This chapter may contain topics which can be sensitive to some readers like self harm, mental health, abuse etc...
The rain didn't stop pouring for a few days. Emrald and her friends were stuck at home playing video games and board games together and doing some other activities at home. "Man I am so bored, after we came all the way to Tokyo, it had to rain like this so we can't go out..." Complained Akihito-kun while yawning.
'riiing...ring..'
The ringing of the phone broke off the sudden silence of the house, however little did they know what they would get entangled in through that simple phone call.
On the other end of the receiver was the class President of Pine class; Sakuraba Hayato. His voice was very shaky as he urged Hyungwon to come to the school campus right away. On giving an account of the call to his friends, they all decided to go with him. "Whoa so many crows have lined up" remarked Kotoko while they walked towards the school. It was raining so heavily that public transport was canceled that day.
It was still noon but the sky was so dark; covered in thick grey clouds. "This somehow feels ominous" said Emrald.
On reaching the school grounds, they found that Sakuraba Hayato-kun was waiting anxiously by the gate. He waved at them and hurried them inside. "So what's so urgent that you had to call me?" Asked Hyungwon. "I heard you solved a complicated murder case before. The thing is, you better see for yourself. It's about Hanabi Anya-san from your class...She...She was found dead in the old chemistry lab of the old school building, hanging from fhe ceiling."
"Eehhh?? Anya-san is a very quiet nerdy girl, why would she suddenly do that to herself?" Asked Emrald.
"That is a mystery we don't know about, however the scene looks most peculiar, something about it just feels off." Said Hayato-kun.
The scene was indeed strange. It was gruesome and terrifying. The ceiling being quite high, no chairs or anything for weight support before the hanging. The hanging corpse was covered in bruises as it dangled from the ceiling. No one dared to take it down as they were all scared of something. Anya-san's eye sockets had sunken as they were wide open, glaring and her lips were curled into a smile. It was a most eerie atmosphere and sight to behold. Coming back to their senses, Hyungwon quickly wore a pair of surgical gloves that was in the box on the table and pulled her down, examining the corpse. "Did you not call the police?" He asked
"We actually did but they said they were swarmed with other cases and advised to call you Hyungwon." Said Hayato-kun.
"Hmm looks like it wasn't actually suicide. This looks like murder." Said Akihito-kun.
"I agree with you pal, something feels off about this. Oi Hayato! Were you the one to discover the scene? Were you alone here?" Asked Hyungwon. Hayato-kun shook his head and said "actually Anya-san, myself and some others were here for our summer club activities. You know we are in the environment club so in summer vaccation, we gather here to water the plants and plant new ones. Each one of us are responsible for a particular patch. Anya-san here is responsible for the medical herbs patch right behind this chemistry lab. Aside from me and Anya-san, there are four others. Uzumaki Nari, Uchiha Shiori, Takayama Kazuki and Sara Mikhail the half Japanese and half foreigner boy who was dating Anya-san and who was the first to discover the body. He fell in shock and is resting in the nurse's room. Oh right, the school nurse is also present, she gave Mikhail some medicine to calm him down."
At that moment a thought crossed both Hyungwon's and Emralds's minds which caused them to frown but soon after Hyungwon asked Hayato-kun to gather all the people he mentioned in the classroom right next to the old chemistry lab.
"Alright, I will ask each of you some questions. Please cooperate with us. Huh? Why is Mikhail and the nurse not here yet-"
"We're here. It was hard to wake Mikhail up." Said Kazuki who went to fetch them.
"*Sigh* fine, gather around. Do tell me at what time each of you reached the school." Began Akihito-kun.
Hayato-kun handed him the rooster which had the time each individual arrived marked in.
Mrs. Karage Anaëlle (school nurse) 8:30 a.m
Sara Mikhail (student) 9:00 a.m
Hanabi Anya (student) 9:15 a.m
Uzumaki Nari (student) 10:00 a.m
Uchiha Shiori (student) 10:00 a.m
Sakuraba Hayato (student) 10:00 a.m
Takayama Kazuki (student) 10:05 a.m
"I see, now Mikhail, I know it's hard but do you recall the time you found Anya like this? What events lead you to find her this way?"
