Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday everyone! I wanted to post this chapter on Christmas but I got awfully busy. I'll be leaving for a week to visit my girlfriend (gotta take the plane) so there may not be a chapter next week, but I'll see you soon. I hope you had a good holiday!

warning: implied sexuality and mention of non-con

Sticking her key in the doorknob, Otoya unlocked the door and entered her house. She removed her boots and coat and was tempted to just drop them, but decided to put them where they belonged right away. A clean house was part of the game, the role of the perfect citizen she has built over the years. She needed to keep the illusion of the normal woman, any respectable woman wouldn't live in a messy place. Well at least, to society's standard.

After she was done she headed for her room and closed the door behind her. As usual, her room was a real mess, the only spot in the house that wasn't clean. Otoya never showed her bedroom to anyone, so she didn't see the point in cleaning this place. Well, she did show it to Shiena, but she knew a dropout such as herself wouldn't mind the mess anyway, there was no point and hiding it. And she felt that showing her room to Shiena would make her believe that she trusted her, that it was a good way to gain a few friendly points from the brunette.

She threw away her bag on the floor and untied her hair, running a hand throw it. She left the elastic on her desk as she started to strip. Part of her clothes ended up on her bed, the rest on the floor. She grabbed her pyjama, a purple sweater with pants of the same colour, and put it on. The fabric was soft and comfy to wear, her sense of touch always been particularly sensitive.

She bet that Shiena's hair and skin were even softer.

This thought made her smile.

Shiena was so cute, she wished she could keep her as a pet. She looked like a really fluffy puppy or kitty. She would keep her in a cage, make her walk with a leash, and pet her. And maybe rape her. Not that Shiena interested her sexuality, but she bet her cry of pain would be fun to hear. Each time she was alone with her she had the temptation of simply pin her and stick in fingers in her pussy and thrust her tongue in her mouth. How would she sound like when she moans? Probably really adorable.

Otoya took a deep breath. She was starting to get a little bit too excited. She was having so much fun playing with Shiena like that, she hoped her pleasure wouldn't stop so soon and would last long. But still, she really wondered why she was so captivated by a bland girl such as Shiena. What was so precious about her? Why would a bud make her feel that way? Could she just sense some inner potential for beauty if she finally blooms? No matter the reason, Otoya intended to have as much fun as she could.

She went to her computer and launched Facebook. Despite how easy it would be to find prey on social media, Otoya usually avoided it. It would leave proof that she knew the victims. But it was a good way to learn more about the women she decided to target, but she cautiously avoided to befriend them. She needed to leave no proof of her knowing the victims.

She went on Shiena's profile, which she did each day now. She needed to see if she posted anything, she often shared interesting news articles. She saw that Shiena indeed posted something, a text- more exactly, a poem.

"Born unwanted

Neglected and lonely

Ostracize and ridicule by my pers

A world devoid of colours

That is my gloomy fate

.

A stain started to grow in me

Tainting my soul and heart

I'm falling in a gulf of pure blackness

I can see the light far away

But I simply cannot reach it

.

What is this darkness I'm so attracted to

She's cold yet also warm

Alluring and mysterious

I'm still falling in the gulf

Right into her arms"

This made Otoya chuckled. So Shiena decided to improvise herself as a poet too. Interesting.

This was a clear response to her own poem. Knowing that Shiena was enough affected by it to write her her own made her quite happy. It felt like she had control over her, like she was leading her every step. She was nothing more than her precious little plaything.

Otoya reread the poem. It was quite lovely, but it reeked with insecurity, low self-esteem and self-deprecation. Shiena was so pathetic and miserable, it was so funny. She almost had pity for her. Almost. People like her are so easy to manipulate. It didn't take her much to seduce her and made her all head over heels for her. A couple of compliments, some kind words of comfort, and that were it. Shiena blushed so easily to anything she said, it was so adorable and pitiful. She was eating out from her hand.

The first stanza was obviously about how she was bullied. Shiena never told her, but it was pretty obvious she had been bullied in the past. How pathetic. Otoya was a bully herself, it was easy for her to spot good targets, and Shiena was the exact type that was fun to mistreat and tease. What did she mean by born unwanted? Was she an accident? Seemed plausible. Another thing Otoya could use at her own advantage.

