Hello there. So here I am with a new chapter, I hope you gonna like it. Thanks again to my gf for proofreading this chapter.

Shiena was so comfortable. Everything felt so warm, soft, and cozy. She had no desire to get out of there, she just wanted to stay snuggled in the blanket and fall back asleep.

But she couldn't. She felt like she wasn't alone. She felt observed, there was some presence with her, staring at her, she could feel their eyes all over her.

Shiena turned her head and nearly jolted. There was someone literally looking at her. What were they doing in her bed? She then realized that it wasn't her bed, nor was it her bedroom.

"Takechi?" Shiena called.

Otoya was laying next to her, a soft smile on her lips.

"Yeah, Shiena-san?"

It took a moment for Shiena to remember what she was doing here. She agreed to stay at Otoya's house for her protection, and despite asking to sleep on the couch, her friend insisted for her to sleep in her bed instead. Shiena wanted to refuse, but she couldn't say no to Otoya. And deep down, she was happy to share a bed with her.

"How long… have you been awake?" Shiena asked.

"Just a couple of minutes. You look so cute when you're sleeping."

Shiena felt her cheeks becoming warmer at that comment. For a moment she almost thought that Otoya had been watching her sleep for a while. How ridiculous she had been.

"I hope you slept well," Otoya added.

"Yeah, your bed is really comfy."

"I'm glad. Hm, you must be hungry, you didn't eat much last time. Let's go get breakfast, shall we?"

Shiena nodded and got out of bed, with some regret regarding how comfortable it was. Otoya led her to the kitchen and started looking inside the fridge.

"Sit down, I'll make you breakfast."

"You don't have to-"

"I insist. I like cooking, especially for the people I care about."

Shiena couldn't deny that hearing those words filled her heart with pure happiness. She decided to sit down and obeyed Otoya.

"Would scrambled eggs with bacon and toast satisfy you?" Otoya asked.

"Oh, huh, yeah sure."

Otoya put a pan on the stove and cracked some eggs in it before using another pan for bacon. She also put water in the coffee maker. The food was starting to grill and a pleasant aroma followed, which made Shiena realize how hungry she was.

Otoya was softly humming as she cooked while Shiena pulled out her phone to go check Facebook. Reading about homicide in the holiday season was kind of depressing. As she scrolled down, Shiena noticed that Haru updated her status to "in a relationship". With Azuma Tokaku.

"Oh, good for her," Shiena thought.

Out of curiosity, Shiena clicked on Tokaku's name to check her profile. To no surprise, she discovered an empty profile without even an icon. She even wondered why Tokaku bothered to have a Facebook, she posted nothing and barely had any friends.

Not that Shiena had many more friends, to begin with. But hey, at least she posted regularly and had a profile picture.

"I'm done~" Otoya said.

She put two plates of eggs, bacon and toast on the table as well as two cups of coffee and sat in front of Shiena.

"I hope it's going to be to your liking."

"Let me check," Shiena replied as she grabbed her fork and took a bite of her eggs. "Yeah, that's pretty good."

"I'm glad," Otoya said as she took a bite too.

They both ate in silence for a moment, enjoying their breakfast. Them eating together like that, they almost looked like a couple. This thought made Shiena's heart race. If only.

"So, any plans for New Year's Eve?" Otoya asked between two bites.

"Hm… not really."

"What do you usually do for the new year?"

"Nothing special, I usually just watch a movie. What about you?"

"Hm, most of the time I spend it with my friends."

Shiena drank a sip of coffee and a few more bites of her eggs.

"How about we do something together this year?" Otoya suddenly proposed.

Shiena nearly choked on her food.

"You okay?" Otoya asked with concern in her voice.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine… you really want to spend New Year's Eve with me? Even though you already spent Christmas Eve with me…?"

"Yeah? I don't see why I can't spend both with you."

"No… I'm just… worried."

"Worried? About what?"

Shiena hesitated for a few seconds before answering, feeling quite shy and nervous.

"Well… I'm worried… I may keep you from spending time with your friends. I wouldn't want to keep you from them," Shiena admitted.

Shiena looked down, a little bit embarrassed. She then felt a hand gently stroking hers and raised her head, to see Otoya smiled kindly.

"You don't have to be worried, Shiena-san. You're not keeping me away from anyone. I choose to spend that time with you because you're the person I want to be with, you're the most important to me."

