Shiena woke up with an awful headache. And it wasn't the only part of her body that was in pain.

Her ankle was still throbbing and her ribs felt like they had been crushed. Her face felt like it was burning while she had a hard time breathing due to pain in her chest. She coughed a little bit, which didn't help at all.

And she suddenly felt like she was about to throw up.

She was in no shape to rush to the bathroom with her injuries so instead she grabbed the trash can next to her bed and puked. When her stomach was finally empty and she had nothing left to vomit, Shiena dropped the trash can and let herself fall on her back in the bed, gasping for air.

The brunette was in desperate need of water. She could feel her body all sweaty, her dry lips, her headache- she was highly dehydrated.

With a lot of difficulties, Shiena managed to sit up. She grabbed her glass and noticed the painkillers. She crushed a few pills and once again put the powder in her glass. But this time, instead of adding alcohol, she headed for the bathroom, heavily limping, and filled it with water. She drank it all with great thirst. She let out a sigh of satisfaction before going back into the room to sit on her bed. She almost slept an entire day- it was now the next evening.

She remembered having reconciled with Otoya. She knew it was dumb, but she was in love. Only Otoya ever loved her, and it was special. Someone like Otoya shouldn't be able to love and yet, she loved her. Not only is their love special and unique, but Shiena must also be too, for Otoya to even have feelings for her. And deep down, she was convinced no one else would ever fall in love with her.

Then suddenly, she was hit by a violent realization.

"Namatame… no!"

Despite the pain, Shiena hurried to put on some clothes and her shoes, before rushing outside her motel room.


Everything was going for the best for Otoya. She fixed things with Shiena and was plotting her revenge against Nio for daring to get in the way of her love. She wasn't scared of her- Nio seemed to only be an underling, after all. It shouldn't be an issue if she gets rid of her. Whoever the big boss was, Nio clearly went against their wishes by trying to get Shiena killed. If anything, she should get rewarded for getting rid of the little pest.

Ah... She missed Shiena so much. She couldn't believe she was angry at her only a few hours ago- it just seemed impossible to be mad at her precious Shiena. She was the love of her life, the only thing that mattered, the only one who could understand her and accept her for who she was.

She simply couldn't let go of such a rare gem.

No one would ever love her true self… except Shiena.

Knock knock knock

Otoya froze. Who could that be, so late in the evening? Did Shiena wake up and come here? No, she would have called first.

A doubt emerged in her mind. What if it was an assassin sent by Nio to kill her as retaliation for stopping Isuke? After all, it was clear now that Nio was against her and didn't care what her boss wanted.

Carefully, Otoya walked towards the door, keeping her distance just in case.

"Who's there?" she called.

"Takechi? Are you there? It's me, Namatame."

"Namatame… who?"

"Namatame Chitaru. I'm Kenmochi's coworker. We met once, on her birthday."

Oh. That Chitaru. Otoya remembered. That handsome, sexy, big-breasted woman Shiena had a crush on- as well as Hitsugi's wife. What was she doing here?

"Oh, Namatame-san! I remember you. Is there a problem?"

"Yeah. Kenmochi disappeared. She was supposed to stay at home due to the current investigation, but she's not there. Given that you are dating, I was hoping you would know where she is- or if by chance she was with you."

Otoya sighed. So it was just that… Haru seemed shocked when she told her Shiena wasn't home, so it wasn't unlikely that she hadn't told Chitaru. She knew where Shiena was but obviously, she won't tell Chitaru. Shiena was hers after all- getting the support of her friends would only endanger their already fragile relationship. Shiena needed only her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where she is either… I tried to look for her but she wasn't home. I didn't know about the investigation…"

"May I come in please?"

"She's not here…"

"Open the door…! I mean, please… I just need to talk more with you, to see if I can get more clues…"

Chitaru sounded strangely desperate for her to open the door and Otoya was growing suspicious. She thought that perhaps she could push Chitaru to be frank by teasing her a little.

"We can talk just fine like this, Namatame-san. It's quite late and I'm looking awful, I removed my makeup and I'm barely clothed… That's embarrassing…"

No answer. Otoya was starting to think that perhaps Chitaru just left. But that seemed really unlikely.

Slash!

A crack appeared in the door as if it had been suddenly sliced. Otoya could see the tip of something that looked sharp like… a sword?

Crack!

The door was suddenly kicked and the crack just split in two, the door collapsing. In the doorframe was Chitaru, glaring at her with such murderous eyes, holding a sword.

"It's time to pay for your crimes, Takechi Otoya- no, Jack the Ripper!"


It was starting to rain. Shiena was soaked from head to toe, but she didn't care. She could be frozen, it didn't matter, she was still running. Well, running was generous- more like desperately limping while being in horrible pain. She was holding her phone, desperately trying to reach her girlfriend, in vain. There was no answer.