About the second stanza, it seemed like Shiena felt like she had some inner darkness in her. How funny. Shiena was one of the purest girls she ever knew. What was this light she couldn't reach? Happiness? She's falling in a gulf because of her obsession with serial killers, getting swallow in their blackness.

The third stanza was about specific darkness. She referred to it as 'she', so it was a woman. A woman who was cold yet warm, alluring and mysterious. Otoya smiled at that. Just as much the last stanza of her own poem was about Shiena, this one was about her. She felt her ego inflating. She liked how she affected Shiena, how obsessed she was with her. This gave her a powerful feeling. The love Shiena was giving her was so addictive and intoxicating. For the first time, someone loved her true self.

"Fall right into my arms, Shiena-chan. I'll catch you. I'll snuggle you. I'll love you. Then I'll kill you."

Otoya giggled at that last though. When she game will be over, there would be no point in keeping an obsolete toy. When Shiena will have accomplished her purpose, it will be time for her to meet the same fate as all the others.

But Shiena wasn't like the others. Otoya couldn't understand well, but it felt like she was more precious. Something inside of her… made her truly beautiful.

Otoya decided to not overthink that, when will be the time to kill her, she'll kill her with no hesitation. She swore it. She turned off her computer and laid down in bed, her center being pretty warm and yet, and with a grin on her face, she decided to satisfy her need.

At her desk, Shiena was investigating the case of the Demolisher. She was rereading the previous rapports about their murders, about the victims and such. She remembered what she discussed with Otoya. They established that the culprit was most likely psychotic, they look innocent and attracted sympathy and they probably don't intend to kill when they met their future victims in various shops and restaurants. Once the victim got a liking for them, they might hang out a little, and something- probably with the victims' behaviour- triggered a psychotic attack and they kill them.

She knew that some of the victims met a girl before getting killed. It was likely that it was the same girl for all of them and that she was related to the murder. It was highly possible that she was the killer herself, suffering from psychosis. The other possibility was for this girl to be an accomplice and someone else was killing those people, she simply lured them. Or perhaps she wasn't even aware she was a lure.

"One person. Two people. Which one is it?" Shiena wondered.

She felt like this girl was around the victims' ages. So in her mid-twenties. If she truly was psychotic there must be specific events in her childhood or when she was a teenager. Shiena suddenly got an idea. She went on a website of newspapers archives and started a researched. She limited it by years, a range of years of which the girl would have been a child or a teen, and also limited by prefelecture. Then she added few key words and launched the research.

She found a whole bunch of articles about kids and teenagers violent rampage, delusions, or anything that suggested a psychosis. Some of them attacked people, others tried to commit suicide, some panicked and locked themselves, some kidnapping, animal abuses, etc. Shiena went through all those articles, trying to find someone who would match the culprit she profiled.

One article suddenly caught her attention: Young teenage boy vengeance against his bullies.

This reminded some bad memories to Shiena, this darkness she had inside her. The article seemed to be about a boy so she didn't think it was the person she was looking for but, curious, she decided to read it anyway.

"Young teenage boy, victims of heavy bullying at his school, decided to get revenge against his persecutors. He ambushed them in a park in night and violently assault his bullies with a rock. They all survived but ended up with severe injuries, particularly to the head. Some of them are in critical state at the hospital, one even in a coma. The culprit got apprehended by the police and is currently held at the police station. According to some source the young man as an history of psychotic attacks. We're still waiting to see if the families of the victims will press charges."

Shiena couldn't help but feel sympathy for that boy. She could personally understand what he went through. She could relate to him and deep down, she felt like she could have follow the same path as him, and it terrified her.

She scrolled down a little and froze when she saw the picture of the boy.

"This person… isn't it…?"

"Hey, Shiena-san."

Shiena jolted and turned back. With no surprise, she saw that it was Haru, who was smiling happily at her.

"Hey, Ichinose."

"I read your poem on Facebook. It's really well done!" Haru complimented.

Shiena remembered that Haru sent her a friend request some time ago and she accepted simply to not hurt her feelings. She posted this poem for Jack and Jack only. She knew that Jack was probably stalking her profile, and she felt the need to respond to her poem. Jack opened up part of her heart to her, she only find it fair to do the same. She let her know part of her inner darkness, share part of her feelings for her. She knew Jack was probably laughing at her right now, but she didn't care. She simply wanted to be honest and fair. But now realizing that other people could also read it made her embarrassed, and a little bit worried that they might understand too much of it.

