PART IIII : RINKO

The sound of a lighter being lit followed the illuminating of the corner of the classroom. Kyoko had lit her lighter that she kept in her pocket. She didn't smoke, but she had it just in someone needed it. 
"Do you miss Taeko?" Misato asked, feeling uncomfortable in the silence. Kyoko set the lighter on the ground, the flame still going. "Of course I do." She replied. The two said nothing after that, not wanting to talk about their departed friend.
"You know... I really hated you, Ito-san."
"I knew."
"You did?"
"Who didn't?"
The two chuckled. They'd never really had a moment together that wasn't fueled by rivalry. "I'd known Taeko since we were kids. I told her she could come to me for anything. Absolutely anything. Yet she still jumped.

“...Have you been alright since then?” Misato asked. Kyoko kept her head buried between her knees. “No. I haven’t been alright since that day. But, I stop myself from doing something stupid by thinking about how I want to see her again when I’m ready. And I’m not ready.” The upperclassman said.

The flame to the lighter flickered, and soon went out. Once again, the three were left in the dark.

//

The sound of something shuffling caught Misato's attention. She couldn’t see what it was, which made it all the more terrifying. She turned to where she thought Kyoko was. “Hanamori-san!” Misato whispered. No response. “Hanamori-san?” Nothing. Misato began to worry, as the shuffling seemed to get closer to the two women. But, just as Misato started to sweat, she heard a small groan come from Kyoko. She’d fallen asleep.

Misato’s nerves had calmed a bit. She’d thought that Kyoko had somehow died next to her without her knowing. Just as she had calmed, Kyoko’s screams and a loud thud filled the class. The room was too dark for Misato to try and help. She didn’t want to help either. What if it’s the psycho that broke in here?, she thought. Misato was still trying to think logically.

Misato sat in silence as she heard Kyoko scream out for her, begging for help. Or even to be saved. She knew Misato was still there with her. So why wasn’t she helping? Why was she ignoring her screams? Why was she doing this?
The sound of three or four knife stabs followed silence. The screaming stopped. The begging stopped. The sounds of struggling from both Kyoko and the assailant had stopped. It was quiet. The lights flickered on soon after. Rin Rinko sat on top of Kyoko, looking satisfied. Her nose was bleeding and her glasses had fallen off in the struggle. She hung her head low in exhaustion. That’s when she noticed: this

wasn’t Misato she’d attacked. Rin scrambled to get off the body. “What…? But I… No. Nononono. Who is this…?!”

Rinko looked up to see Misato now standing, eyeing the student. “Are… Are you Misato?” Rin asked. Misato said nothing as she walked towards the student and wrapped her hands around the girl’s neck. The girl squirmed and fought, scratching at Misato. The upperclassman got on top of Rin to get a better grip. She didn’t stop fighting. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry! I-I couldn’t see!” The girl pleaded. Misato didn’t care for her cries.
She saw Kyoko as a good person, a friend maybe. For her life to be taken away in 40 seconds made Misato feel guilty and angry for not helping her.
After three minutes, her nose started bleeding again and her eyes rolled back into her head. She was finally dying. But that didn’t make Misato loosen her grip. She squeezed harder, her nails clawing into Rinko’s nape. Slowly, she stopped resisting. The blood had trickled down her cheeks onto the floor, making two identical blood drops on the sides of her head. “Taeko-san… I’m… sorry.” Rinko strained to say her last words, before passing.