Hey everyone. It has been a while. Here is the fourth chapter that takes place right after the 2nd chapter.

- I apologize for any grammatical errors. Let me know if I need to clarify.

Chapter 4 – Gravesites and The Sun

After Chapter 2

The Saturday air was whisking through the cracked window of the Nishikino house. It was 9 am and all of the girls were starting to get up one by one and they were leaving the rooms one after another. The maids courteously made breakfast and started to dispense it out once the girls met at the giant dining table. It was a typically Japanese breakfast that was simple but delicious. The rice was steaming from its bowl, the aroma of the slightly cooked fish filled the air, and the miso soup felt nice going down their tight throats. With the sleepiness and the tension still in the air, everyone ate in silence. After everyone was done or at least finishing up, Eli spoke in a somewhat of a raspy voice, "Ok. Nozomi and I will get our cars and take everyone to the cemetery. For now, we will go back to our houses and freshen up. We will reconvene in an hour. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded and one by one started to say, "Thanks for the food."

About an hour later, they met up at Maki's house again. Eli's car could fit 5 and Nozomi borrowed her mother's car which could fit 6. Given that they were a total of 10 of them, the extra seat and trunk space in Nozomi's car was used for a backpack that had drinks, snacks, and a laptop. The cemetery was about a 40-minute drive out. The chatter was minimal. All of them were tired of the awkward silence so they brought up classes and their plans after graduation without mentioning the brooding feeling that Honoka was not going to be there. Relationship talk was tossed around from person to person and it was clear that there were some members that were dating one another but they weren't ready to come out which was reasonable given that they were all in a solemn mood and about to visit a gravesite.

The slight rumble of the car made some of the passengers tired even though they just woke up. In Eli's car, which had Maki, Rin, Yukiho, and Arisa, they weren't shy in switching the conversation to a serious discussion. As the time ticked on, 20 minutes passed since they left the house. Back then, their conversations were light and trivial but now, they always had some heaviness to them. Since the third years left for college, most talks were about the uncertainty of the future and the secrets that were not spoken out loud. Everyone knew that they all had to grow up but not like this, not where everyone was scared to speak and felt their heart shaking every moment.

"Honoka, I wonder if the decision was easy for her to leave." Rin who was sitting on the back passenger side of the asked in a deep tone.

"How do we know she wasn't kidnapped?" Arisa questioned.

Eli and Maki who next to each other gave a glance at one another in the front seats. Maki informed the members that were in Eli's car, "To tell you the truth, Eli and I spoke with my mother early in the morning before she went to the hospital. It wasn't planned, but I knew my mother had to know more about her disappearance. The police ruled out kidnapping because of the breadcrumbs that she left. It was almost as if Honoka wanted to let us know that she was ok but she had to leave. It was explicitly said that she had to leave but they found a note hidden under a floorboard under her bed." Maki paused to sip some water and continued, "Yukiho, you know what was on that note right?"

Yukiho was in the middle seat in the back and nodded. "I'm guessing your mother didn't tell you what was on it?"

"You knew she wasn't kidnapped Yukiho? Why didn't you tell me before I asked?" Arisa said in a whiny voice.

Yukiho in a cold manner responded, "Well you didn't ask me… I could ask the same thing about the grave visit." Yukiho's attitude drastically changed after that question and she looked straight in front of her. Last night she knew that it was the time to be upset at Arisa because she knew that took courage for her to say something but it didn't mean she wasn't upset.

Arisa looked in shock and turned her head to her lap. She could feel the tear coming but she bit down on her tongue. She knew she deserved it but it felt worse than she expected.

In her peripheral vision, Yukiho saw that Arisa immediately sunk into her seat and her ears were turning red. Yukiho quickly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap… The letter that was found was more of a poem or lyrics to an unfinished song. It never once directed it to Honoka but because it was found under her floorboards so we made the assumption. Though it did have a name at the end and it was signed by a person named Suzu."

"Great, another person we have no idea who the hell they are…" Maki huffed and rolled her eyes.

Yukiho continued as if the comment wasn't made, "I took a picture of the poem. Do you want to hear what it says? It extremely dark and slightly uncomfortable"

Unanimously, everyone said yes. Yukiho brought out her phone and swiped the screen on her phone to find the picture. She started reading,

With every breathless breath, he counts down to 1

Fickle creatures, take, take, take, as if all I can do is give

The sun that is supposedly bright takes on the appearance of the grim reaper

Don't trust. Don't see. Don't ever close that door

The curtains that are painted black slowly takes the color and pattern of a withering rose,

All seems to be right; I cover these seeing eyes with lies and the glossy resemblance of the weak

The body that lays to waste, is it mine, is it his, or is it yours? Don't be fooled

Mine and his tear-soaked mutilated bodies filled with soil are not the ones that should be mourned

Finally, he gets to 0, The Doors Are Closed

After Yukiho finished reading, the atmosphere radiated sadness and tension. Maki covered her mouth with her hand and looked as if saw a ghost. Eli noticed her motion and asked in a worried voice, "What is it, Maki?"

