleep," I whispered as tears flooded over, "Mari-chan."

"Oh Yu-chan," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around me, "I'm here now," as an afterthought she looked to Gackpo and Kaito, "do you boys need a lift?"

"No, I live two doors away," Gackpo said, "and Kaito lives two doors up from that. We'll make sure we get home safe."

"Take the baseball bat by the door in case," my sister said, "better to be safe than sorry."

"Thanks…"

"You can call me Mariya," she said, "now get home before its dark."

"Yes Mariya," they both replied as they put on their shoes, Kaito grabbed the bat and they stepped out into the sunlight.

"What time is it?" I asked her.

"It's nearly five," she replied, "I got a call from Raku telling me Dad had found a note in the house saying you were going to the police station with two men named Tachibana and Kizumi. That you should be back soon. I left my phone at the apartment so Raku called me at lunchtime at work and told me what had happened. I left work at one and drove like a madman down here, to wait for an hour and a half to speak to some gobshite called Shinoyaki-"

"Shinozaki," I whispered.

"Shinozaki Shinoyaki, does it matter?" she asked and I shook my head, "and he told me it was confidential. I told him who I was, showed him my ID and told him in simple terms to tell me what the hell happened or I would kick him in the nuts. He could arrest me for attacking an officer but I would have simply kicked him while he was down. I told him you were under eighteen, that a guardian should have been with you. It was only then I found out they called you at four in the fecking morning! I was about to blame Dad when I heard that. He would have taken his tablets and would have been out cold. You were alone here. He then told me you asked to hold a weapon in your hands because some girl had threatened you. But he said it was some girl thing and nothing had actually happened, so there was nothing he could do about the matter.

"Well that was another two hours of my life I wasn't going to get back so I demanded to know where you were. He said you left of your own accord to which I told him you were sixteen, in shock and there was a murderer walking the streets! And he let you leave without stopping you?! Oh the nerve of some people!"

This was the longest I had heard Mariya talk, and it helped distract me. She then held me until Dad got home, who also hugged me and told me he was sorry to not have been there for me.

"You'll probably want one of dad's tablets tonight," Mariya said, "I bet you're tired now but you can't close your eyes without seeing Luka?"

"And Gumi," I whispered.

"What happened to her?" Mariya asked.

So I told her everything Kaito and Gackpo had told me, not leaving out anything. I even told her about the phone call last night and how out of character it had been for her.

"Oh baby," Mariya said as she wrapped me up in a warm hug, "today has been a very horrible day for you. I can't believe it. You couldn't write this shit!"

"Maybe I should take one of dad's tablets now," I whispered.

"I'll make you some ramen, line your stomach before I put you to bed. I'll stay here tonight and I'll wake up at five to give you the next tablet. You'll be out until about 11…"

"Can you bring me to school at quarter to five tomorrow?" I asked her and she looked curious, "I told this guy I like that I would meet him there at five."

"Young romance," Mariya said with a smile, "I'm staying home tomorrow so I can help you do your make-up and hair. Are you wearing your uniform?"

That started a conversation that only half ended when she gave me ramen. While I ate she suggested making my hair wavy with the hint of curls. She suggested I wear my uniform as it would make the guy more comfortable talking to someone familiar. She then said my make-up would be low key to show off my big eyes and smile. As I finished the ramen, dad walked out with a tablet and handed it to me with a glass of water.

"Sleep well, darling," he said as he kissed my forehead.

"Thanks Daddy," I whispered as I swallowed the tablet and gulped down water to get rid of the bad taste. Mariya smiled as she bundled me up and brought me to my room to sleep. She tucked me in and fluffed my pillows.

"See you about five," she whispered as she kissed my forehead.

I yawned and she smiled as I closed my eyes. Sleep took me and didn't let me go. I didn't dream, which was something I was grateful for. Tomorrow was the day everything would change, but whether for the good or bad was still uncertain. But as Kira had once said to me;

"Whatever was meant to be, won't pass you, Yuki-chan."

Those words gave me hope for tomorrow…