"Please Otoya answer me! You're in danger! Don't trust Namatame!" Shiena yelled on the phone as she left her a message.

Her ankle suddenly hurt like hell and Shiena stumbled to the ground. She had quickly raised her arms in front of her face to avoid hitting her head. Her hands were bleeding after getting scratched on the road. Shiena remained laying on the ground for a moment, her body making her suffer so much. Then, weakly, Shiena got on her knees, gasping and groaning in pain. The raindrops were dripping from her wet hair and her clothes were completely soaked, making them much heavier.

She used her uninjured leg to pull herself up and used the fence to keep standing. She was still panting, exhausted, and hurt. She couldn't even see around her, her glasses had fallen with her and she couldn't spot them in the deluge.

Limping as fast as she could while supporting herself, Shiena continued on her way.

"Please Otoya, be safe. Please, don't be too late!"


Otoya remained still. She could hear her phone ringing but she knew she couldn't go and pick it up. She had no idea how Chitaru found out, but it was a real pain in the ass. It looked like she would have to get rid of her- how will she explain this to Shiena? Perhaps she should find another solution. But for now, it was better to just play dumb.

Otoya gave her her best confused expression as well as slightly raising her arms as if she was afraid.

"N-Namamate-san?! What… What are you talking about? Please put down that sword!"

Chitaru stepped inside, still holding her sword, staring at Otoya.

"Don't try to fool me! I know the truth! You are the ripper! You murdered all those innocent women!"

"P-Please, you got it all wrong! I don't understand! Aren't you supposed to be a cop? Don't you need a warrant to bust into my house? And why a sword!?"

"My gun is only meant to be used in self-defense. I won't insult my profession by misusing it. A sword is good enough for the likes of you!"

Or she just didn't want her murder to be traceable back to her, Otoya thought.

Before Otoya could add anything, Chitaru jumped at her, ready to slice her up. Otoya knew that there was no chance to negotiate with her anymore, but she could still avoid confessing.

"I'll bring justice to all the women you killed! I'll bring justice to Kenmochi!" Chitaru exclaimed.

"... Justice to Shiena…?"

The blade slashed Otoya and a splash of blood splattered on the wall.


"Namatame. There's something I need to confess…"

Shiena nervously clenched her phone, still unsure if she really wanted to do this.

"Kenmochi!" Chitaru exclaimed. "Where are you? Ichinose told me you aren't at your apartment and you weren't answering my calls! I told you to stay at home! Where are you? Are you safe?"

"I… I'm not… someone is after me…"

"Someone? Who?"

"... Jack… the Ripper…"

"What?! You know who this bastard is?! Did they hurt you?"

"She… she punched me… and then threatened me… I'm scared… I don't know what to do…"

"Who is she?!"

For a slight moment, Shiena hesitated until she remembered what Otoya did to her.

"T-Takechi… Otoya…"

"Huh?! You mean… your girlfriend!? How did you find out?"

"I… I knew for a long time… I was only dating her to get more information about Black Guild and I intended to tell you I swear! But it was a bad idea and now… I think she's going to kill me!"

There was a long silence at the other end and Shiena was worried that Chitaru might be mad at her.

"Okay. I'll take care of this. Stay where you are and remain hidden. It will all be over soon."

Chitaru hung up the phone and Shiena let out a sigh, relieved.


Otoya let out a weak gasp of pain as she gripped her injured arm, her blood dripping from her fresh wound.

"You hurt her… you abused her… Were you using Kenmochi to toy with us!?" Chitaru shouted angrily.

Otoya instinctively recoiled, finding it harder to hide her true nature.

"What… are you… talking about!? I didn't abuse Shiena! I love her and she loves me!"

"A monster like you can't love! And Kenmochi certainly didn't love you, either! Who would love a psychopath like you!?"

Wow. That kind of hurt. But Otoya wasn't worried. She knew Shiena loved her. She had too.

As Chitaru was about to slash her again, Otoya pulled out a pair of scissors and blocked her blade before pushing her away, running to the living room. Chitaru chased her down and tried to stab her from behind but Otoya was quicker and threw a cushion at her. With a quick movement, Chitaru sliced it in half, her vision getting filled with feathers.

Otoya took advantage of this and rushed towards Chitaru, managing to stab her in the shoulder. Chitaru groaned in pain and managed to push Otoya away, keeping the scissors in her wound. She tried to strike Otoya with her sword, holding it with her weaker hand. Otoya had no problem kicking her wrist and made her drop her weapon.

"I'm not Jack the Ripper!" Otoya exclaimed. "I don't know why you think that, but you are wrong!"

"Are you telling me Kenmochi is a liar then?"

