Welcome lovely readers, to our final chapter. Thank you to those who stuck around for my story and would leave those wonderful comments that pushed me forward. I hope you all enjoy!

Momoko and Satomi were both booked, charged, and ultimately jailed. Narrowly escaping the death penalty on the pretense of insanity.

Apparently, they're cousins.

Ryouta would have never guessed because they look nothing alike, the one thing they seemed to share was their family's long history of mental illness.

Satomi had been diagnosed with Erotomania, OCD, and a few other disorders, from the age of 13. Momo, as far as everyone knew, had never been tested, but her mother has allegedly been in and out of a facility for years being treated for Paranoid Schizophrenia.

Her lawyers made her get tested. Several different specialists later, and no conclusive answer. It didn't make sense, but Ryouta knew mental health was difficult to diagnose and taboo to discuss here in Japan.

Another thing he knew because of the court documents, is that this all happened because Momoko had developed an unhealthy obsession and jealousy towards Chihiro Makoto back in middle school.

Why?

There wasn't an answer, at least not a rational one. All Momoko had said was that 'Makoto was everything I deserved to be'. Ryouta supposes envy can be dangerous, he just never realized how much before this revelation.

Everyone who got mixed in was, quote, 'collateral' including Satomi.

Momo wanted to be Chihiro, she wanted to be her so badly that she 'needed' to tear her down. According to her, the perfect way to do that was to become Makoto's best friend, but Akira Cho held the title. She had been eavesdropping on the two at lunch one day when she overheard Akira's secret crush. So Momo decided to spread that nasty rumor, about Akira and the tutor from Kirisaki Daiichi. Then she told Akira that Makoto spread it.

Akira believed Momoko because she hadn't willingly told anyone else about her feelings towards the tutor, except Chihiro.

Ryouta could only imagine how betrayed Akira had felt at that moment.

This new space as Chihiro's friend, however, wasn't close enough. At first, it pleased Momo immensely, but then her emotions began to fester. It just got worse when Etsuko transferred into Kaijo and suddenly Makoto was trying everything to get her attention.

Momo admitted to being furious, but not with Etsuko.

That's when Momo devised a plan to 'punish' Chihiro for treating her so poorly.

The red-headed girl spent the first few weeks of her plan lying in wait, gathering information. That's when she pieced together that her cousin Satomi was romantically involved with Etsuko's brother.

Momo also knew that Satomi was ill and that her relationship with Katsuki had been falling apart.

It was, quote, 'the perfect opportunity'. She convinced Satomi that Chihiro was a bad person and that she harasses and bullies everyone, especially Etsuko.

'If Satomi believed that Etsuko was being bullied and that we could save her. Well, I told her that Katsuki would be overwhelmed with love and gratitude. They'd get back together and he'd be so thankful he would never try to leave her again. Satomi ate up every word I told her. Especially after she admitted to snooping in Etsuko's diary to get to know her better. That's the beauty behind coincidence. I didn't know Etsuko felt the way she did about us when she first arrived, but I was grateful for it.'

Momo swore that her plan originally had been meant for Chihiro, and only Chihiro.

However, things began to fall apart when Hiroki Shichiro cornered her one day.

Somehow he knew that Momoko made the rumor regarding Akira. The boy never said how he found out, (he did go to the same middle school) but she hadn't expected him to care. Especially since he and Makoto had such a strange acquaintanceship.

Momo said, quote, 'I underestimated his loyalty. He was a good person.'

Ryouta remembered the white-hot rage and bile he felt at her words.

Hiroki never told anyone about the rumor. Allegedly, he didn't want to overstep. Hiroki also mentioned that Makoto wouldn't believe him anyways, and neither would Akira.

'He wasn't threatening me or giving me an ultimatum, but he was urging me to do what was "right". I didn't like that, so I decided to adjust my plan. He'd be my test run, to see if I actually had the guts to murder a person. I've fantasized about it before, mainly with Makoto. The idea was perfect for me because this would give me practice, and simultaneously eliminate any chances of Hiroki changing his mind. I saw him as a liability I needed to get rid of. Although I couldn't tell Satomi that, I just knew she'd chicken out. So I lied and told her that Hiroki makes Etsuko uncomfortable by sexually harassing her at school. I didn't need to say much else, Satomi had been sold on the delusion I fed her.'

They then stalked Hiroki, learned his schedule, and eventually executed the murder.

Problem solved.

Except Momo was still unsatisfied.

This is when Ryouta learned he got tied in, and it was all because Chihiro had a school-girl crush on him at the beginning of the year. Momoko conjured up the idea that just murdering Makoto wasn't enough anymore. She quote, 'liked the fear and pain' that was evoked after news of Hiroki's death.

If Chihiro was so heartbroken over a boy she barely considered a friend, then how hurt would she be if the quote, 'love of her life' were to be targeted?

'It didn't take much to get Satomi onboard again. All I had to tell her was that Kise and Hiroki were on the same basketball team and that the older boy had also been trying to take advantage of Etsuko. Just in case Satomi would catch on, I sweetened the sob story and convinced her that Kise, as a member of the Generation of Miracles, was the reason behind Saburo's career failure in basketball. I didn't know anything about Saburo except for the fact Katsuki was fiercely protective of him just as he was over Etsuko. Apparently, Saburo never talked about what happened or why he doesn't play, and although the age differences between Kise and Saburo didn't add up, it was easy for Satomi to believe me.'

It was daunting knowing someone Ryouta had considered a friend talked so liberally about throwing him under the bus on a whim.

Everyone who got mixed in was, quote, 'collateral'.

The sentence bounced through his thoughts. His heart was pounding in his ears by this point, but he wanted to know more.