Mikhail started trembling and tearing up, " Oh Anya, my sweet Anya... I think it was around 11:00 a.m. We all met in the club room when the others arrived. Anya and I planned to arrive earlier so we could do some things couples do you know, then the others arrived and we decided our tasks for the day. Then I suddenly received a strange text from Anya, see. Telling me coldly to come to the old chemistry lab. That's when I found her like that. The door to the lab was wide open and when I saw that, I screamed and fell into a state of hysterics and that's when Anaëlle-chan... I mean the nurse came to give me some medication and brought me to the nurse's room to sleep with the help of Hayato-kun."
"Thank you. Can anyone tell us about why Anya was covered in bruises? Some bruises look older, some look fresh. Did she not get along with one of you perhaps?" Asked Emrald. A deafening silence followed as they all shook their heads and stared at the ceiling. "Very well, please let us inspect Anya-san's belongings." Requested Akihito-kun. At that moment Mikhail looked furious "WHY? Why would YOU look at my girlfriend's belongings? Who are you to do that? This is disrespectful!"
"I present myself As the son of the superintendent of the Osaka division one crime investigation police. I briefly told my father about the case and he told me to represent him in case Tokyo police aren't there to handle the case, together with my minions Hyungwon, Emrald and Kotoko, we have been called here to investigate this case." Akihito-kun blurted out.
"Oi oi, who's your minion?" Asked Hyungwon annoyed while giving Akihito-kun a light kick in the calf.
"Ahem, the pleasantries aside, if you are uncomfortable with Hyungwon and Akihito looking at her stuff, maybe Emrald and I would be better suited for this, are we not?" Suggested Kotoko. With that, Mikhail recedes and lead us to her schoolbag and locker.
"Hmmm.... Just normal school stuff and gardening tools. We shall keep them aside and no one is to touch them. Let's lock tje classroom after we're done inspecting." Said Emrald.
After an hour or so, Emrald and Kotoko we t to meet up with Hyungwon and Akihito who were waiting for them in the yard by the mango tree. "Any progress?" The boys asked, to which the girls shook their heads.
"Oh looks like the Tokyo police finally showed up. I suggest we go visit Anya-san's home. Her parents won't be allowed at the crime scene yet, we have to hurry. There's something bothering me." Suggested Emrald.
"I agree, something is off. We ought to visit the nurse's office too right after we visit her home, come on let's get a move on."
The four of them ran at full speed in the clattering rain ro reach Anya's house in less than fifteen minutes, rang the door bell as they were out of breath. "Whoa, what a gigantic mansion, is she an aristocrat or something?" Remarked Akihito. Mrs Hanabi let them in and offered them a cup of warm tea. "You must be my daughter's friends. For you to come here, you must have something to ask." Said Mrs Hanabi.
"That's right, we want to ask you to see her room if you would allow us. We were asked by yhe police, you see as we helped in a case before. Your daughter did not commit suicide. She was brutally murdered." Said Hyungwon. On hearing this, Mrs Hanabi started crying and allowed them into Anya's bedroom.
After a while of searching, Emrald found what looked like a diary and some printed pictures. "Hey, I think this confirms some of my suspicions. We need to get access to her phone as well as these two people's phones. This is very disturbing and dark. We need to move, quick." Said Emrald.
"Heh heeehh... I sneakily took away these very phones that you are talking about" said Kotoko proudly. "A woman's intuition is never wrong."
"Well done Kotoko!" Exclaimed Akihito-kun.
After a while, they rushed back to school, just in time to stop the police from concluding the case as suicide.
"What happened during our absence?" Asked Hyungwon.
"I'm glad you're back. Mrs Karage was telling the police that Anya frequented the nurse's office often to talk about the emotional neglect she had at home with her parents. Having an emotionally absent and unavailable father and whatnot. Saying she must have comitted suicide due to such pressures and all. "
Hyungwon sighed and stopped the police at once. "Oh Hyungwon-kun and Akihito-kun, you really came. What's your conclusion? Looks like suicide due to depression." Said the inspector
"Haahh, can you be that dumb? This is murder, it's clear as day. I will begin my explanation shortly once, Emrald and Kotoko are back. Gather everyone in the old chemistry lab and have the projector on." Said Hyungwon while feeling slightly annoyed at the incompetence of the police officers.