Otoya froze. What did she mean by that? Before she could ask, Chitaru punched her right in the face. Otoya reared back and received another punch, this time in the stomach. Otoya managed to stop Chitaru's third punch and elbowed her in the face before kneeing her in the stomach. She then tried to grab her by the collar but Chitaru seized her arm and lifted her before slamming her violently against the glass coffee table.

Otoya collided against the glass with great force, enough to break through. She could feel the shards slashing her flesh at multiple places on her back.

"Who do you think told me the truth? Kenmochi! She was just using you. She never loved you! She just wanted information on Black Guild!" Chitaru revealed.

Otoya couldn't believe what she heard. No, it couldn't be true…She couldn't have… lie to her like that and even worse, deceived her. Not after everything they went through together… not after everything she did for her!

"Shut up! Shiena loves me! She would have never-"

Before she could rise up Chitaru kicked her in the ribs repetitively until she wasn't moving anymore. She then straddled Otoya and put her hands around her neck, starting to strangle her.

Otoya tried to struggle and fight back, in vain. Chitaru was stronger than her, much to her annoyance.

"Na… Namatame… please… stop…"

"Begging for your life? Did your victims beg too when you cruelly tortured them to death? You didn't stop so why should I?"

"Because… don't you care… about your… wife… Kirigaya….!"

Chitaru instantly froze. Her hands were still around her neck but she wasn't putting as much strength anymore.

"What do you know about my wife!? How do you know her name? Answer me!" Chitaru asked frantically.

Otoya smirked. She quickly grabbed a shard of glass and stabbed Chitaru in the neck. The latter let out a weak cry as she jolted backward, desperately grabbing her throat to stop the bleeding. Otoya stood up as she let out a chuckle.

"You people are so weak- your emotions are such a weakness. I'm glad I'm not like you. It's just way too easy to manipulate empathetic and emotional people…"

Blood was dripping heavily from Chitaru's neck as she started coughing blood. She instinctively recoiled and reached the kitchen, but ended up collapsing onto the floor, much to Otoya's amusement. She then picked back her scissors.

"Things don't look too bright for you huh… Let me at least comfort you as you leave this world."

Otoya walked towards Chitaru, enjoying the sight of her wriggling and slowly bleeding to death on the floor.

"... Hi… Hitsugi…" Chitaru weakly mumbled.

"Yes. Your dear wife," Otoya began to say with a cruel smile. "Let me tell you the whole truth about her…"


When Shiena finally reached Otoya's house she discovered with fright that her door had been forced open. She immediately rushed inside despite the pain, worried for Otoya.

She noticed the blood splatter on the wall and her heart started to race with anxiety. She then spotted drops of blood on the floor and followed them up to the living room.

"Otoya…!"

"Shiena."

The brunette flinched and quickly turned back. Otoya was standing in the middle of the living room, near her broken coffee table. Her arm was dripping with blood and her face was all bruised and bloody. But what shocked Shiena the most was how cold and dead-inside she looked, with no emotion on her face and empty eyes.

Shiena started to shiver. Now that she confirmed that Otoya wasn't dead, she could finally realize how cold she was, all soaked with rain, panting.

"Otoya… I was so worried about you! I tried to call you but you didn't answer… what happened to-"

"Did you tell Namatame the truth, Shiena?" Otoya asked calmly but coldly. "The truth about me."

Shiena froze. She knew. There wasn't any point in pretending it wasn't true.

"I… yes. I'm sorry! I was scared okay?! I thought you were going to kill me!"

Otoya didn't answer anything. Worried, Shiena walked towards her, hoping that she could make her understand.

"Trust me, as soon as I realized I was wrong I rushed here to warn you so we could escape together, far away from here! Please you have to believe me! I… I love you so much!"

Otoya still remains quiet, much to Shiena's concern. She then also stepped forward and softly wrapped her arm around Shiena's shoulder A little bit too soft.

"Shiena… I loved you."

A sudden pain stabbed Shiena through her stomach. She let out a gasp of pain as she looked down, discovering with horror a pair of scissors piercing her. She then raised her head to look at Otoya, confused, and shocked. Otoya still looked at her with such a cold expression, but there was now anger in her eyes… and pain? As if she was hurt.

"You betrayed me, Shiena. I gave you a chance and you betrayed my trust once again. I can't believe you anymore. It's over between us."

Otoya rashly removed the blade and let Shiena collapse to the floor, not even giving her a second look as she left the house. A small puddle of blood was forming under Shiena, who was too shocked to do anything.

Her body felt even colder now as tears rolled from her eyes, almost burning her cheeks before everything went black.


The End.

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Of arc 2! Seeya next time for arc 3! I'll probably take a short hiatus to work on other projects but in the meantime, please let me know your thoughts and thanks for sticking with me for so long!