Ayano had returned home in a stupor. Taro knew that something was wrong but, upon seeing Ayano flinch when he asked about the activity, he chose to let Ayano say anything on her own accord. He found that when things happened to her, she needed to process it in her time before talking about it. They stopped off at the shop on the way home and bought her a strawberry swiss role.

Though she did not react much, her eyes lit up in a way that he knew she loved and appreciated his actions. He suspected that what Hanako had tried to do was playing on her mind which didn't surprise him.

To think of her level of cruelty. He couldn't bring himself to admit it but the signs had been there from when he had female friends other than Osana. They would simply tell him not to hang out with them any more and he had wondered for years as to why. Now, he realised that Hanako very likely had something to do with it.

Their mother had promptly disowned her and sent her to America. Taro couldn't look her in the eyes as she begged their mother to reconsider, and then when she begged him to abandon Ayano for a life in America. What's worse was the fact that Hanako wasn't actually his sibling, she had been adopted as a baby because their parents had such difficulty conceiving him that the doctor told them not to try again due to their advanced age.

He felt sorry for her when it was explained that she had been adopted and that was when the weird behaviour had started.

As the pair entered the gates to Ayano's home, he hugged her tightly. He felt her shiver as she hugged him back, he really did not want to leave her alone but he knew that her parents would make she that she was alright…

Ayano hastily moved into the kitchen and noted that no one was home yet. Her mother had gone to do some shopping which gave her time to search the house. She scrambled through the cupboards, the dressers in the living room. She had even dared to enter the sacred place that was her mother's and father's bedroom to search through the draws. To no avail.

She sat down, debating whether her mother had possibly gotten rid of the final piece of evidence in her crime. She remembered that her mother had been put on trail for everything so the police ended up searching the house to find nothing, had she disposed of the jar before the police arrived? A lingering thought entered her mind, she had always been told not to enter the basement. She had the once when she found the tape in there but she hadn't been brave enough go in there since.

The door creaked open as she entered. She moved all the boxes around but still found nothing. She started to check the floor and by the pipes until she noticed that a brick looked slightly ajar compared to the rest. She tapped it, it moved. To manoeuvre the brick was a job on its own but it eventually came out, and she was able to move three more bricks out of position too.

She shorn her phone light.

It was worse than she had feared. It appeared that an item belonging to every woman she had killed was in there. She carefully brought everything out: a hairband with a yellow pompom on it, a clipping of reddish hair, a pair of glasses that had been damaged, a clipping of purplish hair, a gaudy ring with a heart on it, a microphone that had been cut off from the wire, a large sunset coloured bow, a withered lilac flower, a clipping of blonde hair and a notepad with Sonoko's name on it.

Finally, in the very back the jar sat. Her hand's trembled she felt the ice cold glass and began to pull. The jam jar held some kind of liquid in it as the pair of gold eyes peered out at the world around as if taking everything in after being in the dark for so many years. A lump grew in Ayano's throat.

"Sweetie?" Ayano leapt up at hearing her mother's voice, almost throwing the jar in the air as she did so. Ryoba looked down at the pile of items on the floor before gazing at the jar in Ayano's hands. "Oh? Are you taking after me with what to take? Searching for ideas maybe?" She smiled but Ayano simply shivered as she held the jar to her chest.

Ryoba tilted her head "What's the matter sweetie? You've been acting a bit jumpy around me since we've come back from America" Ayano's eyes watered and spilled. "...This can't stay here" She whimpered.

Ryoba tiled her head. "Oh? Why not darling? These are my trophies."

"Exactly! I keep having dreams of these girls Okaasan!" Ayano didn't want to admit that she had actually seen them, lest her family think that she had truly gone mad. "I keep dreaming of them. They keep telling me how they died, about how you killed them!" Ryoba looked on silently, still smiling as she always did in that cold way. "Are you sure that these dreams are telling you the truth dear? Remind me, how did I kill the one you are holding?"

Ayano looked down at the jar. "You tried to slit her throat before she protected herself, so you used an axe…" The shine in Ryoba's eye faded. "Remarkable…" She spoke as she knelt down to the pile. "You really… saw everything, what happened after I killed her then?"

Ayano gulped "I saw Sumire split in half when you picked her up" Ryoba nodded. "I did get a tad carried away. I was enjoying myself too much I suppose." She smiled fondly. "Though, thinking back... I should have been smarter with how I removed them from your father's life. Killing them all nearly cost me everything." She admitted.

"That doesn't change what happened mum. Especially with Sonoko! How could you do that to her? She was your friend!" Ayano felt her voice raise slightly without meaning to. Ryoba tilted her had again "I did wonder what happened to her for Jin Otome to throw away his composure like that. He was well known for his ability to remain calm in the worst situations, what happened to her then?"

