Author's note: Thanks for waiting, as always.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ayumu was laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She had recalled seeing Keiji and Yuuichi, engaging in a fight with one another, before it all ended with an axe landing on and killing the latter.

She had perceived Keiji to be the murderer, and was intent on getting rid of him so as to avenge the dark-haired boy. At the same time, she had saw around her, Shizuka and Hana making food together, and Yumi staring, almost blankly into nothingness.

"Hey guys!"

This brought the purple-haired girl out of her stupor when she heard Tomoko's voice, who added, "Keiji's awoken!"

"Really?" Hana asked, and nearly everyone smiled. "So does that mean lunch will be ready soon?"

"Perhaps."

Tomoko then turned to Ayumu, sporting a concerned expression. "Hey, Ayumu...are you okay?"

She jolted at her words, but a sigh of relief escaped her lips. "I'm...I'm fine. It's just that..."

"You don't have to worry, it was just an accident. Neither Yuuichi nor Keiji did anything wrong."

"I-I guess."

"Shizuka! Be sure to tell Sachiko that the food's ready!" Tomoko called out.

"Right on!"

As Shizuka went to retrieve Sachiko, everyone seemed content. Except for Yumi, who muttered under her breath. "This is a nightmare I'll never get myself out of..."

She then turned to Tomoko, and in the same low voice, added, "We're all gonna die..."

"Yumi! Don't say such words! We're gonna get through this, no matter what!"

Yumi just closed her eyes and sighed, before Tomoko turned to Ayumu. "Be sure to join the girls and put the finishing touches on the soup!" she exclaimed.

Ayumu nodded, before she remembered carrying with her a vial of poison. Staring at the small container, she took a deep breath and went over to the soup in question.

Opening the vial, she poured the dark red-colored liquid into the contents, and when she was done, she had put it away. She had chosen to put inside a cupboard, where hopefully no one would discover it.

"Food's ready?! Sweet!"

She heard Sachiko's voice call out as she eagerly ran into the kitchen with the group. "And Keiji's woken up, too?! Allright, time to taste-test!"

Tomoko chuckled at her words, before the girl with brown pigtails took the bowl of soup, and quickly dove a spoon inside. "Seriously, Hana, you're the best cook in this class!" Sachiko added.

Hana smiled as she replied, "Thanks!"

"So, about this dude Takagi; he seems to be aligned with Keiji, and for a good reason." Shizuka said.

"Do you know where he is?" Hana asked.

"I don't know, but I assume that he's with Kanami."

"Kanami...?" Yumi asked, briefly looking towards them.

"This soup is soo good!" Sachiko exclaimed, until she began realizing something was very wrong as some red blood began to seep from her mouth.

As she coughed, Tomoko asked, "Sachiko? What's wrong?!"

The girl convulsed almost instantly as more blood poured from her lips, before she would collapse the ground, eyes dilated in terror as the bowl of soup crashed to the ground.

A long silence followed, before Tomoko was the first to speak. "Who did this...?"

"It wasn't me! I didn't put anything bad in there!" Hana replied.

"Neither have I!" Shizuka added.

"Then, that means it either Yumi or..."

Tomoko was then cut off by Yumi, who stood up and said to them, "This is more than a nightmare...this is reality! And it's happening right before our very eyes!"

"Yumi, did you poison Sachiko?!"

"Do I recall putting poison in there? Of course not! And chances are, if you think otherwise..." It wasn't long before the brunette brought out a Remington Model 870, and was about to aim it right at her after pumping it.

Tomoko's brown eyes widened, almost in fear, before another voice was heard. "It was me!"

Everyone turned to see that Ayumu stood there, staring them down with hate in her brown eyes. "I killed Sachiko! And I saw Keiji murder Yuuichi! He did it! And there's nothing you can do about it!"

"You...what?!" Hana asked.

The girl with purple hair began to laugh, almost manically, before Yumi aimed her gun at her. "You monster! You fucking monster!"

The first bullet was meant for Ayumu, but she had quickly dodged it, choosing instead to jump out of the window. Her laughing could still be heard, even before she fell to her death.

Instead, it was Hana that took the hit, and said under her breath. "How did...?"

It didn't stop Yumi from shooting, as she heard Tomoko scream out, "YUMI! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!"

Once again, she shot once more, this time hitting Shizuka as she collapsed next to Hana. Yumi then muttered once again, "Since everyone else is dead, you're the last on my list!"

"Oh no, Yumi..." Tomoko said, nearly choking at her words. Though she was frightened, she was ready to pull out her Magnum and shoot her down.

"Don't make me do this!" Yumi heard her yell.

Simultaneously, both girls fired their weapons, and were immediately killed. The kitchen was now nothing more than a bloodbath, and the entire scuffle was enough to awaken Keiji.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he entered the area, his jaw dropped to see that everyone was dead. But it seemed clear that Tomoko was fighting for her last breaths, which caught his attention.

"T-Tomoko...?!"

Keiji rushed over to Tomoko, whose sweater was covered in blood thanks to a gunshot wound in her torso. "What's happened?"

"Ayumu...she tricked us..." she managed to say, her eyes welling with tears. "She...she thought you murdered Yuuichi, and..."

"And what?!"

"I'm...I'm sorry, Keiji...but..." Tomoko was now close to death's door as she finally said, "You and your father must stop this chaos...you're our only hope..."

As she passed before his very eyes, Keiji grit his teeth, his eyes about to sting with unshed tears. He saw the rest of her group, already dead, before he went to the window Ayumu jumped out of.

He shuddered as he saw Ayumu's lifeless body, after having fell to her death whilst consumed with madness. He closed his eyes and let out a long scream of anger and sadness.

"You can't keep getting away with this, Ayatsuji!"

Yumi Nakazawa, Girl #6, deceased

Hana Michisaki, Girl #8, deceased

Sachiko Oikawa, Girl #11, deceased

Tomoko Ichinose, Girl #12, deceased

Ayumu Shiroi, Girl #14, deceased

Shizuka Tachibana, Girl #19, deceased

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With love for my fans,

Chrissy