Triggers warning: Mass shooting and suicide.

They found out that the victim's husband was working for some important company. He was currently in another country for business but was on his way to take a plane to return to Japan. From what Shiena heard, he sounded devastated by the death of his wife on the phone. She always felt bad for the victims, but they weren't the only ones suffering. Those people had loved ones that cared about them, and they ended up saddened by their tragic death. Those were also victims of Jack, too many people had suffered because of her.

Shiena was determined to put an end to her sadistic hunt.

And for that, she needed to understand Jack better, and she felt like the poem she left was the key to resolve this mystery.

Sitting at her desk Shiena was rereading for the umpteenth type Jack's poem, a digital version she had saved in her computer. As she guessed, Jack's murders were related to flower, it felt like she considered herself a florist. As if killing women was comparable to the mere act of cutting a flower…

"Hey, Shiena-san."

Shiena sighed and turned back. Why Haru was always bothering her during work? Didn't she have other people to whom talk to? Shiena remembered that Haru told her there weren't many women of her age in AKA, she must simply felt lonely. And it wasn't like Tokaku was that much sociable.

"Hi, Ichinose."

"What are you doing?"

"Analyzing the poem left by Jackie on her last crime scene."

"Oh…"

Haru leaned out and took a look at Shiena's screen.

"This is… a really lovely poem. I can't believe it was written by a psychopath," Haru said.

"Well, psychopaths actually tend to be really creative."

"Ah, I didn't know that."

That seemed to fit what she believed of Jack, that she viewed herself as an artist. Her horrific murders were nothing more than a piece of art for her, flower arrangement. It wasn't too far fetched to think she would like other forms of art, like writing.

"What do you think of this poem?" Shiena asked.

"Hm… Well, I have the feeling that it represents unsatisfaction. They keep cutting more and more flowers and they are never satisfied, like they have to fill… an emptiness in them. But they found that bud and the fact they don't know what kind of flower it may be captivate them and somehow, satisfy them."

Shiena thought about that. She did feel the same way regarding this poem. Jack must have this emptiness in her heart, something that pushes her to take lives away so she can… feel alive herself.

"But still, who are those they?" Haru asked.

"I think they here is singular and simply represent Jackie. She used it to hide her true gender."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"So the first stanza is about this flower who was so beautiful she cut her so she wouldn't fade away. She used 'she' to refer to the flower, so we know it's a person, a woman. Probably Jackie's first victim, the one that started this obsession she has with beauty, more specifically preserving beauty. This woman was probably growing old or something, and Jackie… couldn't take it. It's probably more than that, maybe it caused some kind of trauma in her."

"A woman in her life that became older… her mother maybe?" Haru proposed.

"That would make sense. Lots of serial killers started with issues with their mothers."

So she had been right, something must have happened between Jack and her mother. It was related to her growing older and losing her beauty. Was her mother somehow abusive to her? Did Jack really kill her? It seemed to be the case.

"The second stanza seems to be about her life as a serial killer, comparing women to flowers, she wants to preserve their beauty so she 'cut' them. Those brutal murders are like flower arrangements to her," Shiena said.

"If what happened with her mother caused a trauma, that would explain why she feels the need to kill those women. She doesn't want what happened to her mother happening to other women. Growing old and losing their beauty, I mean."

That seemed right. Whatever happened with her mother left a trauma in Jack's mind, she couldn't bear anymore to see women losing their beauty. This need turned overtime into pleasure, and it was now like an addiction.

"What about the third stanza?" Haru asked. "Who's this bud she's talking about? She used 'she' there too so it must be a woman…"

Shiena had a doubt about the identity of this bud, but since she didn't want people to know her and Jack were linked, she had to come up with another explanation.

"It must represent her next victim," Shiena pretended. "The bud hasn't bloomed yet, which symbolizes how she'll have to wait before killing her."

"What about 'cut or not cut'?"

"She must be playfully choosing between killing her or not, like she was God and could decide who lives and who dies. Typical of narcissistic killers."

"And what is the seed she planted in Jackie?"

"Hm… probably lust. Jackie is attracted to those women, she probably feels like they are the one charming her, planting their seed of lust in her. Psychopaths tend to do that, they blame others for their actions. Lots of serial killers consider that the women they killed deserved it for being 'tease' in their mind."

"Yeah… that does make sense. So Jackie has another victim in mind, so another woman… will die horribly."

Haru seemed saddened and horrified by this prospect. Shiena felt some sympathy for her, she could understand her. She put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled softly.

