Chapter One: Scarlet skies

It happened again, another young girl was found dead this time in the woods, her face was disfigured with a slit grin as her expression, her mouth cut from ear to ear wide. She was bathed in flares coating her in a red light, it was a common trend with the other 20 deceased girls. They had all been killed in the woods, reminiscent of a Yokai's method, and they were all bathed in a red light. Suddenly the tv flickered off as the young woman turned around to see her mother looking at her with an expression akin to that of disappointment. 

"Yukari, you shouldn't be watching this at all! It's unfitting and disturbing for an innocent young woman like you to be watching. Now hurry up and get ready for school, you can't be late!" The mother scolded, with a stern yet caring tone in her voice. She genuinely cared for her daughters well-being and happiness, she believed that too much violence would reflect poorly on the psyche.

Yukari rose from her bed and sighed as she then stretched, feeling her ligaments popping as she let out a delighted moan from the relieved tension. She then slid into her crocs as she stepped out of her carpeted room onto the wooden floor of the hallway, she traversed down the hall and turned to the left to enter her personal bathroom. Within her bathroom she took to handling her necessities, grooming herself and brushing her teeth. She then returned to her room to get dressed into her school uniform. She couldn't help but think back to the corpse under the red light, it reminded her of a vague figure she had seen in her dreams, it would always be a girl bathed in red light staring at her with an intense and uncanny expression. As this figure loomed in her thoughts, she slowed down as she got dressed, zoning out briefly as she got caught up. When the figure in her head suddenly shifted, she snapped back to her senses as she finished getting ready for school, she adjusted the buckle for her shoes. 

She then stepped out into the hallway once more and down the stairs to the kitchen, a soft tap accompanying her steps. She stared at her previous awards on the fridge, her award from performing with the violin, the piano, from running track, to even being the top student of her grade. She led an overall prodigal life. She reached into her fridge, getting out her premade sandwich from the night before and a cup of milk. As she ate, she heard her mother coming down the stairs, her feet thudding heavily as she rounded over to the dining room where she saw Yukari eating breakfast. "Look at you being all independent and timely, I'm surprised I didn't have to remind you to get up and eat." Her mother chided in a joking tone. She was proud to see her daughter growing to be more and more independent. 

"Anyways let's go, I still have to drop you off before work". She grabbed her keys and bag as she walked for the door. Meanwhile Yukari was finishing up her sandwich and glass of milk as she wiped her mouth, she threw out her trash and left to join her mother in the car. She put her seatbelt on with a gentle click and turned on the radio as she twisted the knob to turn up the volume.

"Mom, when will you teach me how to drive?" Yukari glanced over to her mother curiously, she had always been interested in learning how to drive. She figured it would be fun to do, and she wouldn't have to always walk. 

"When you finally learn how to cook properly." Her mother quipped without wasting a moment. She was quick with her retorts. 

They began to close in on the school entrance now as streams of students can be seen flooding to the gates like zombies, moving all slow.

"Oh Yukari!" Her mother quipped. "When you see Kento and Nabuka make sure to tell them I said have a lovely day!" Her mother said in a cheery voice, she had put emphasis on Kento as she knew her daughter had liked him. "Oh stop it mom! You're gonna embarrass me!" Yukari blushed heavily as she got her bag and got out of the car waving her mother bye. She then turned to walk up the hill through the gates to her school. Her day at Shinsei Academy was just beginning, and it had a bright future. 

Yukari walked to her locker which had been placed just above Nabuka's but across from Kento's. She swapped out her pair of shoes for her school shoes, as she changed her shoes, she felt a pair of hands suddenly grab her shoulders, spooking her in the process.

"BOO!" a voice boomed from behind her. It was Nabuka's voice. Nabuka was known as a notoriously cheeky and mischievous girl around the school, she tormented both students and teachers alike which led to many finding her endearing. Yukari clutched at her chest as she felt her heart thumping for a moment, she also felt a red light flash across her eyes as the figure bathed in red appeared again. She quickly shook it off as she looked back to Nabuka.

"You scared me dead! Where's Kento?" She asked curiously as she panted whilst catching her breath.

"Oh Kento's talking to that quiet student council chick again, you know, the one you keep accusing of being a curse." Nabuka teased at the end as she poked at her friend's cheek. 

"Oh shush, I gotta head to class now anyways! The teacher threatened to call my mom if I get caught lingering in the halls again so I should go now.." She began to skip off down the hall, her black hair bobbing down her back as she moved to her class, she eventually reached the room on the second floor as she took her seat in the back. 

"Ah Yukari! You're an early bird for once, I hope your mind is sharpened and ready for the almighty world of Calculus!" Mr. Tanaka stated boldly as he looked over at his student in the back. He enjoyed poking fun at her just because he could. He had a habit of doing that with all his students. Yukari just made a sick face as she heard him mention her dreaded subject calculus "Bleh, this stinky math class! This should be taught in prisons so those delinquents can take this punishment instead.." Yukari complained with a groan. By the second more students began to fill up the class room as class began. Yukari answered questions whenever she was asked here and there but she gradually zoned out, by the end of class she had been quick to leave when she heard the bell, she then went to her next class and so on. 

Now at the end of the day she finally saw her friends again as Nabuka could be seen running to her and Kento could be seen walking with his hands behind his head in a casual manner. 

"Yuka-Yuka! This day was so dreadful! I failed my art test because that stinky idiot Kento messed up my piece!" She made sure to speak loudly to ensure Kento could hear her. In response he just sighed and rolled his eyes. "It wasn't like you did it right in the first place you idiot..you're hopeless." He muttered as he maintained his expression of being over with it. The three friends began to make their way off of school grounds to the bus stop, once on the bus they chatted about the school day and their various classes, first Kento got off at his stop, then Nabuka followed after. Yukari decided to take a nap as her stop was the very last one. In the recesses of her consciousness she found herself in the woods suddenly, she could hear a faint whistling and a woman gently calling out for help. As Yukari treaded closer to the voice, a fog began to appear and spider webs cluttered the floor with stains of dried blood. Yukari could smell the scent with increasing clarity as she neared the sound. Suddenly the voice disappeared and there was nothing but silence..then a small sound could be heard. It sounded like wood chipping..then before she knew it, it descended upon her.

Now in the evening, Yukari's mother returned home to the lights out, silence accompanied the home. It seemed Yukari wasn't home, when she called out for her daughter she felt worried by the silence. She chalked it up to Yukari being out late with her friends so she settled on the couch and turned the Tv on to which the news aired. It was about another girl being found dead in the woods, she had been mutilated and mangled, it looked like she had been eaten partially with bits of her body completely missing or outright brutalized. When Yukari's mother saw the girl's body on the screen, her face paled as she felt utter horror consume her, her hands shot up to cover her mouth, she couldn't believe who it was.