All ears were intently listening to Maki. She used to write the lyrics for the group when they were active, so understanding this poem was almost like a curse for her. Maki removed her hand from her mouth put it on her shoulder and grabbing onto it. The only person that can see her fear in her eyes was Arisa because she was in the driver's backseat.

In a quavering voice, Maki uttered, "This is definitely a song because poems are essentially songs, but this isn't an ordinary poem. It's a suicide note."

Everyone let the last part of Maki's sentence sink. They ceased the talking because the cemetery was about 5 minutes away. As they arrived, Eli's passengers bailed out as if something smelled awful but it was only because the air was deadly suffocating. Nozomi's car pulled up next to them and got out quickly to check on them. Eli's neck muscles tensed and the look on her face was frightening to Nozomi.

"Eli, are you ok?" Nozomi ushed next to the blonde girl who was slightly sweating and seemed very uncomfortable.

Eli turned to her friend and uttered, "We should have never grown up." Nozomi took a step back and gave the blonde girl a questionable look. Eli always looked ahead of her, so for her to say something deep meant that something happened.

They all took a moment to read the poem again and they all broke a sweat because of it. It was incredibly dark and brooding. They could believe that she would write that because she was extremely happy but then again, she had undeniable changes.

Nozomi was a literature major so she went ahead and took a closer look. She started with, "Is this her handwriting?"

Yukiho nodded that she didn't know because she didn't pay attention to that but she did say the speculation that she actually wrote that is little to none. Not just because of the handwriting, it is because there is some dialect in the poem that was not where they were from. Nonetheless, there was a note under her bed. Regardless of whether she wrote it or not, there was incredible uncanny about this whole situation.

Nozomi went on to decipher the message, "Well based on this, this person was life was being sucked out of them. They felt burdened and their time was ticking away. Hmmm, there is also the interpretation that maybe someone that was close to her was no longer her friend."

"Don't forget the part where they say, "The body that lays to waste, is it mine, is it his, or is it yours? Don't be fooled" meaning that there are more people that have been affected. This sounds like a confession almost." Maki inputted her thoughts.

"Yes, it does sound that way. What about the black curtains part with the withering rose? It could mean that she was dying but from the first part already says that…" Nozomi tried to wrap her head around this encrypted sentence.

"What if it meant that her personality was dark already but someone defiled them even further. A rose is associated with love in Victorian, Greek, and Roman mythology. So, putting those together, this person was driven past their limit... Maybe on purpose" Nozomi looked up from the picture and looked at the solemn faces of her younger former group members. Eli just looked sad and was tearing up at that thought.

Hayano who was the idol enthusiast of the group built on the group's conversation by adding, "It seems also like there was a message to the reader. A warning. Mine and his tear-soaked mutilated bodies filled with soil are not the ones that should be mourned. Like Maki said, this was a confession but not to the suicide, a confession from the dead that they were forced to end their life and that whoever this was meant for better watch their back. Honoka, she's in danger and she knew. That's why she probably left." Hayano spent most of her time reading lyrics because she wanted to become a songwriter/producer when she graduated high school.

Everything felt disturbed. Who could have written that dark and soulless poem? Who felt so alone that they were drowning to the point where this is their only salvation? They didn't know. None of them knew the many questions and it only created the feeling of inferiority towards themselves and those who knew. After taking a few minutes to think for themselves, Arisa broke their thoughts and told them, "Let's go to the grave. Maybe, just maybe, there will be a light to the answer you are all looking for."

Everyone agreed and followed Arisa to the hill where she hid the summer where Honoka was. The air was still and the sun felt nice on their skin. It took about 10 minutes to climb. Surrounding them were family tombstones. Some of them you could tell have been recently cleaned and been offered fruits because they were starting to spoil under the open air, but other graves were dirty and rotting from the natural forces of the environment. As they continued walking, it felt like the frequency of the graves were thinning out on either side and they finally reached the base of the hill. The climb was steep, their untrained legs were feeling the burning sensation and lungs expiring heavy breaths. Breathless, most of the members looked beyond themselves and the land that was before them. The ground was filled with weeds, it was unkempt and dirty which was a shame because the view behind the broken gravestones was beautiful. The sole tree that stood on the lonely hill was now filled with green leaves that were slowly turning brown. Immediately they could tell which gravestone they were looking for because the plate that Arisa mentioned glistened a turquoise color that blinded the members at first glance.