"I won't rest until I catch her. I'll do everything I can to find her. Everyone here is doing their best," Shiena said.

"You're right… and there's nothing we can really do about it. All we can do is work harder to catch her!"

Shiena nodded as she removed her hand, but before she could add anything, someone interrupted them.

"Ichinose, time to get back to work," Tokaku said.

"Ah, right," Haru said. "Seeya later Shiena-san!"

Haru joined Tokaku, who glanced at Shiena with what appeared to be distrust, before they both went back to their respective. A little bit confused about that stare, Shiena remained thoughtful for a moment, before she went back at reading the poem one more time.

Shiena came out from the toilet cabin to go wash her hands. As she stepped forwards the bathroom sink, her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror. Ever since what happened to Yamada Yuu, Shiena's own reflection was haunting her, her own face was a cruel reminder that someone died because of her. She used to think her face was a blessing, a bland face that almost made her invisible, but now it was a curse. She looked down to avoid that reflection that tormented her so much, finishing to wash her hands. But no matter how much she washed them, they still felt dirty.

She closed the faucet and wiped dry her wet hands, trying to not overthink too much.

"Kenmochi."

Shiena jolted as she turned back, to discover that someone else was in the bathroom as if they were waiting for her.

"... A-Azuma… hey… uh… do you need anything?"

Tokaku was standing there, leaning again the door and gazing at Shiena. Her eyes were cold and her expression stoic, but her body language looked threatening. Shiena felt a chill down her spine, feeling uneased.

"You're weird," Tokaku suddenly tell her.

Shiena froze. Did she just… insult her? She had been called weird often, but it always came with scorn and mockery in their voices, yet Tokaku didn't sound like that. She was just cold and emotionless, and distrustful.

"... Huh?"

"The way you talk about serial killers, giving them nicknames, acting like you have sympathy for them… It's almost like you love them," Tokaku said.

Shiena felt called out. It was true that she had a certain fondness for serial killers, but she didn't want everyone to know about that. It was a dark part of herself she wouldn't share so easily, especially to someone who wasn't her friend.

"Of course I sympathize with them, it would be hard for me to understand them if I didn't understand their feelings," Shiena replied. "This is just part of my work."

Tokaku looked unconvinced as she walked towards Shiena, staring at her intensely.

"There's something going on between you and the ripper, I can feel it," Tokaku said.

Shiena gulped. Tokaku stopped right in front of her, glaring at her. That was bad. Shiena didn't want her to know about that, it was a secret between her and Jack… and Otoya too.

"Obviously there is, just like everyone else here. Should I remind you that we're all tracking Jackie?" Shiena replied back, trying to sound snarky.

"That's not what I meant. I'm sure you're hiding stuff about the ripper, there are clues you're keeping to yourself," Tokaku continued.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about-"

"What are you hiding from us, Kenmochi? Are you perhaps covering up for the ripper?" Tokaku accused.

"What? Of course not! I would never cover up for her, are you out of your mind!?"

Tokaku seemed doubtful and Shiena had enough of this. She went through too much bullying to let herself get intimidated again. Shiena simply went around her coworker, ready to leave. But before she could reach the door, Tokaku suddenly grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.

"I don't know what kind of darkness you're dealing with, but… you better not bring down Ichinose with you when you'll fall," Tokaku warned.

Shiena didn't even deign to reply anything to that. She shook her arm to break free and simply left the bathroom. But despite her lack of reaction, those words stabbed deep in her heart.

It reminded her of the darkness within her.

She had a hard time controlling her breath. The other students were looking at her from time to time, probably wondering what was wrong with her. Her heart was racing like crazy, she couldn't even focus on the class. Not that she was trying to to begin with. Her hand was buried under her jacket, clenching hard to a specific object, an item she believed would bring her salvation and freed her from hell.

She was just waiting for the right moment to use it. The teacher was still talking, her classmates all taking notes. The teacher eventually left the classroom, that was the signal she was waiting for. Cold sweats were dripping in her back as she closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do.

When she opened her eyes, everything became blurry for a moment, and then a flash. It almost felt like reality had been broken and was now distorted.

Her vision then became clearer again, even too much clear. Immediately she rose up and pulled out what she was holding and aimed at a girl who was bullying her.