"Oh, it's just an old poem I wrote back in high school, I found it back in my files and decided to post it," Shiena pretended.

"It's really good! But kind of dark and sad… what does it represent?"

"Uh… Well, I was kind of… bullying back then. It felt like I was suck by a void of darkness and… I couldn't reach the light anymore. At some point I even started to get used to this and nearly got stuck in the darkness… I was edgy when I wrote that, I don't even know why I post it after so long, I must look ridiculous right now…"

Haru softly took Shiena's hands and smiled at her kindly.

"It's not ridiculous, Shiena-san. It's a beautiful poem that came from your heart. I'm so sorry for what you went through. But at least is over now, right?"

Shiena felt like Haru was genuinely sincere, but she doubt she could truly understand her. A girl like Haru was unlikely to have go through what she went through, she would never get the pain of being bullied. But still, Shiena appreciated her sympathy towards her, and kind of felt bad for lying.

"Do you have any plan for the holiday?" Haru asked.

"The holiday…? Oh, right, it's Christmas soon. Uh… I don't know. Usually I don't do much at Christmas."

Shiena had no friend in real life, she didn't really talk to her family anymore, so she was always alone at Christmas. At first it made her sad, but now she didn't care. She got used to it.

"What about you? Are you going to see some friends or your family?" Shiena asked.

Haru continued to smile, but there was something sad in her eyes. Shiena realized that it might not have been a good question to ask.

"My family… died when I was a child, in a car accident," Haru said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's okay. I'm not sad anymore. I know they are watching over me from up there, part of them is in my heart. It's not like I'm alone on Christmas, I'm usually spend it with friends. And this year… I'm going to invite Tokaku-san."

Shiena felt some shame. She always had judged Haru so harshily, thinking that her life always been easy, but it seemed that she was wrong. She couldn't imagine the pain of losing your family, it must have been awful. She felt so much sympathy for Haru now and regret her misjudgement.

"I wish you luck with Azuma," Shiena said.

"Thanks! Hm, maybe you could… do something with Takechi-san?"

Shiena immediately felt her heart racing.

"I… Why? Why would I?" Shiena mumbled nervously.

"Well, you two seem pretty close, and she's quite beautiful. You should try inviting her to dinner," Haru suggested with wink.

Shiena blushed a little bit. A dinner with Otoya… it was tempting. But she was way too shy to invite her. Otoya probably already had plan for Christmas, she knew her parents were dead, but a woman like her must have other friends… or even a girlfriend. She did say she was single, but she might have someone in mind. And Shiena doubted it was her.

"M-Maybe, I… I'll see if she is available," Shiena said with no conviction.

She then noticed that Haru was staring at her screen. Shiena turned back and saw that she still had the article. She quickly closed it and turned back to look at her coworker when suddenly, her phone rang.

"Ah, excuse me," Shiena said.

"Oh, it's fine, go ahead."

Shiena pulled out her phone and answered it, wondering who it could be.

"Hi?"

"Hey, Shiena-san!"

Shiena almost felt her heart stopping. What a huge coincidence that she called right now.

"Hey, Takechi… what's up?"

"Not much, you?"

"Not much either, I'm working right now."

"Oh, sorry, am I bothering you?"

"No no, it's fine. Why are you calling?"

"Well, I won a discount in a fancy restaurant and I can bring one person with me, so I was wondering if you would like to go with me? It's for dinner, the 24th. I understand you might have other plans for Christmas Eve and I understand if you can't, but you're the first person I thought of."

Shiena's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe what she just heard. What were the chances that Otoya would call her at this exact moment to ask her exactly that? It almost sounded like a miracle. A Christmas Miracle.

"Uh… Shiena-san? Are you still there?"

"Eh? Oh, huh, yeah, I'm still here. Um… Sure, I would love to, thanks!"

"Perfect! I'll send you the address by message text. Have a good day!"

And Otoya hung up. Shiena remained speechless, she still couldn't believe what just happened. Otoya just invited her to spend Christmas Eve with her at a fancy restaurant. It felt like a dream come true. Haru looked at her with curiosity, probably wondering what it was about.

"It was Takechi-san? What did she want?" Haru asked.

"She wanted… to invite me to a fancy restaurant for the 24th. And I said yes."

Haru's eyes were now full of sparkles as she grabbed Shiena's hands and shake them excitedly.