Shiena's heart was now racing like crazy. She could barely believe those words. Never in her life had someone showed her as much kindness as Otoya, not even her own parents. Was this how it felt… to finally be loved? She almost felt like crying.

"Thank you, Takechi…"

"No need to thank me. There's a festival this year, how about we go there together? Unless you prefer to stay at home and watch a movie."

"I… will think about it."

Shiena wasn't the type to really enjoy outdoor activities, but if she was with Otoya, maybe she would like it. Her friend removed her hand from hers and finished eating, which Shiena did too.

"That was really good, thanks."

"It's nothing," Otoya replied as she stood up, grabbing the dirty plates. "Now, time to do the dishes.."

"Wait, I'll do it!" Shiena exclaimed as she rose up.

"You don't have to."

"I insist. You made breakfast, the least I can do is do the dishes."

"Then we'll do it together. It's not up to debate."

Despite those serious words, Otoya was smiling playfully. Shiena sighed as she agreed. Otoya dropped the plates in the sink and let the water run as she grabbed cleaning tools. Shiena stood next to her, grabbing a cloth.

"I'll wipe, you wash," Shiena said.

"Sounds fine with me."

And as they started to do the dishes together, Otoya hummed peacefully and Shiena felt a warm feeling in her chest. It was such a heartwarming moment.

They just looked like a happy couple.

It had been two days since Shiena started staying at Otoya's house. Their cohabitation was doing fine, them living together almost felt natural. There was no conflict, they were enjoying their time together and doing chores together, it felt like they were perfectly complementary.

Just like a married couple.

Shiena immediately shook her head with embarrassment.

"What am I thinking?! Takechi and I are just friends, and… it's not like she would be interested in me anyway…"

Shiena sighed, feeling a little bit bummed out as she continued to head for the grocery shop, an empty bag in her hand. She had to buy a couple of things for today's dinner. But as she was about to step in, someone came out and they nearly bumped into each other.

"S-Sorry!" Shiena immediately apologized as she bowed down.

"Kenmochi?"

Shiena froze with surprise when she recognized that voice and raised her head.

"Namatame?"

Chitaru was standing in front of her, holding a full grocery bag.

"What are you doing here?" Chitaru asked. "It's not your neighbourhood, right?"

It took a moment for Shiena to answer as if she had been caught doing something bad.

"I… I'm staying at a friend's house who lives here," Shiena replied.

"Oh? Is there a reason why?"

Shiena hesitated to answer. She was tempted to tell her the truth, that Jack knew where she lived, therefore, she didn't feel safe in her own apartment anymore. She wanted Chitaru to comfort her, protect her, hold her tightly in her strong arms, against her soft chest. She wanted to be reassured by her warmth, she wanted to snuggle her, perhaps even under the blanket, and they will-

Shiena pulled herself together. Chitaru was a married woman, and she had… Otoya, who was already protecting her. And she knew she couldn't tell the truth, fearing that she might get fired for keeping clues about Jack to herself. But still, she needed an excuse, a reason why she was staying at her house. She might have found something she hoped was credible.

"There's a problem with the water at my apartment, I can't even take showers anymore. So my friend proposed to let me stay at her house until the problem is solved," Shiena pretended.

"Ah, I see. Well, I hope it will be fixed soon. It's nice of your friend to shelter you in the meantime."

Shiena felt really bad to be lying to Chitaru like that, but she knew it was for the best. She just wanted to avoid unnecessary drama.

"So, any plans for New Year's Eve?" Chitaru asked.

"Oh, huh, well, I'm going to spend the night with my friend. What about you? Spending it with… your wife?"

"Hitsugi and I planned to do something later in the night, right before midnight, but during the evening I planned something with Azuma."

"Ah, Azuma…"

"We're great friends, we planned to do something on the 31st for weeks. I thought she might cancel since she's now dating Ichinose, but she told me a promise is a promise."

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you're going to have a great time with her, as well as with… Kirigaya."

Chitaru suddenly put a hand on Shiena's shoulder with a look of concern on her face.

"Kenmochi? Is everything alright? You seem tense."

Shiena's heart started to race and her cheeks were burning.

"I… I'm fine," Shiena mumbled.

"Are you sure? You know that if anything is happening, you can tell me."

As she said that, Chitaru leaned on Shiena, intensely gazing at her with her beautiful ruby eyes. Overtaken by a sudden impulse, Shiena got closer to her, their lips almost touching.

"Chitaru-san."

Shiena immediately recoiled and turned back, before she froze when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hey," Chitaru said, carefree.

