How did it all become like this?
"Why...why did you do this...why did you do this to me?!"
The red-headed twintail girl whispered, a faint voice escaped her tiny lip, directed to a young black-haired girl lying in front of her. Her body covered in blood, numerous glass pieces struck deep into her tiny body.
"I...I had to..." The poor girl mumbled out weakly, her voice filled with pain. "I couldn't let you die..."
"Stupid brother...YOU IDIOT!"
As Izumi Akazawa's anguish voice echoed into the sky, negative thoughts began consuming her mind.
Her brother...her stupid brother...why did he have to die?
Why did he leave her alone? Why did she has no one left?
What sin did she commit to deserve this? Why is life so unfair to her?
And as the pain finally reached its peak, her body reacted automatically beyond her control.
She felt the need to do something, anything, whatever things that could help erase this pain away.
That can doesn't stand a chance.
A few moment later, however, a voice managed to shook her back to reality.
"Ouch!"
Oops.
I just kicked the can into someone! She quickly thought. Guilt began pressing down on her.
And she thought this day couldn't get any worse.
In the distance, she saw the person she kicked the can into, so she did the only sensible thing anyone should do when they accidentally hurt someone.
"I'm sorry! Are you alright!"
Izumi quickly ran down the hill, determined to apologize to that person, but as the hill was too steep and she was too careless, something bad will bound to happen.
"WAAAAHHHHH!"
Her foot caught onto some small rocks on the ground, and she slipped. She tried in vain to regain balance, but finally, she stumbled forward and her body slammed into the ground.
Yep, it could definitely get worse. Izumi thought. Her face downed on the ground. She's about to cry again.
How can so many bad things happen to the same person in a quick succession like this?
It's almost like she was cursed to have the worst luck in the world.
"Are you okay?"
Suddenly, a kind, gentle voice spoke, bringing Izumi back to her senses.
Who was that?
She lifted her face up, and finally saw the person standing above her.
That person then reached an arm out for her, with a beautiful, warming smile on the face.
But what that stood out the most, are the eyes.
As Izumi stared confusingly at the hand in front of her, she reluctantly reached out for it.
She just kicked a can into that person, and yet that person is willing to help her?
The hands connected, and a warm sensation flowed through Izumi's body.
"Nice to meet you." That person said, her smile never fading. "My name is Mei Misaki."
"Stupid! You're so stupid, Mei!"
The only thing Izumi could do is shout. Tears uncontrollably ran down her face. There's nothing else she could do. Mei was beyond saving. Even if she could get her through all these flames and debris, she would've bleed out before she could get a proper treatment.
That girl, that stupid one-eyed bitch, she saved her.
As the lightning struck the windows while they were running to escape the burning mansion, Mei Misaki shielded her from the glass shards.
Mei...her best friend...saved her.
No, she doesn't have any rights to be her friend, after everything she did for her, and she did none in return.
Everything...since that day.
"Hey, the day when you kicked a thin can into my head...did you still remember?"
Mei asked out, struggling to say out each words. Trails of blood are all over her face. One even flowed down through her left eye, almost seems like she's crying tears of blood.
Of course, you idiot. Izumi sadly thought while nodded slowly. How could I ever forget that day, after everything you did for me?
"Are you in pain?"
Mei asked the mysterious stranger in front of her with a kind voice, even though said person just kicked a can into her head. It was obvious to her from the loud, anguish shout earlier that the person must be in a terrible pain, and whatever that might be, she's sure that it's more painful than a little bump in the head from a tiny can.
After all, she was no stranger to pain. It was burdened to her all her life.
"...No..." That person replied in a low, sad voice. She shook her head lightly, but Mei could see some tears in her eyes. "Someone I love died."
"Oh..."
So that was it. Mei thought. She's just like me.
Losing someone you loved is not something you can dealt with easily. Be it relatives, friends, lovers, when you lose them, you feel like losing a piece of yourself, and like a broken gear, you feel like that there's nothing more you can do, that you cannot move on without that missing important piece.