A gunshot resounded in the class. The girl fell to the floor, an important quantity of blood escaping from her head. The students remained frozen for a moment, and she used this short time to shoot again, and again, and again…

She managed to kill most of her bullies while the students started to scream and ran away. She wasn't done with them, some of them still needed to die. She quickly left the classroom and ran after some of her classmates, shooting. She managed to hit two more before they all escaped from the school. She hesitated to follow them before she decided that it didn't worth it. She got to kill most of those who brought so much suffering in her life, it was already enough.

She then looked at her gun. There was only what thing to do so she would be free of her misery. She gulped, but she knew she had to do it. After what she did, she simply couldn't do otherwise.

She brought the gun to her head and took a deep breath.

And then pulled the trigger.

Shiena woke up in a jolt. She was left panting and all sweaty by this horrific nightmare. She rose up and sat, slightly shivering while she ran a hand through her hair. Her heart was racing like crazy, so much that she was worried it might even stop.

She turned her head to look at her alarm clock. It was already so late in the morning, she totally overslept. Good thing that today was Saturday, so she had no work to do. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she got out of bed. She looked in her drawer and pulled out something. It was the same gun as in her dream. With a sigh, she put it back before closing the drawer.

Shiena headed for the bathroom and turned on the light. She opened the faucet and let cold water run, before she splashed it on her face to cool down. Her body was all sweaty, she felt so dirty and gross. She removed her pyjama and let the water run in the shower, waiting for it to be warm enough, before she got inside.

The warm water running on her body helped her to calm a little and relax, but she still remained highly disturbed by her dream. It had been such a long time she didn't have this specific nightmare. What Tokaku told her reopened some old wounds, old scars from her dark past. She could remember those painful days, the suffering she experienced, all the bullying she went through, it hurt so much. She never wanted to live something like that ever again.

She realized there was water on her face, and it wasn't from the shower. Shiena started to softly sob and got her head under the water to hide her tears. She waited to stop crying before washing herself, starting with shampoo, making sure her hair was all clean. She then used a bar of soap for the rest of her body, but no matter how much she washed, if felt like some kind of soot was sticking to her skin.

No, it was deeper than that. Like someone was tainting her soul itself. No soap could get rid of that.

She closed the water and got out from the shower, quickly grabbing a towel because she already started to feel cold. She dried herself and then took her bathroom robe and put it on. She was still a little bit tired so she went to the kitchen to make herself a coffee. She put her laptop on the kitchen table and opened it, putting her coffee cup next to it with a plate of toasts. She sat down and went on Facebook to read news articles.

She always did that in the morning. She wanted to see if there were any murders. She was even following a whole bunch of Japanese newspapers all around the country, and even some foreign ones. She didn't want to miss any murder cases.

Taking a sip of coffee and then a bite of toast, Shiena scrolled down to read more articles. She stopped when she spotted one about a man who got strangled to death in a parking. That sounded familiar. She started to read more and discovered that the man was married to a woman who was working for the same company that Jack's latest victim's husband worked in. She opened another tab and started a research about specific types of murders that happened recently, and found what she was looking for.

A bomb incident. Someone drowned in a river after apparently drinking too much. A mysterious disappearance. Plus Jack's murder and the man strangled to death. All the people murdered had a relative working for the same company.

It couldn't be a coincidence. It was a personal attack against that company, commissioned by someone.

Shiena was convinced it was the work of this evil organization she suspected Jack to be part of. She put that investigation aside to focus on Jack and the Demolisher, but she felt she needed to work on that too. That made at least four more killers to profile. Maybe it was too much, especially if they were part of some secret group. But now that she knew about them, she felt like she simply couldn't pretend to not have noticed.

As she finished her first toast someone knocked at the door. Who could it be a Saturday? Curious but also a little bit worried, Shiena went to open the door.

"Hey, Shiena-san~"

Shiena remained speechless for a moment, not expecting such a visitor.

"Takechi!?"

In the door frame was Otoya, smiling happily as she looked at Shiena up and down.

"Nice outfit~" Otoya complimented with a chuckled. "Did I wake you up?"

Shiena blushed a little at the comment as she made sure her robe was well closed, a little bit embarrassed that Otoya saw her dressed that way.

"N-No… I've been awake for a while now," Shiena replied. "I was just having breakfast… Why are you here? I didn't know you were the type to wake up so early…"

"Nah, I'm usually a night owl. I just had to get up early because I had an appointment this morning. Since your place was on my way home, I thought I could pay you a visit. Does it bother you?"

"No, it's fine- would have preferred a phone call before- but it's fine. Come on in!"

Otoya stepped inside after removing her boots, leaving her coat on the hanger.