Hitsugi was standing a couple of meters away from them, smiling, but something felt venomous in her smile. There was even something threatening into her topaz eyes. She was holding a full grocery bag.

"I finished buying what we needed at the other grocery store, I see that you are done too," Hitsugi said.

"Yeah, sorry for the wait, I met a coworker. You know Kenmochi, right?"

"Of course I do. We went to the mall together with Ichinose-san. We had a great time, right, Kenmochi-san?" Hitsugi asked with an obviously fake friendly smile.

"Y-Yeah, we did…"

Hitsugi stepped towards then and suddenly grabbed Chitaru's hand as she drew her away.

"Well, if you would excuse us, we have things to do. It was nice meeting you again, Kenmochi-san. Happy holidays."

"... Happy holidays to you too."

"See you at work!" Chitaru added.

As Chitaru and Hitsugi were walking away hand in hand, Shiena felt a twinge in her heart. She almost felt like crying. But she knew it was all her fault. This scene was just a reminder that Chitaru was already taken and that shouldn't give herself false hope. Anyway, she had Otoya.

Not that there was much more hope there too.

Shiena sighed as she entered the grocery store. She already lost too much time. But then, her phone started to vibrate. With another sigh, she pulled it out, to see that she received a text message.

From Haru.

And she sighed for a third time in not even one minute as she read it.

"Hey, Shiena-san, I was wondering if you were busy the 31st? If not, maybe we could do something together. I know there's a festival I would like to go to."

Shiena was tempted to answer later but decided to do it now.

"Sorry, I'm doing something with Takechi."

"Oh, okay… I'll see if I have another friend available. I wish you a good time with her."

"Thanks, and congratulations on your relationship with Azuma."

"Thanks! I wish you the same with Takechi-san~"

Shiena blushed at this. She didn't even answer this comment and put away her phone, wondering if perhaps there was really a chance between her and Otoya.

Her mind full of doubt and yet hope, Shiena finally started to do the groceries.

As she entered Otoya's house, Shiena dropped the grocery bag and removed her coat and boots. She took back the bag and as she headed for the kitchen, she heard a voice coming from the living room. Otoya's voice. And she sounded… somewhat annoyed and irritated. With some apprehension, Shiena headed for the living room and hid behind the wall, observing what was going on.

Otoya was on the phone. Even if she looked rather calm, her body language seemed quite upset and tensed, her fist clenched.

"... Fine, I'll do it."

And she hung up the phone. Otoya's expression got fearsome for a moment. She didn't look angry, but quite certainly bothered.

"...T-Takechi?" Shiena dared to call, a little bit worried.

Otoya turned her head and as soon as she saw Shiena, her expression softened and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Oh, Shiena-san, I didn't hear you enter."

Shiena was surprised by how quickly Otoya's behaviour changed.

"Who… were you talking to?" Shiena asked.

Otoya's expression didn't change, she was still smiling, yet there was something kind of chilling in her expression.

"No one important," Otoya simply replied.

"Judging by your expression, it must be someone important," Shiena said.

Shiena was starting to get worried. She somehow had a bad feeling about this. Otoya sighed as she slowly walked towards her, before she softly grabbed her shoulders, gently stroking them.

"It's just a friend who needs my help tomorrow, nothing to be worried about," Otoya said softly.

"A friend…? But… tomorrow… is the 31st…"

"Yeah, I know."

"We planned to do something together."

With an apologetic look, Otoya gently stroked Shiena's cheek.

"I'm really sorry. But I can't say no to that friend."

Shiena was sad to hear that. She was really looking forward to spending the day with Otoya. But she couldn't be mad at her for that.

"I understand. If your friend needs your help, you can't ignore them. It just shows how much of a good friend you are."

Otoya smiled at that as she put her other hand on Shiena's other cheek.

"Thank you for understanding. Again, I'm really sorry. I'll try to make it quick, I should be back before midnight so we could still do something together, and spend January first together too."

"Y-Yeah, that sounds great!"

"And I had something important to tell you right before the new year."

"Huh? What?"

Otoya didn't reply and instead, kissed Shiena on her forehead, which made her blush like crazy.

"You'll see tomorrow night~"

Shiena's heart skipped a beat. What did she mean by that? Shiena was dying from curiosity, she wanted to know now, and the mystery was making her imagine unlikely scenarios.

Otoya finally released Shiena as she grabbed the grocery bag.