They all walked towards it and could tell that this was not a family grave, this was a single-person tombstone like the western cultures do when they bury their loved ones. The grave was a small tombstone that had a big chunk of cheap forged cement taken out from the side.

"Year XXXX – Year XXXX" Nico bent down to read the stone that was faded. She took a step back and looked at the only piece of this gravesite that was clean and appealing. The turquoise plate labeled the person as Yuki Megumi.

"No, he didn't just die. He was killed by his own mother." Eli said when her fists clenched. Everyone looked at her in shock but then the realization came to fact that every single one of them vaguely remembers the horrible news. Yuki Megumi. His death was the biggest headline on almost every news channel there was when Honoka's gang when entered the high school.

"Yuki Megumi. A boy who was beaten and stabbed by his mother with a broken beer bottle over 30 times. The court gave her time in jail. She pleaded not guilty but the evidence was eminent to the point where is a crime to cover up." Eli spoke softly as if she were scared his ghost would come and them.

"Not only did she try to cover up, but she also tried to blame it on his father and on his behavior for 13-year-old." A voice came from behind Eli. A woman in a pink skirt, a white flowing shirt, and a sun hat came walking behind. She had brown hair that was down to her shoulders, her eyes holding an emerald green tint, and her skin was slightly on the pale side.

All the girls were standing there in confusion about who this lady was and why she was there. Umi who had been hiding in the back for most of the time today stepped forward and politely asked, "May I ask who you are?"

The girl scuffed a little and smirked, "Strange that you would ask me that when I am visiting my stepsons grave. I should be asking you all this given that there are 10 women at his grave and he was killed when he was actually killed when he was 14."

They set up the picnic nearby in the designated area for eating and remembrance. They invited the lady to their discussion for answers and questions. The food was simple and delicious.

"I apologize ma'am. I didn't know you were his stepmother." Umi formally apologized while getting up to bow to her.

"It's ok dear. I was surprised at first but also happy that people came to visit him. He would have been happy to see so many beautiful girls visiting him." The woman laughed in joy and sadness. "So, what can I do for you ladies? I know you didn't invite just because of that awkward meeting."

"I'm surprised to see that his case was displayed all over the world but his tombstone looks like this… Why is that?" Nozomi questioned the lady.

"It because the government wanted us to forget what happened. When his service came about, this place flourished in flowers that meant love, peace, and harmony. The ceremony was filled with people who did not know a single thing about him other than the fact it was an unjustified death of a 14-year-old boy. Though after it, they all forgot about him… I tried to keep it clean, but every day there are more weeds and violators that come to insult and condemn the dead." The lady explained with a slight sound of aggression in her voice. I know you didn't come to pay respects, so I might ask, who are all of you?" She repeated but this time, a slight smile came on her face.

"We didn't personally know your stepson… But we knew a friend that possibly did. Her name was Kousaka Honoka. Do you know her?" Eli probed. Eli watched as the lady's face became easier to read.

"Honoka. Of course, I know her… Well, more like read about her. Wow, I haven't heard her name since Megumi died." The woman revealed.

"Do you know how they were connected?" Umi and Kotori both shouted. Eli and Nozomi shushed them as fast as possible.

"I'm assuming something happened." The woman guessed based on their reactions. A minute passed as they all became quiet and the breeze started picking up.

"Yes, Honoka has disappeared. Recently, she visited the grave along with another girl." Arisa disclosed.

"Oh. That's terrible. Well, I can tell what I know. Being the stepmother doesn't always give you an easy path to your children's lives especially when he is corrupted by his blood mother." The woman stopped to get comfortable on the blanket and stared at the ten faces that were her their full attention. She could tell this was a big deal and that it works in benefit to finally get revenge on that god-forsaken woman that was his mother. The woman was holding a secret that she was hoping these girls would help. "To start off with, I'm going to tell a little about Megumi and my benefit from sharing this with you. I don't want anything from any of you but I think Honoka can help even though she is gone."

The girls looked confused but were prepared.