"Do you want anything? Drink? Maybe eat?" Shiena proposed.

"Well, I kinda had to skip breakfast this morning. I don't want to ask too much, but I wouldn't say no to some food."

"Huh, you can check around if there's anything you want."

As she said that Shiena went back to sit at the table, continuing to eat her toast. Otoya started to look around, starting by the cupboards, while Shiena continued to read the new articles. She heard her guest opened the fridge.

"Oh, you have eggs! Mind if I take two?" Otoya asked.

"... sure, go ahead."

"Thankies!"

Shiena found that Otoya was pretty bold and shameless. She didn't seem to have any problem coming here uninvited and easily make herself at home. She was so extroverted, unlike Shiena who struggled with her relationship with others. Otoya never seemed nervous or stressed, she was so confident and optimistic. Shiena was kind of envious but also admirative of her.

"Watcha doing?" Otoya asked.

"I'm just looking through news articles. I'm following a bunch of newspapers on Facebook.

"Oh, same! Gotta keep yourself posted, right?" Otoya said with a wink.

"Well, yeah. I need to stay updated about… murders stuff. You know, serial killers."

"Yeah, I get you."

Otoya looked in the cupboards and grabbed a fry pan and put it on the stove. While she was cooking the eggs, Shiena continued to scroll down on her dashboard, reading a few more articles. She could hear the eggs grilled, the smell made her regret to simply have made toasts for breakfast. But she was lazy and not in the mood to cook so in the end, it was worth it.

"Do you want some?" Otoya asked.

"Hm… Well, I'm not that hungry, but maybe one wouldn't be so bad, thanks."

Otoya cracked another egg in the pan. Shiena finished to eat her toast and rose up.

"Do you want some coffee?" Shiena asked.

"Yeah, sure. Sugar and cream- wait, you have no cream right?"

"Well actually, I bought some because… in case you came back."

"Aww, that's so sweet for you!"

Shiena felt her heart racing a little bit. She put some water in the kettle, waiting for the water to boil.

"It's starting to get real cold outside," Otoya said.

"Well yeah, winter is coming."

"I won't complain, it's good for my business. Now that people can't grow flowers themselves, they are buying more. And that's without talking about the holiday season coming soon."

"Oh yeah, men are all going to rush in your store to buy flowers for their girlfriends. Mostly because they forgot to buy them a present."

"No only men. I would personally buy flowers for my girlfriend- if I had one."

And once again she winked at Shiena, which made her blushed. This comment just reminded her of those conflicted feelings she had for Otoya, this desire she had for her, this wish to be more than friends.

But she knew it was nothing more than wishful thinking. A woman was beautiful as Otoya would certainly not be interested in the bland girl she was.

Shiena poured some warm water in a cup and added instant coffee, before putting some sugar and cream. She then let the cup on the table while Otoya brought two plates with eggs.

"I hope you like eggs sunny-side up," Otoya said.

"Yeah, I love those! Thanks!"

They both sat down and started eating, will sipping some of their respective coffee.

"So, did your friend tell you more about the Jackie case?" Otoya suddenly asked.

It took a moment for Shiena to understand what Otoya meant before she suddenly remembered the lie she told her.

"Oh right, my friend… who works with the police," Shiena replied, trying to hide how nervous she was. "Well, from what they told me, they found a poem written by Jackie on the last crime scene."

Otoya took another sip of her coffee and put the cup down, looking interested.

"Oh, really? What was it about?"

"Well, I don't remember it all, but I do remember the overall content," Shiena began. "There were three stanzas. The first one was about a specific flower that she considered as the prettiest, and talked about how she had to cut it to preserve its beauty."

"Oh, I see. What do you think it means?"

"Well, obviously this flower is a person, a woman. Probably Jackie's first victim, the one that started her whole obsession with preserving beauty. That woman was probably middle-aged, she wasn't old per se but she was getting older, thus losing her 'beauty'. Jackie loved her for her beauty and couldn't accept she was losing it, so… she killed her."

"Hm, that seems to make sense. But who was that to her?"

"Probably an older relative… her mother perhaps."

Otoya stopped drinking for a moment before a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"Her mother you said… I could see that."

"I mean, I don't want to get into stereotypes, but most of the time, serial killers start killing because of unresolved issues with their mothers."

"Jackie simply loved her mother and wanted her to stay pretty."