Just like her eye.
"Then...we're the same." Mei spoke, putting her hand in the stranger's hand again, trying to give her some comfort. "I also lost my sister."
The red-headed girl looked up in surprise.
"Y-you too?"
"Yes."
Mei gave her another smile.
And to her delight, the person in front of her managed a small smile, too.
"We're both so hopeless, aren't we?" She spoke.
"Yeah, I guess so." Mei agreed.
Maybe, maybe today isn't so bad after all...
"It's nice to finally have someone to talk to, Akazawa-san. I've never really had a lot of friends." Mei smiled at her friend as they're eating their lunch at the school ground together. "It's a very welcoming experience for me."
"Yeah, can't believe that you studied here, too. I've studied here for two years and I haven't even noticed you!" Izumi giggled at her companion. It's been four days since their encounter near the river, and she quickly found out that her new friend, Mei Misaki, has been studying in this school, Yomi North, for quite a while now. How she hasn't notice her up until now remains a mystery to her.
"I'm not really...what you called a social person." Mei answered, her eyes turning sad. "All my life, only my sister's been there for me. She always take care of me whenever I'm feeling alone or depressed. Without her, I wouldn't have made it past elementary."
"Really? She must've been a very kind young lady, Misaki-san." Izumi replied, amazed at Mei's description of her late sister. For a moment, she's a little jealous of her. Even with all her friends, Izumi never really can say that anyone really cared for her the way Mei's sister did, and that includes her brother as well. Most of the time, she needs to depend on herself to fight through all her problems, and that means a lot.
"Yeah, and now she's..." Mei continued, but she can't bear to finish the sentence.
"Hey, it's okay." Izumi put her hand on Mei's, understanding the young girl's feelings. "I'm here for you any time you need me."
Mei blinked her one eye at Izumi, surprised at what she heard.
"B-but will it be okay with you? I mean, I'm like this, and your friend Sugiura-san doesn't seem to like me so much."
"Who cares about that!?" Izumi smiled. "A friend of your enemy doesn't always have to be your enemy, you know?"
Ah, great, how did I come up with a quote like that? Izumi funnily thought.
Mei just giggled at her remark. "I wouldn't call her my 'enemy', Akazawa-san. That's taking it a little bit too far."
At any rate, Izumi doesn't think it's weird at all to become friends with this new, curious black-haired girl. After all, just four days of talking with her managed to bring her back from the despair of losing her brother, and as she noticed, it might also have the same effect to Mei, as well.
They're both there for each other, and together, they healed up their respective wounds.
That reason alone is enough for her.
"You help me, and I help you, that's my policy. Anyone have a problem with it, and they'll get a kick in the ass." Izumi grinned, while Mei just giggled at her comment.
After some more chatting, they both resumed eating their lunch.
About to, anyways, as the bell suddenly rings just after they finished talking.
"Mei, just what the hell did you think you're doing!?" Izumi shouted furiously at Mei during their walk home after school. "Why did you volunteer!?"
"I had to, Akazawa-san." Mei spoke without any emotion in her voice. "Someone has to be the Extra one of the class. As the countermeasure officer, you of all people should know about this."
"To hell with that! You're my friend. I refuse to let you do this!" Izumi argued. "Tomorrow, I'll have another class meeting to choose someone else. The new transfer student will be coming tomorrow, maybe I'll have him be the new Extra one."
"That's just selfish of you, Akazawa-san. Besides, everyone is your friend, but you still need someone to be the Extra of the class, willing or not. I just spared the class the dilemma of having to choose. It's not like they liked to talk to me, anyway."
"First of all, how many times did I tell you to just call me Izumi?" Izumi stopped walking, prompting Mei to stop also. "And second, yes, maybe I'm selfish the way I think about it, but what about you!? Why do you have to bear all the bad things to yourself? Don't you think you suffered enough already? Don't you think that you're making me feel bad, too?"
