This Night Has Opened My Eyes

Chapter Eleven, Memento Mori

CHAPTER ELEVEN, Memento Mori

Mr Yashiro watches as Samansa walks away, the snow falling around her. A part of him worries about her walking home alone at this hour, especially with what they've just been made aware of, but, he respects her independence. She knows how to fight, how to protect herself... he hopes. She's shown time and time again that she's capable of injury - but against people her age. Who knows how she'd do in a fight against a fully grown man or... whoever was preying on children now.

He turns the car, and begins driving home. He glances into his rear-view mirror, and his eyes widen. He notices something in the back... it... was Samansa's school bag. Mr Yashiro lets out an annoyed curse as he notices the forgotten bag in the middle of the backseat chairs. He mutters under his breath, debating whether he should turn back and deliver it to her. He decides that it's too late to bother her and her family, it was almost 9 PM by this point... and they stayed with the cops for longer than he intended for.

He reluctantly makes a mental note to return her school bag tomorrow at school. Hopefully he wouldn't get any weird looks while carrying it - since Samansa did have some... funky keychains on it. As he gets closer and closer to his house, his thoughts go back to that scene he witnessed along with his student.

The images of the gruesome crime flash through his mind, and his heart and mind feel incredibly heavy. He's seen many horrible things as a teacher, he's dealt with things like abuse, fights, neglect, but... nothing like that. It was beyond anything he could have ever imagined. He shakes his head, trying to dispel the images from forming in his mind. He was used to dealing with all kinds of things, but this was something else entirely. Finding a corpse was not on his bucket list, and going to investigate it with his 5th grade student? Even more unexpected.

Mr Yashiro couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. He still can't believe he's found himself in an open Serial Killer case with a 11 year old. He had dealt with many challenges of being a teacher in his few years of experience, but, investigating a murder site with an elementary school student? Definitely not in the job description.

He shakes his head as his car slowly rolls into his driveway. He shuts off the engine and the headlights, and gets out of the car. He grabs his things from the backseat, including Samansa's bag. He locks the door, and heads inside his house. Once inside, he locks the door, and hangs up his coat. He walks further in, setting his keys on a nearby table and puts Samansa's bag on the floor. He can't help but think back to the 3 murders. They were connected, he was sure of it. But what was the connection between them?

Mr Yashiro falls onto the couch in the living room, sinking into the cushions with a sigh. He leans back, and closes his eyes. The murders were definitely connected, that much he knew. But how, and why? That's the question that nagged at his mind. He opens his eyes again, and looks ahead blankly. He tries to sort through all the information he gathered this past week or two... yet, he can't make any connections. Any piece of evidence, every detail, every little thing he could recall about the crimes - it was never enough to piece anything together, whatsoever. The fact his own students were starting to become victims only made it worse. It wasn't just about potentially solving a crime - it was about keeping his students safe, and finding the bastard before he striked again.

He runs a hand through his hair, the frustration and worry etched on his face. Yuzuriha... if only Samansa's dreams could've predicted her demise - she would've been alive. He felt guilty, for some reason. And he knew Samansa did too... but, why did all the guilt that the killer should've felt drop onto her shoulders?

His only explanation would be that these... dreams... were connected to the victims and the killer themselves. She definitely felt responsible for the crimes - but, he couldn't let her carry that burden alone. The one at fault was the killer, not her.