"Yeah, but… for her to even think of killing… was her mother abusive to her somehow? What kind of trauma made her seek murder-"

Otoya put down her cup a little bit too hard, the sound making Shiena jolted slightly. Otoya looked down for a moment, before she raised her head, an odd smile on her lips.

"What about the second stanza?" Otoya asked.

"Oh, huh… it was about how the world was full of pretty flowers- so beautiful woman, and how she needs to cut them all. This is all about the obsession she had with beauty, more specifically preserving it. It's like she's taking away their beauty to fill some emptiness inside of her. A void in her heart…"

"Why do you think she has this emptiness?"

"She's born with it. Well, more exactly, emotional numbness. Psychopaths have a thinner amygdala, which makes them unable to feel empathy, fear, stress, and lower their emotions. Which can result in a feeling of emptiness. Lots of them have to fill it with something, usually power, money, sex. Jackie fills it mostly with sexual pleasure she's getting from killing beautiful women, from the feeling that she's preserving their beauty. She used to fill that void in her heart with her mother, but after she killed her, she had to find other sources of beauty to satisfy her hunger, to fill the void."

Otoya looked thoughtful for a moment, as if this statement resonated with her.

"So it's not psychological, her brain literally is different than the average people," Otoya concluded.

A soft smirked appeared for a brief moment on Otoya's lips before she finished her coffee, then eating some of her eggs.

"And the third stanza?" Otoya asked.

"Well, she talked about… a bud. Once again, a woman. She wondered in what kind of flower she would bloom, or if she'll even bloom. She then playfully wondered if she should kill her or not. And then she mentioned the bud plant a seed in her… which I'm not quite sure what it means."

"What do you think this whole stanza is about?"

"Well, huh, my friend thought it represents Jackie's next victim, but I don't think it's exactly that. This bud, she hasn't bloomed and may never bloom because… this woman isn't pretty. Well, not Jackie's type. But somehow, Jackie is intrigued by her. She wondered if she's worth being cut, if she has somehow some form of beauty worth preserving. Jackie remained curious about this bud who caused an emotional reaction in her, the 'seed' she planted in her… something like desire…"

"Love?"

"I suppose from her point of view, it could be considered as love. But not the type of love that you have towards people, it's the type of love… you would have towards objects. She literally views women as the same as flowers, not actual human beings…"

"And who is this bud she's talking about?"

"Well, remember how I said that… Jackie knew I was tracking her? Well, somehow, I feel like… this poem is dedicated to me. I'm the bud she's talking about."

"Yeah, I remember. But how could she know you would know about this poem?"

"I… I'm not quite sure," Shiena pretended. "Maybe she guessed I have a friend in the police?"

"Hm, perhaps," Otoya replied with an enigmatic smile.

"Still, Jackie is basically saying that I'm not her type… which is probably a good thing, given what she does to women who are her type."

"I'm kind of envious, I wish Jackie was obsessed with me."

"I'm quite scared, to be honest, but also… excited."

"Excited? How so?"

"Well, I don't know how to explain it… it just made me feel special, you know. Like I matter somehow. I don't know if I'm happy or terrified, to be frank, it's kind of a mix of both. It feels good to know my efforts are being recognized and that Jackie acknowledged me."

Otoya finished up her eggs as she listened carefully to Shiena, who started to feel embarrassed.

"I must sound like those crazy fangirls obsessing over some actors, how ridiculous am I…"

"No, you're not. You're genuinely passionate, you're intelligent and different from the majority. Quite frankly, I think it makes you beautiful."

Shiena blushed furiously at that.

"T-Thanks," Shiena replied, quickly finishing up her coffee.

Otoya chuckled before she looked at her phone.

"Oh, I had something planned for the afternoon, I'll have to go. Thanks for having me… wait, I should do the dishes first…"

"No, it's fine, I'll take care of it," Shiena proposed.

They both rose up as Otoya put the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Thanks, you're so good to me, even though I'm acting like such a spoiled brat…"

"You're not, you're just not shy… I should have some of your confidence."

Otoya smiled softly as she gently hugged Shiena, which left her with a racing heart.

"Seeya soon, have a good day!" Otoya said as she put back her boots and coat, leaving the apartment.

And as fast as she came, Otoya was gone, leaving Shiena all flustered and flushed. She kept thinking about the poem, feeling like it really was dedicated to her. Since Jack took the time to write her a poem, there was only one thing left to do for her.

She sat back and opened her laptop, before she started typing.

What's the meaning behind Shiena's nightmare? And what will she do regarding the poem? Let me know what you think!