"You know the risk, Aka...Izumi. The calamity will happen soon, and you need to work out a countermeasure as soon as possible. You need to protect your friends, Izumi. That's your duty, and this is mine."
Izumi didn't reply. In a way, Mei was right.
Someone has to be the Extra, the outcast of the class, the 'tool' to save themselves from the curse that plagued them.
Still, somehow, Izumi think that this is all a bad idea.
What if this so-called countermeasure won't work? What if Mei's sacrifice is for nothing, and that something bad will happen to her friends anyways?
What if everything they did is all wrong?
"It's not working..." Izumi mumbled, her fists clenched. "IT'S NOT WORKING, DAMNIT!"
"Hey! Calm down!" Naoya shouted. "It's not your fault!"
"Damn it all..."
Today's supposed to be their relaxing day, and yet Junta Nakao was already chopped in half from the boat's rotors after he gone out to get the plastic ball in the sea.
And it's all her fault.
The countermeasure's not working. She failed her duty. There's no one to blame except herself.
Kouichi put his hand on her shoulder, comforting her.
"It's okay, Akazawa-san, it's okay..."
Izumi just shook her head lightly. Tears cannot stop flowing down her face. Takako is even worse than her. Kouichi's aunt Reiko need to take her back to the hotel along with Yuuya because the shock of the event caused her to pass out. There's only her, Naoya, Kouichi and Mei left at the scene of the tragedy as they awaited polices to arrive.
"What should I do?...what am I supposed to do?"
Why is life doing this to her? Why must it take away everyone she cared for?
"WHY!?"
The next thing she know, a soft pair of arms wrapped around her back.
"I'm here for you, Izumi." Mei's gentle voice reached her ear.
This caring statement is coming from the person she was forced to act cold upon for the whole year.
And there was nothing she could do to thank her.
There was nothing she could do except embracing her back, and crying onto her shoulder.
There was nothing she could do at all.
"This way, Mei!"
Izumi shouted, her hand clung on to Mei's hand as they ran through the collapsing mansion, trying to escape for their dear lives.
Damn that Takako! Why did she has to go crazy and broadcast that blasted tape!? She already told her to keep it a secret between them! Even worse, most of her friends then began a manhunt for Mei, who they believed to be the reason for the curse itself.
And it did nothing more than adding up more dead bodies.
Yumi...Tomohiko...Aki...
It took all of her strength, her willpower to keep herself from passing out right then and there, after everything that happened.
"W-wait! Akazawa-san! I need to tell you something!" Mei spoke out.
"Save it for later, Mei! We need to get the hell out of here!"
"PLEASE!" Mei suddenly let go of her hand. "You must listen to me, Izumi!"
Izumi has no choice but to turn back to face her. Mei's eye bandage's no longer there.
"I know who's the real Extra one, Izumi. I can tell you who it is."
"Huh!?"
All around them, flamed debris kept falling down, threatened to crush them at any moment.
Damn it, why can't you wait until we're outside!?
"FOUND YOU!"
Out of nowhere, Takako jumped out and pinned Mei to the ground, her hand holding a large metal rod.
"Goddamnit, Takako! Get back to your sense! She isn't the Extra one!"
Izumi tried to held Takako back, but Takako just simply slash the metal rod at her face, striking her to the ground.
"Don't stop me, Izumi! I'm doing this for you! I'm doing this for all of us!"
Mei took the chance and push Takako back, before trying to run away.
But Takako was faster than her. She cornered her at the wall, preparing to strike the sharp metal rod into her.
"I will kill you, you bitch! I will kill you and stop the calamity!"
She grinned madly, her eyes widen. She's completely lost it.
"NO!" Izumi screamed as she desperately crawl her way toward them, but there's no way she can get there fast enough.
Suddenly, someone burst out of the hallway and tackled Takako away.
"Don't hurt her! Don't hurt Mei!"