"First of all, call me Sarah. Yes, I am Japanese. My mother was American my father was Japanese. Alright enough about me, I married my husband back when Megumi was 4 years old. We tried to fight for custody but the court ruled in favor of his biological mother based on genetics and the motherly bond. His biological mother was super upset about our marriage because her husband and I were secretly dating while he was married. Because of this, she became barbaric and turned to alcohol. She was abusive towards Megumi, physically and emotionally. When we tried to get the court to move custody again, we would always fail because he would rule in his mother's favor. Megumi didn't like me… I mean of course, why would you like the woman that your father cheated on your mother with?" Sarah paused blink away the tears. "I loved Megumi. He would visit from time to time but he only saw me as that woman. He hated his father. Not this is okay to do but my husband cheated because his wife at the time would physically abuse him as well and what can the man do? Hit her back? No, he would be jailed for it so he toughed it out. She forced him to have a child and Megumi came. When he was 10 or so, you would look in his eyes and see nothing. There was nothing he liked, loved, cared for, or even wanted to live for. When he was 11, I got a call from the hospital and he got hit in the stomach so hard that he was puking nonstop. I knew it was that woman but Megumi would defend her… Child batter syndrome. Where the beaten victim covers automatically for the abuser out of fear. I was almost about to kill that woman myself." Sarah had a frightful glare in her eyes.

"I couldn't stand how that young child was taken beatings and how the court wouldn't see how he was suffering. They would only see that the father cheated on his wife and wanted custody. Not the fact that she abused him, forced him to have a child, and was manipulating him…" She took a minute to gather herself. The girls were all looking at this woman and her visible pain. "I wanted to give Megumi his chance, but I couldn't. That's where Honoka comes in. I don't know exactly when they met but Megumi was smiling more and the fact that he wasn't so depressed. I could tell that he was better because when would visit due to mandatory father visits, he would sit at our house and engage in conversation little by little. Before he wouldn't look me in the eyes but one time, he stared me straight into my soul with his feelings and heart on his sleeve, he told me that he was grateful that I gave his father a new happy life. His father suffered and wouldn't even look at him, but because of his time with me, he smiles more and enjoys life. He also mentioned that if he moved in with us, his mother would pursue them until they were all dead. He told me that it would end. He would hope that I would smile at him again after he came back. He was killed 3 days later on his 14th birthday." Sarah started to tear up.

"I'm sorry." Sarah's voice quivered.

"No, we are sorry to bring up such painful memories." Umi again bowed her head slightly.

Sarah giggled, "Polite girls you are. I was upset. I felt like I could kill that woman with my bare hands. And I could kill this Honoka girl too. I had never met her and didn't know their relationship, and I was just angry. I was angry at the world, at the courts, at how unfair his life was… I was angry at myself. Once we found out, we cleaned his house. Endless bottles of liquor, beers, cigarettes, and illegal drugs. You could see blood spatters on the wall from when he would cough up blood. I was going to sue the courts for what they had done. That's when I found his diary and the terrible life that he had lived. It labeled what made his mother mad, where she would punch because he needed to keep track, and it also spoke about this Honoka." Sarah pulled out the diary and smacked it to the ground.

"I carry this so I remember not to hate this girl. I carry it so I can thank her when I get the chance for what she did for him. Here." Sarah gave the book to Umi. "Take it. Once you see her again, I would like it if you gave her this diary and let her understand that she did nothing wrong because based on this, she probably took it really hard and blamed herself. I'm certain that this also has to do with her disappearance."

Umi took the crumbled diary that has been opened and closed a thousand times it seems. The spine is all bent out of place and the pages were folded. One thought occurred and Umi vocalized it, "Do you know someone named Suzu?"

"Suzu. Yes, I do." Sarah responded with a dejected face.

"We found this poem and it was signed Suzu… Is she - " Umi begged for answers.

Sarah examined all of the girls again in hesitance, "Suzu is dead. She killed herself. She had a hard life as well. Again, I never met her but I know her, Megumi, and Honoka were friends." Sarah responded by looking at the diary. She huffed and hopped to her feet and sighed, "Girls, I must be going. Here is my contact information. The real reason that I told you his story is because I know there is someone behind their murders. I know I said Suzu killed herself but I don't think that is the case." Sarah turned around to put on her shoes when Kotori shouted the loudest that her friends have ever heard, "How long has she been dead, Suzu?"

It was 12 pm in the afternoon. The sun was high in the air, giving light through the surrounding trees and heat to the warming ground. Sarah finished adjusting her shoes and turned around to face the girls again. "What do you mean how long? She just died a few days ago or maybe a week now… Oh, I didn't take into consideration that you may not know the other name she went by. My apologies. Suzu, well she was the popular idol star that also went by the name of Miyafumi Chizu."