"Now that we're all here. Let's explain. First the corpse was in a disturbing condition, the bruises showed repeated trauma on the body, which seems to be the cause of death. Anya was always all covered up for quite a while, even in summer according the our classmates. She was in my class. She was always quiet and well behaved and although she does have some childhood traumas, these bruises don't look too old. We found disturbing evidences at ger residence as well as from other sources. This wasn't comitted by one person but by two separate individuals." Explained Hyungwon.
"The murderers are in this very room. Yes you two cowering in fear and sweat. Mrs Karage Anaëlle and Sara Mikhail." Said Emrald.
"Hah, what proof do you have to accuse us? Mrs Karage was her advisor and why would I kill my girlfriend? Why would I kill a woman I had sex with?" Asked Mikhail in fury.
"Your answer just now revealed your true colours. You are the most disgusting narcissist I have ever seen. Turn on the projector for all to see, you Mikhail are a vile demonic disgusting and disgraceful freak." Said Akihito-kun.
Just then on the screen displayed the chat log of Mikhail. He was cheating on Anya with multiple women, including the school nurse. Body shaming Anya for having small chest and being of small built. Having countless pictures of Anya that he screenshot from her story posts, looking happy and all cute and modest as well as other women fully naked in very promiscuous poses. His gallery was also full of selfies and pictures of himself and videos of him masturbating while calling out different women's names that he sent to these women while asking them for nudes telling them he loves them.
"It seems Anya knew you were cheating on her. You came early and tried to sleep with her but she resisted and hid in tje showers, you the went ahead and had sex with the nurse and were caught, we found multiple used condoms in the trash bin of the nurse's office and sent them to the forensic investigators, we will shortly have the results. Anya knew long before but still loved you. You beat her up whenever she tried to confront you about it, and the nurse who was incredibly jealous of her beat her to death. And you helped her disguise it as a suicide. You don't deserve any redemption. It's all in her diary and her screenshots on her phone. Everything you said to her, the way you gaslit her and manipulated her. You're a parasite. You're the one who deserve being stoned to death. You took advantage of her innocence and naivety as well as her softness and kindness. You knew she was strong and she would stay and make efforts for you. She was breaking down, having a panic attack and you watched amd ignored her completely. Words aren't enough to describe how deeply you've hurt her. You are going straight to hell, Paradise isn't a place for a weak sorry excuse of a man like you. You knew she was already struggling at home, you knew and you still broke her and caused her death." Said Akihito-kun.
"Hah, there's no escaping. That's right, I... I lost the best woman I could ever ask for. She deserved better than me. She's the woman I always craved intensely for.... I made her crave for me and destroyed her slowly but I also underestimated her. But she wasn't cheap, I was. I was insecure and I... Wanted her light... Now I've lost her forever, I've lost her... Aaaaahhhhh" screamed Mikhail as he rushed out of the lab, followed by the police officers and everyone else only to witness him jump off the school building and die instantly. Right before he jumped he said with tears in his eyes, "I wish she would forgive me, She'll go to heaven and my place is in hell. I cannot live without her, yet I took her for granted and slept with other women and was virtually sexually active with others because I had no self control and I liked the attention...I destroyed an angel and became a demon... I don't deserve heaven or any forgiveness... I can't live with myself, I hate myself... Even after her death, I went and had sex with Anaëlle... I hate myself"
"Good riddance." Said Emrald while gritting her teeth. "The world is a better place without people like him and snakes like you Mrs. Karage. Hou are a married woman with children and you cheated on your husband. And killed an innocent girl. You are disgusting." Said Hyungwon
"Hahahaaha... I must admit I will miss him. He was great in bed. But deep down he loved that wench Anya. She was flat chested, what could she have better than me? I have a mature figure, hahaahhh Now who will satisfy my desires, aaaaahhhh Mikhail, aaahh I miss him. But even after that wench's death, I seduced him into having the greatest time." Said the school nurse; Mrs. Karage Anaëlle.
The police shook their heads and took her away. It was in the news a few days later that the school nusrse had been murdered in prison by her husband who brought her poisoned food and who himself took his own life after finding out that his wife had affairs with multiple men.
"What a tragedy. That's what you get for being immoral. It seemed like Mikhail was a porn addict too. That thing destroys the brain cells completely. Anya deserved better. This make me hate men even more... I now hate women too, snakes who don't know their place." Said Emrald...