It was Kouichi.
Takako stumbled backwards. Her foot struck the falling piece of wood on the floor, and she fell back...into the flaming debris behind her.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
A loud, haunting scream echoed through the hall as Takako caught fire. Everyone can only watch in horror as she's burned alive in the ensuing inferno.
At that moment, a flash of light appeared behind Izumi, accompanied by a loud noise of something shattering.
"IZUMI!" Mei screamed as she ran toward her.
Everything went into slow motion as Izumi's body fell down onto the floor.
But Mei, who should be above her, didn't follow her down...
"...Mei?..."
As Izumi tried to get up, she caught a glimpse of Kouichi's horrified face, directed to the bloodied body in front of him.
It was Mei Misaki.
"...I...I was so selfish to you, Izumi...I'm...sorry..." Mei painfully whispered, "I should've...told you..."
She slowly lifted her arm up, before pointing at...at Kouichi...before pointing to her green eye.
"He's...t...Extra one..."
Izumi stared at Kouichi, who's also stared at her and Mei back and forth, a confused look on her face.
"I'm...I'm sorry...both of you...I should've..."
She coughed up some blood out of her mouth. She's dying.
Izumi can't do anything except holding her hand tight, be with her in her last moments.
"Thank you...for everything..."
And with that, she closed her eyes, her lip forming a little smile as her breathing stopped.
"...M-Mei..."
Both Izumi and Kouichi spoke her name in unison.
This is just a nightmare. This isn't happening.
But there's no time to mourn for her...
"Y-you are the Extra one..." Izumi said as she grabbed some piece of wood on the ground, painfully aware of what needs to be done. "I...I never thought."
Kouichi stared at Izumi in confusion.
"...H-how?..."
"I DON'T KNOW!" Izumi screamed. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE!"
Somehow, it all made sense to her.
Mei once mentioned that her eye...her weird eye...can tell who's the dead person or who's going to die. If she said that someone is the Extra one, then she must be correct.
And that means she needs to kill Kouichi Sakakibara.
But...
But she didn't want to...
"You still don't get it, do you?" Izumi slowly speak. Right now, she doesn't care about her surroundings anymore. She wanted the whole mansion to crash down on them already. This is all too much for her.
Just kill me already.
"She knew it was you all along, Kouichi." Izumi began. "But she refused to tell anyone because she liked you! If she told anyone that you are the Extra one then you must be killed!"
"...B-but..."
"You were so nice to her...you took care of her...even after the whole class treated her as the Extra one. You...you did what I couldn't have done in my place..."
As she spoke, her body trembled, not from the surrounding heat or the tiredness, but from the realization that kicked into her.
"You were so nice to everyone...even after everything that's happened, and that's why I..."
That's why I don't want to kill you. Izumi finished the sentence in her mind.
After all, she liked him, too.
It took her a while, after their first meeting in the hospital, but Kouichi grew to be someone dear to her during their time in all of this madness.
But she never realized until now that he meant the same way to Mei.
And...he's also the reason that her friends died in cruel, horrible ways.
"...Kill me, Izumi." Kouichi spoke.
Izumi stared at him, but Kouichi kept his face down so she couldn't see his eyes.
"Just kill me. If it can end all of this, then I'm willing to die."
"...B-but..."
"Do it. I don't want anyone to die anymore!" Kouichi's body tensed up, and finally Izumi can see his face. Trails of tears flowing down both of his eyes.
"Please, Izumi...so I can see Mei again..."
You...goddamn...asshole...Kouichi...
And, with all her willpower, she strikes the piece of wood into Kouichi's body, impaling him, before she could change her mind.
"...UGH!..." Kouichi grumbled. he stumbled backwards and hit his back on the wall, while Izumi just embraced him with her free hand.
"...I'm...I'm sorry, Kouichi...I'm so sorry..."
Kouichi didn't say anything. There was nothing left to say.