Momoko said they stalked Ryouta and learned his schedule just the same as they did with Hiroki. Then proceeded to execute the murder.

However, a speed bump by the name of Honda Etsuko stumbled across Ryouta's lifeless body floating in that lake.

The 'plan' Momo had crafted began to scramble even more, especially when Etsuko began to involve herself with him.

Ryouta remembers that first day Etsuko came to see him in perfect detail. With time Etsuko had divulged to him how odd she felt seeing Akira at the corner store in their area, despite Akira living far from that side of town.

Etsuko had said she felt like she was being watched. Well here's a hard lesson Ryouta learned because of this ordeal: if something feels wrong, it probably is.

The picture Etsuko took of Akira through the glass doors hid Momo behind the shelves as the two girls shopped for snacks. Satomi was apparently waiting for them in her car.

'I wanted to keep Akira away from Makoto, so over our transition from middle school into Kaijo High I would simultaneously stick with Akira, and Makoto just so I could always know if they were in contact. Nothing ever slipped, Akira still hated Makoto for "starting the rumor", and Makoto hated Akira for hating her.'

'I had crafted another lie about how Etsuko was only friends with Makoto because she was being blackmailed with personal information about her surfing accident. Akira didn't know Etsuko's name change, so she never found any documentation. In an attempt to salvage things and keep the rift between Akira and Makoto, I told Akira that 'Suko was being manipulated into rejecting her as a friend because of Makoto's blackmail.'

This was another failure of Momo's plan because instead of creating distance, she unintentionally created sympathy and interest, henceforth influencing Akira to try even harder to befriend Etsuko.

The series of events then triggered Momo to quote, 'panic'.

'Etsuko had already unknowingly become a thorn in my side by saving Kise, but I let it go. When Satomi told me Etsuko saw us and took a picture, I thought for sure she'd go to Makoto and then Akira. I needed to act fast. So I took care of Akira by myself. I didn't see the point in trying to tell Satomi to help me. It was easy enough to lure Akira into a false sense of security, and then overpower her when she turned her back. I was thinking irrationally. I believed that I needed to fix this A.S.A.P. Akira needed to die.'

'I thought my fears would subside after Akira's death and my plan would continue, but I was wrong again. So I decided Satomi and I need to execute the ending, that's when we planned the abduction. I purposely set up a diversion when I knew Makoto had to stay behind with our Sensei to discuss some matters about the student council. I had a feeling that despite how close Etsuko and Makoto had grown, they would go their separate ways and meet up for debate. I decided I would sneak out the first-floor window in the girl's bathroom, and make my way to the one corner of the school courtyard that had easy access to the main roads. It also had no security. I texted Makoto that practice was canceled and that we were waiting for her in the courtyard. She was hesitant, but she saw me there so she approached. It was too easy.'

'After I thought Makoto was dead, I told Satomi we needed to stay low. I had so many ideas on how to weasel our way out of this, however, Satomi ruined it all. She's a fuck-up you know, a pretty face, but nothing else. Katsuki had broken up with her again because she was unhinged and her behavior was hard to overlook. She couldn't understand why Katsuki wasn't happy. Satomi was convinced if she told him about our plan and how it was all done to 'protect his sister' that Katsuki would have some kind of epiphany and take her back once more. I couldn't let her do that, so I used her as my scapegoat. I know Satomi had stolen things from the Honda's. I found some items in her apartment that belonged to Saburo and Katsuki, went back to where we had dumped Makoto earlier in the day, planted the stuff, and waited. I knew it would come out how obsessive Satomi was over Katsuki. I always knew he and Saburo wouldn't get charged. I guess I was too full of myself though. I was confident it would work, but then Etsuko showed up at the storage unit.'

Maybe his parents were right. It might have been best if Ryouta didn't read this. He felt sick, betrayed, and angry.

His breathing was shaky as he returned the paperwork to his father's desk hoping no one would notice it was touched. He arrived back into his room just as a text beeped from his phone.

ETSUKOCHII 3: It's over now, don't beat yourself up.

Despite Ryouta feeling nauseous, a smile formed on his face. Etsuko always knew when he needed her.

Maybe if he called she'd agree to see him again. It's only been two days since their last hangout, but he craved her presence.

Ryouta opened his phone and dialed.

"Hey." He melted, her voice was always so lovely.

"Hi," Ryouta echoed a cheesy grin on his face. "Wanna meet up for some food?"

He heard some rustling on her end before she replied, "We should invite Makoto and Rima."

"I'd like that."

It was hard falling back into normal even after all these months. His second year of high school had ended, third year started too quickly. Everything felt like it was rushing by.

Ryouta wanted as many positive memories as he could obtain.

"Do you mind if I invite some of the guys?" he asked, thinking that seeing Kuroko and Aomine would be a fun idea too, "Momoichii would probably like to tag along as well."

The two girls had grown close, Makoto and Rima loved her as well.

"Okay," Etsuko laughed, his stomach feeling jittery at the sound, "Might as well just invite everyone, I'll even text Saburo, maybe he and Ken can come. Katsuki can't though he's working."

Ryouta hummed, all his previous emotions washed away by his excitement.

"We can stop in and say hi to him!"

"He'll be happy," she replied, he could hear her moving around her room, probably looking for clothes.

"I'll text the girls, and 'Buro. Where do you want to meet up?"

"Your house?" Ryouta suggested, "My mom can drop me off."

He stood making his way back out of his room and towards the stairs ready to go and ask, "Sounds like a plan."

Ryouta's smile couldn't be wiped off, "I'll see you soon," He softened his voice before adding. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ryouta."