"Thanks for that! Now let's go make dinner, together. I'll teach you how to cook. You can't just live off of instant noodles forever, right?" Otoya said with a wink.

Shiena remained silent as Otoya gently grabbed her arm, drawing her to the kitchen. Shiena had so many conflicted feelings right now, but one thing was sure.

She couldn't wait until tomorrow night to know what Otoya wanted to tell her.

"Shiena-san! I'm so glad you could come!" Haru exclaimed.

Her coworker was enthusiastically waving at her, Mahiru standing next to her, shyly looking at the ground. Since Otoya would be busy for most of the day, Shiena agreed to go to the festival with Haru. Haru texted her earlier this morning to tell her that Mahiru agreed to come with and, upon learning this, Shiena decided to tag along.

"Sorry for the wait," Shiena said.

"No, it's fine, you're right on time. Let's go now!" Haru exclaimed cheerfully.

Before Shiena and Mahiru could say anything, Haru locked arms with both of them, leading them to the festival. It was taking place near a temple and there were multiple various stands. It wasn't the evening yet so the sun was still in the sky, bright and shining.

"Let's go see the food! It smells so good here, I can't wait to taste them," Haru said.

They approached a stand selling takoyaki. They all ordered some and continued their way through the festival, admiring the various festive decorations.

"So, why did you agree to come with us? Not that it bothers me, quite the contrary," Haru asked.

"Well, Takechi… got busy today. She had to help out a friend. But she still wants to do something with me later. She said… she had something to tell me right before the new year…"

"Ohhh… maybe she'll ask you to marry her."

Shiena nearly choked on her food.

"W-What!? Of course not, what are you saying!? We're not… even dating…"

"I know, I know, I'm just joking. Maybe she has some secret to tell you? Like she's secretly some kind of spy, or even an assassin."

"I highly doubt that."

"You can never know… what kind of person someone truly is," Mahiru said.

Shiena laughed nervously. She just wanted to change the subject already.

"Any plans for the New Year?" Haru suddenly asked.

"Well, I'll probably be with Takechi."

"I… have plans… with Sumireko-san…"

"Oh, that's great! You and Hanabusa-san seem really close, don't you?" Haru asked happily.

"Ah… yes… we are…"

Shiena noticed that Mahiru seemed quite uncomfortable with this topic, which Haru didn't seem to have noticed. By sympathy towards her friend, Shiena decided to do something for her.

"What about you, Ichinose? Any plans with Azuma for the New Year?"

"Oh, yeah, we'll spend the day together. Today is an important day for me after all."

"Well, like for the rest of us."

"I mean, even more for me. January 1st is my birthday~"

"You… are born on January 1st!?"

"You're… a new year baby," Mahiru added.

"Yep! I'm a Capricorn! What about you, when are your birthdays?"

"February 15th," Shiena replied.

"Oh, right after Valentine's day!"

"Yeah… right on Single Awareness Day. Quite fitting for me."

"Aww, don't say that. I'm sure you won't be single for long, not with Takechi-san around."

Shiena wanted to reply something to that, but all she could do was blush, which made Haru giggle.

"What about you, Mahiru-san?"

"Um… my birthday is… May 30th."

"I'll be sure to remember both your birthdays!"

As they continued to walk and eat their takoyaki, they passed by a game stand. Mahiru's eyes were glued to the various prizes and Shiena stopped walking.

"Wanna try?" Shiena proposed with a smile.

"Ah? Oh… uh… yeah," Mahiru said nervously.

"Oh, that looks fun!" Haru added cheerfully.

The three girls got closer to the stand. It was a shooting stand with various prizes, mostly plushies or keychains. Shyly, Mahiru stepped up, gave some money to the clerk, who then handed her the toy gun.

"You have three tries to make the bottle fall," he explained. "If you succeed on your first try you get the first prize, on your second try the second prize and on your last try the third prize."

Mahiru aimed at the bottle and took a deep breath, before she pulled the trigger. She missed.

"Two more tries miss, don't give up."

Mahiru shot again. And missed again. Her hands started to shake as she shot her last try, missing again.

"It's over miss, better luck next time."

Mahiru looked down, disappointed and sad. Her eyes seemed to be attracted by a particular keychain. Feeling bad for her, Shiena pulled out a couple of yen and dropped them on the counter.

"I'll try," Shiena declared.

"Alright," the clerk said as he handed her the gun.

Shiena immediately aimed at the bottle, trying to focus, before she pulled the trigger.

And missed too.

"Don't give up, you still have two more tries," the clerk said.