But he used the last of his strength to use his arm to pat her on the back, reassuring her that everything's going to be fine now.
"...Thank you..."
"You did the right thing, Akazawa-kun." Chibiki-sensei spoke after Izumi finally finished telling her story to him. "With Kouichi-kun returned to death, the calamity is stopped."
Two days after the incident, Izumi found herself at the town's cemetery. Standing alongside her is Chibiki the librarian, and two of her surviving friends, Naoya and Yuuya.
"I...I can't believe it..." Yuuya spoke. "After everything we've been through, I can't believe Kouichi-san is the Extra one..."
But the proof was there. His name, which is of course already crossed off, mysteriously reappeared on the previous year's student roster. From the information gathered from his grandparents and her homeroom teacher, who was also Kouichi's aunt that went to the beach along with them, Kouichi was supposed to apply into Yomi North's Class 3-3 about a year and a half ago, but his car crashed down the steep lane in the town, killing him instantly.
Car crash? A year and a half ago?
"So, em, what's your name, miss?" Mei asked nervously. She really hasn't got use to getting to know new people.
Izumi giggled a bit. This new friend of hers really has an unique way of speaking.
"The name's Izumi Akazawa, but you can just call me Izumi. No need for 'miss' or anything! Nice to meet you, Mei!"
And with that, they both smiled happily at each other.
"So you lived in Yomiyama, too? That's great! We could see each other more often!" Izumi said. "What school did you go to, anyway? Oh, it has to be Yomi North, right? It's the only school in this freaking town, after all."
Mei just nodded. "That's correct, Akazawa-san. I've been studying in Yomi North for a while now."
"Really!? That's even better! I hope you and I will be in the same class next year!"
"Now that's something to look forward to, Akaza...er...Izumi-san."
And with that, they both giggled as they walked along the empty street.
After a while, they found themselves walking across an accident site.
It appeared a car went out of control on the steep road and ran into the wall at high speed. The car's state's just...messed up.
"Stay clear, civilian." A police on the speaker spoke. "Please clear the way for the ambulance."
The ambulance shortly arrived, and a body was carried onto it. Izumi and Mei didn't get a clear view at the body, but it was clear that whoever he is, he's deader than dead.
"Poor guy..." Izumi whispered.
"May his soul find peace..." Mei added.
It is evening now. The sun's starting to go down.
"I...I need to go back home now, Izumi." Naoya slowly said. "But I'm always here whenever you need me. If you, er...wanted to talk or anything, you can call me any time, okay?"
And with that, he put another reassuring hand on her shoulder, before leaving the area.
Everyone else has already gone home.
There is only her left, standing in front of her best friend's grave.
Call it coincidence, fate or anything, the fact that Mei Misaki's grave is located just next to Kouichi Sakakibara's one, it made Izumi felt a little amused, but sad as well.
In the end, she chooses him, and he chooses her. And now they're finally together. Izumi thought.
In the end, it is only me who never get what I wanted.
No matter what, there's no happy ending for her.
But well, at least she's still alive.
Mei wouldn't want me to be like this. She would've wanted me to move on.
And she's going to move on, for Mei's sake. She's going to move on in her life.
Life has already taken so much from her, and this might not be the last time she will lose something dear to her.
So she must do as best as she could to protect the things she still has left, for Mei, for everyone important in her life.
And when the time comes, when she will finally meet her best friend again, she will do so without any regret.
She would've done the same in my place.
After all, they're friends, no, more than friends.
Mei Misaki is like a sister she never had.
So different, yet so similar.
"May your soul find peace, Mei Misaki, my dear sister."
Editor's note: Heh, a little twist on the story, eh? Just experimented if I switched some character's roles with others. Like what if it was Mei that Izumi met in her past, and that the Extra one was Kouichi instead of Reiko, and so on. Mei's sister also died earlier than she supposed to, because my story demanded it so, mwuhahaha!
So, what did you think of it? Read and review, guys! And also, Happy New Year!