"This is wonderful! Right when I was telling you to invite her. It must be fate, it was your destiny to spend Christmas Eve together!"

Shiena blushed a little bit at that statement. It did feel like fate. Usually Shiena didn't believe in destiny, but maybe it was the case this time. She remained surprised that over anyone else, Otoya chose her. Maybe there was a chance between them after all.

"A fancy restaurant! You gotta dress well!" Haru said.

"Yeah… I have nothing fancy at home, I don't know what to wear… Should I put makeup? Do something with my hair?"

Haru's smile shine even brighter than the sun, Shiena was almost blinded.

"I can help you with that! We're around the same height so I could let you borrow something from me, and do your makeup and hair! You're going to be so beautiful for the big day!" Haru exclaimed.

"Ah… there's no need to do that, you will probably be busy the 24th…"

"I can do that before my plans. Pass by my house and I'll take care of everything, you can trust me."

Shiena hesitated a little. She didn't want to impose herself like that, but at the same time, Haru was so strongly proposing to do that. Shiena was kind of shy to let her take care of everything, but she knew that on her own she probably couldn't do a good job. She had no idea what to wear in a fancy restaurant and she wanted to look good for Otoya.

"Okay, I'll come to your house. Thanks for the offer, Ichinose."

Haru nodded happily. Shiena felt nervous, she was excited for this event but also worried. She was grateful to Haru for her help and wondered how she would dress her for the dinner.

She also wondered what she would get as a gift for Otoya.

"Here's your tea, Suzu-san~"

Otoya put the cup on the table and sat down, facing her fellow Black Guild's member. Suzu looked at the cup with a uncertain smile, which made Otoya giggled.

"What, do you think I put poison in it or something?" Otoya joked with a soft smile.

"Oh, of course not. Someone like you wouldn't never lower yourself to kill someone indirectly. I'm just wondering if you but anything funny like salt or pepper."

"Hehe, you gonna have to try it to know~"

Suzu chuckled at that thought and finally took a sip of her tea, tasting it carefully, before swallowing it.

"That's just some good old green tea," Suzu said.

"Yeah, as if I would have put something in it. That wouldn't have been childish~"

"Talking about poison reminded me that we used to have a poisoner in the guild. She disappeared with no explanation and when I tried to ask Kuzunoha she always said 'don't worry about it' with that particular smile of hers."

Otoya took a sip of her coffee, absentmindedly listening.

"She probably failed her mission and they got rid of her," Otoya said with a total lack of interest.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

A silence settled between them for a moment as they both enjoyed their respective drink.

"So, how did you find me? I was surprised when you suddenly messaged me on Facebook, with a fake account," Otoya said.

"It wasn't that hard. I looked for every Takechi in the prefecture, and I ended up finding your profile. Your profile looks totally normal, nothing I wasn't expecting from you."

"Well, now you know everything about me. You sure you aren't scared that I might kill you?" Otoya said with a sweet smile.

"I know you're a smart woman, you know it would be damn stupid to kill me. And you know I'm not dumb enough to denounce my own ally," Suzu said calmly.

"I must admit I'm impressed. You know what kind of person I am yet you remind so unfazed. Most people would be terrified to be in the same room as me if they knew who I truly am."

"I'm not most people," Suzu simply replied, sipping her tea.

"I can see that."

Otoya wasn't sure how she felt about that situation. It was bad that someone knew so much about her, but at the same time, she knew Suzu wouldn't report her. It was simply not in her best interest to do that, so she wasn't a threat to her per se. Suzu was kind of intriguing, a woman like her was out of ordinary. She seemed decently smart, knowledgeable and entertaining. A 'friend' with whom she can allow to be herself.

"What do you want from me?" Otoya asked.

"Simply friendship. I think you're an interesting person and I would love to discuss with you."

"Being friend huh… I did think of it. Sure, let's be friends!" Otoya said cheerfully.

"That cheery act of yours is part of your mask, right? A really convincing one, I must say. You perfectly blend with others, no one could ever doubt you're actually a psychopath."

"Thanks, it took me years to build this mask."

"But still, no need to wear with me. We're friends, aren't we?"

Otoya continued to smile for a moment before her expression turned stoic, her eyes cold like Antarctica.

"How does it feel, the remove your mask?" Suzu asked.

"It's like resting after an important physical effort. Smiling all day can be so tiresome."

"Do you hate this?"