Ayano shook her head "You don't want to know, believe me on that" Ryoba took the hint and gathered up the items on the floor before putting them in a small box. She took the jar off Ayano to put it in there before taping it up and passing it to her. "I believe you wish to bury them, am I correct?" Ryoba stated plainly to Ayano's shock.

"How did you know?"

"I had a feeling that you would be… softer than I was. You always seemed to care though you didn't understand how. I thought you all I taught myself yet you never took an interest in harming anything. Not even insects. When you figured out how to smile for your father, I knew you would be different from the rest of us. It came as no surprise to me that you never shed blood. So different from the rest of us. I suppose its what makes you so special to us..." She patted her daughter's head.

"Where would I even start with all of this?"

"All of them apart from Ritsuko Chikanari are buried in the Buraza Cemetery just down the road. I believe Ritsuko is buried on her family's estate but I'm not sure." Ryoba looked pensive as Ayano's mind weaved a plan together.

At Midnight, she left the house quietly and made her way to the Cemetery not far from the house. She had been before, her grandmother and grandfather had been buried there with her great aunt Kei.

Great aunt Kei had died in childbirth with her baby, according to her mother. Kei had been buried cradling her lifeless new-born. It did not take long before she found herself at the gates, she took a long deep breath and slipped through a hole in the gates.

The cemetery was well looked after, to not look after the graves was considered a massive insult to her family. The most recent burials was closer to the entrance, the 1980's graves would not be too far away.

The first she came upon was Sonoko's. Further research told how she had been found dead in a river by Osaka and had been buried here in 1990. Her story had made Ayano dread whatever hell her mother would end up in after she died. Opening the box, she removed the notepad and began to dig a small hole; she removed the grass carefully so she could place it back over when she was done. The hole was completed, she gently placed the notepad in and covered it with dirt before the grass patch was placed back on it.

She stood before realising that the gravestone was glowing a vibrant purple colour. Sonoko stepped forward out of the dark, looking as beautiful as she did in life. She looked alive, as if her fate had not befallen her. A single tear slid down her face as she beamed gratefully. "Thank you Ayano. I can finally rest at last" She smiled again before she fading into the moonlight.

Chigusa's headstone was the next. She had bought a tiny cloth bag for the hair clippings with pretty designs on them. The red and gold bag was placed into the hole before being covered over with dirt. Chigusa stepped out from the darkness "You look like him, you know. Your father. Do your best!" She smiled as she leapt into the moonlight and faded.

The process was much the same with each gravestone but each girl reacted differently. Homako bowed "Take care of your father and husband sweet pea." she spoke before fading gracefully. Teiko again bowed "I'm sorry for making what what happened the other week, I wanted a new chance at life like Ritsuko. Please take care" She stepped into the light and disappeared.

Ai was ecstatic to see Ayano "I can't believe I get to see you again before I go! You did this for us, yet you din't know us. After what I did to that girl. How can I ever repay you?" She wept with joy, Ayano spoke gently like a morning wind "You don't need to do anything for me, I'm happy as can be" Ai continued weeping as she went into the moonlight.

She buried the bag with the purple clipping of hair but nothing seemed to happen. She guessed that, perhaps, Sumiko had already passed on.

Honami jumped for joy when she realised that she had her glasses back. "I was… still needing these…" She voiced quietly as she glowed and faded into the night. Moeko was shocked to look at Ayano "Wow, you look like your father and mother huh. Its amazing to see what has happened since I died, You'll do just fine! I know it" She flew around Ayano before disappearing into the moonlight.

Kaguya pulled Ayano into a tight hug "I knew you would help us! I told them but they didn't believe me! I'm so glad that I finally get to meet you" When she faded, Ayano felt both a profound sense of grief and happiness for these girls.

There was one more grave she needed to find. It was easy to spot with flowers lovingly placed around it. She gently moved one bouquet and dug once more. The jar opened easily but the stench was awful, she scooped out each eyeball and lovingly place them into the hole before covering it up and placing the bouquet back into place.

Sumire appeared, now looking like she did in the photo from the library. Her shy smile radiating but she did not glow or fade into the night. "Have I don't something wrong?" Ayano wondered.

"No. It's ok… My body was never found so this gravestone is just that. A gravestone." She shook her head "There's something I need to do before I leave though, you'll know when my time comes" She nodded before stepping back into the darkness…

Everything was ready to be set into motion. Tomorrow, she would return to her rightful place and end the spell that the witch Aishi had placed over her school once and for all.