It was late that night when Hiro called me,

"(Y/N), I spoke with my connections and I found out a lot."

I glanced at my clock and saw it was almost midnight,

"You are aware of how late it is, right?"

I asked, attempting to make a joke but his response was deadly serious,

"This couldn't wait. You need to know what really happened."

I'd never heard him be this serious, so I knew whatever he found out must've been something truly concerning,

"Hiro, what exactly is going on?"

I asked, sitting up in my bed. I heard some papers shuffling on the other end of the line before he spoke,

"I'm gonna start from the beginning. It's true the body of the one student was found in a dumpster behind the school and that she was killed somewhere between 11 and 2. That being said, her death was not random."

"What do you mean? How do you know it was a girl who was killed? The news report didn't say."

"I have connections at the police department who told me the body found was female. And I what I meant was it wasn't like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.This girl was followed, taken, and killed. My sources tell me she and her two friends went missing around 10 last night."

"How come the families of the girls don't want to release the names and faces of the girls?"

I asked in confusion. I heard Hiro sigh before responding,

"Do you know how the body was found?"

He asked. I shook my head but then realized he couldn't see me and replied,

"All I know is that it was found in the dumpster. I don't know anything about the state of the body."

"Alright. I understand why the police wouldn't want this in the news."

"Want what in the news?"

I asked, growing slightly irritated at his ambiguity. There was a slight pause before he responded,

"The names and faces of the girls who disappeared can't be in the news because the parents are afraid it will aggravate the kidnapper. My sources seem to believe that they were threatened, but I can't prove that. As far as the dead girl goes, the police won't release her name and face because they haven't identified the body yet."

My brow furrowed in confusion as I responded,

"That doesn't make sense. They knew she was a student at my school."

"That's only because she was wearing your school's uniform, but her name tag had been removed...along with her head."

My eyes widened in shock,

"I--her--what."

I spluttered incoherently, completely stunned at what he just told me,

"She was found decapitated and missing both of her hands. She was also beaten pretty badly before she died. Whoever did this knew her and hated her. A normal murderer wouldn't go to these lengths. Even a serial killer wouldn't. This was personal and whoever did it didn't care if the body was found. My sources are pretty sure the missing girls are dead as well, but the police probably won't find their bodies for a while if they ever do."

"Why do your sources think that?"

"A killer can spot the motive of another killer. Although the killer wanted this girl dead, there was more to it than that. This was about proving a point, the mafia does it all the time. When we do a hit against a rival gang or something, we make sure the body is dumped somewhere that it will be quickly found to let the other side know we mean business and that whatever they did will not be tolerated. That's basically what this was, but personally I'm not sure this girl was the one he really wanted dead. I feel like she was more spur of the moment. When the killer saw all three of them again, he became so angry he just snapped at one of them. She might've said something to aggravate him which led to him taking the majority of his anger out on her. And I say "he" because no matter how crazy or angry a woman is, she doesn't kill like this."

Hiro explained as I listened intently,

"But wait, why was she missing her hands?"

I asked with confusion. Hiro sighed again,

"No idea. That's weird. I doubt this girl had a criminal record where they could've run her prints and figured out who she was. If she had any sort of gang or mafia affiliation she'd have a tattoo to indicate that and she doesn't. Plus, if this was a gang hit or something she wouldn't have been left at a school for a teacher to find her. This was something else. The high school closed right?"

"Yeah classes are cancelled for the duration of the investigation."

I heard Hiro sigh in relief,

"Alright good. I don't want you going out until the killer is caught. I'm thinking of sending some of my people to watch your apartment in the meantime."

My eyes widened slightly in realization,

"Oh I forgot to tell you, I don't live in the apartment anymore. When I lost my job I couldn't afford it so I'm living with some classmates from school"

I explained to him. I heard some shuffling from his end before he responded,

"Alright. What's the address of you're new place?"

He asked. I gave him the address,

"Alright. I'll have some men monitoring the place. I don't want anything to happen to you. Remember, you're always welcome in my house. We'd love to have you."

I smiled at his offer,

"That's very sweet of you. I'll keep that in mind. I like this place and all, but sometimes things don't seem right."

"What do you mean?"

He asked in confusion. I shrugged,

"Little things. Sometimes they all exchange looks like they know something I don't. They keep saying they want to keep me safe and protect me, but sometimes it feels like they just want me all to themselves. Hey, by the way I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Oh yeah? What's up?"

"Whenever you get a chance, give Ryan my number and ask him what happened at Naomi's vacation home. He'll understand what I'm asking."

"You know Ryan?"

Hiro asked in surprise. I nodded,

"Yeah I do. Send him to watch my house and ask him about what happened. He seemed pretty freaked."

I explained. I heard Hiro exhale from the other end,

"Ryan doesn't get freaked with anything. I'll keep looking into what's going on. In the meantime be careful and remember, if anything seems off or wrong or you just don't feel safe my men and I can be there in a few minutes."

"Alright. Thank you, Hiro."

"Anything for you, sweetheart. I'm gonna get everything ready and keep looking into this. I'll let you know when I have something else."

"Okay. I'm gonna go back to bed. Goodnight Hiro."

"Goodnight (Y/N)."

He said warmly before hanging up. I set my phone down on my nightstand and frowned. Everything he told me was pretty unsettling. As much as I might want to get out of the house right now, I have to think about my own safety. Until I know more about what's going on I should stay put and not do anything stupid. These guys may be a few fries short of a Happy Meal, but I know when it comes down to it they wouldn't let anyone hurt me. I snuggled back under the covers and closed my eyes as I tried to get back to sleep.

Hi guys! To clear up some  potential confusion, Hiro's family is part of a crime syndicate which is why he was able to get the information he could. They have connections in the police department as well as with other gangs and syndicates. I won't reveal anything else but that's why (Y/N) went to him about the murder and the missing students.