"No, not really. I find it funny. It's all part of a game for me, and I'm used to that persona."

Otoya took another sip of her coffee. She usually never show her true face to anyone. Well, except maybe to her victims when she kills them, but never to someone she had no intent to hurt.

"Now that you know who I am, wouldn't it be fair that you tell me more about yourself?" Otoya asked.

"Well, what would you like to know?"

"You full name."

"Sorry, can't tell you that."

"Then what's your relationship with Kouko-san? Why do you know each other outside Black Guild?"

"We actually met before joining Black Guild. Me and Kouko-chan work at the same place. Kuzunoha contacted both of us and invited us to Black Guild."

"And why did you accept to join?"

"It's kind of private, but let's just say it's related to Kouko-chan's past. I simply accepted so she wouldn't be alone there."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you. You really love her, don't you?"

"I do. Kouko-chan is my most important person."

Otoya could never understand that. There was no one that could possibly that important in her eyes. Love was an emotion that always been unknown to her. She faintly remembered feeling something that may have been affection a long time ago, but it didn't matter to her anymore. Love was stupid anyway, it made you weak and dependant, she was glad that she was above such foolish emotion.

"And where do you work?" Otoya asked.

"Ah, I can't tell you that either."

"Aww, not even a clue?"

"Hmm… no. But judging by my personality and Kouko's, try to guess."

Otoya thought about it. Suzu seemed wise and knowledgeable, while Kouko seemed smart and strict, even bossy. There was only one type of work she could think of.

"Are you both teachers? You're working in the same school?" Otoya said.

Suzu gave off a sly smile as she sipped her tea.

"Maybe~"

Otoya smiled. That woman was truly interesting. Someone to be worthy to be called her friend. She could be useful, or at least be a good way to spend time. It was always pleasant to discuss with someone intelligent with who she didn't have to pretend to be nice.

"I suppose you're going to spend the holiday together," Otoya said.

"We did have plan something special for Christmas. What about you? Do you have a special someone?" Suzu asked.

"Kinda. I invited a girl to have dinner with me on Christmas Eve."

"Oh, tell me about that girl. How did you meet her?" Suzu asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"At my workplace. We met after and discovered we have… interest in common," Otoya said with a chuckle.

"Let me guess… your future victim?"

"Haha… no. This girl serves another purpose to me, I intend to keep her alive. For now."

"Oh, really? She must be quite special if you don't intend to kill her."

"Eh, not really. She's pretty bland, with an ordinary face. Kind of a nerd. But… She intrigues me. She's entertaining. It feels like she has… a pure heart. Some inner beauty that I'm not used to seeing in women. A pure heart is rare."

"So she's like the light, you're instinctively attracted to your opposite, like the yin and the yang."

"Hm… you could see it like that, I suppose."

"Would you say you love her?"

"Love… can someone like me really feel that?"

"Who knows… most experts say no, people like you can't produce the chemical reaction know as love, but… I believe love can be more than that. I believe that even someone like you can feel love, maybe not like me, but it's still love regardless. And the way you talk about that girl… feel like love to me."

Otoya mused about that. She thought love was stupid but perhaps she did love Shiena, in her own way. It sounded kind of cheesy and sappy, but she didn't dislike it. Love was a game like any others, and she was the type who liked to win. She'll play this game called love and triumphed- Shiena's heart will be hers. And once the game is over, she'll get her reward.

Shiena's bloody and warm heart that she'll have taken from her ripped chest.

Otoya giggled at that thought as she drank another sip of her coffee, enjoying the bitter taste.

Suzu suddenly looked at her watch and rose up.

"I got to go back to work, sorry. It was nice talking to you, let's do that again soon," Suzu said.

"Just add me on Facebook and we'll stay in touch~"

"Haha, as if. I blocked you with my regular account, and so did Kouko-chan."

"Ah, fair."

"But I can still talk to you with my other account."

"Sure. Well, seeya!"

"Bye!"

Suzu grabbed her tea and left the café, while Otoya remained sitting, finishing her coffee, pondering.

A sinister smile appeared on her lips.

Today she made a friend.

And soon, she'll have a new girlfriend.

When will Shiena run away? She's running right in the wolf den. Poor little hare that she is.

I wanted to write the Christmas chapter on actual Christmas but I couldn't, sorry. But hey, I'm still close, so it's good enough.

Seeya next time!