Shiena took a deep breath and tried again. This time, the bullet brushed the bottle, but without making it fall.

"So close! You can do it miss!"

Shiena was starting to feel nervous. She really wanted to win, but she really felt like she couldn't. What if she pictured the bottle as something she actually wanted to hit. Keeping that in mind, Shiena aimed again.

She pictured the bottle as one of her past bullies.

She shot and hit the bottle right in the middle, which then fell on the ground.

"Congratulations!" the clerk exclaimed.

Shiena remained frozen. Despite her victory, she had a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. This whole thing… gave her a terrible sense of deja vu.

"You can pick among the third prizes," he added, pointing the keychains.

Shiena came back to her senses and looked at the keychains. She remembered the one Mahiru was desperately looking at and pointed at it.

"I want this one."

"Alright," the clerk replied as he grabbed the keychain, a duck-shaped phone strap, and handed it to Shiena.

"Have a great festival ladies!"

Shiena turned towards Mahiru and handed her the keychain.

"Here, it's for you," Shiena said with a soft smile.

"F-For… me? But… it's you who won…"

"Yeah, but all I wanted was to get you something since you really seemed to want this keychain."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you," Haru said.

Mahiru seemed totally in disbelief before she smiled happily.

"T-Thanks, Kenmochi-san," she replied as she took the keychain.

Mahiru was smiling fondly as she softly stroke her new gift, the pupils of her eyes suddenly dilating.

"Look! The sun is going down! It's so beautiful! Let's go see the sunset and then the fireworks!" Haru said as she grabbed both her friends, running towards the hill.

Both Shiena and Mahiru didn't protest, the silver-haired girl too busy admiring her new keychain, which filled Shiena with a feeling of satisfaction.

But also worry.

"I had a great time with you both! I wish you a happy new year!" Haru said, all cheery.

"Thanks, you too!" Shiena replied.

"... Yeah… you too."

Haru walked away, heading for her house. Shiena and Mahiru stayed together for a moment, silent, until the latter started to walk.

"W-Wait, Banba… let's walk together."

Mahiru stopped.

"But… we don't live in the same direction…"

"I insist. I don't want to let you walk all alone at night."

Mahiru looked like she was hesitating but didn't protest, instead she smiled weakly.

"Okay."

Shiena smiled too and the two friends started to walk together. They walked wordlessly, but sometimes, silence was nice. Mahiru was playing with her duck keychain, seeming delighted by her new gift.

"Do you have a thing for ducks?" Shiena suddenly asked.

"Oh, uh… y-yeah. I like… rubber ducks."

"Aww, that's so cute. Do you perhaps collect phone straps?"

"In a way… y-yes… but not only keychains. All sorts of objects… gifts from people important to me. Relics."

Shiena didn't add anything to that. They continued to walk quietly until they reached a backstreet.

"We… we're almost… at my house. I can do the rest alone, thanks… for coming with me."

In normal circumstances, Shiena would have insisted to continue with her, but today wasn't one of them.

"Okay, see you at work then. Have a good night!" Shiena said as she walked away.

"Y-Yeah… have a great night too."

Shiena continued to walk, heading for her home, while she perfectly knew it wouldn't be her final destination.

It must have been at least 10 minutes since she left Mahiru. Shiena felt her heart racing like crazy, she was nervous, worried, afraid, but she knew she had to do this. It was for the greater good.

The street lamp kept turning off and on, making it hard for Shiena to see. She walked carefully, remaining on her guard, cautious.

As the street lamp was on, she noticed a shadow on the ground and immediately got out of the way.

She could feel a gust of wind brushing against her cheek as she saw some huge object passing near her head, almost hitting her. Shiena immediately ran and then turned back, to see someone standing behind her a couple of meters again, holding what appeared to be a huge hammer. But it was too dark to see their face, but Shiena knew who they were.

She had been waiting for them.

The individual laughed maniacally, the lights flickering on and allowing Shiena to see their truly deranged and insane look on their face, their eyes screaming madness.

"Well well, aren't ya goin' to run? Ya don't see quite scared," they said.

Shiena clenched her fist, fighting against her own fear, before she let out a weak yet satisfied smile.

"Oh, but I was expecting to meet you tonight, Shinya."

The plot thickens. How did Shiena guess that Shinya would try to kill her? Let me know your theory!

This is the penultimate chapter, next one will be the final for this arc. Please let me know how you think this is going to end and seeya next week for the final chapter!