Ayumi, Satoshi, and Mizuki were played by my friend(Keeroy). Yoshiki, Yuka, Naomi, Souji, and Yosuke were played by me(Yuminii). We do not own the Corpse Party franchise, and are no way affiliated with it. We do not own the characters Ayumi, Satoshi, Naomi, Yuka, nor Yoshiki. We do, however, have ownership over the characters Mizuki, Souji, and Yosuke. Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoy.

All other things seemed so blurred, and any sound went unheard besides the internal beating of the heart. All else had to be deafened, to assure that the next toll of the bell would be heard.

The group, which had been reduced to five, rushed through the decrepit halls. They were on a timer, so being so close to getting out didn't matter anymore. It all could be swept out from under them if they dilly-dallied, despite all the effort they had put forth in escaping Heavenly Host. None of that mattered. The only thing that would get them out was being fast about this, before the school chose a new core or whatever and sealed off their chance to escape, forever.

Yoshiki was running near the back of the group, taking care to stick close to Ayumi in case she tripped or something. They were close, so he didn't want to slip up in his determination to protect her. He had failed once before, letting her come back here by herself... so he didn't want to let her down again. He wanted to prove he was capable of keeping his promises, and he also wanted the chance to prove to her that he really wasn't going to give up on her. No matter what, in any situation, he was dead set in staying close.

He felt they were pretty close to the outside by now. The second bell was probably getting closer to ringing out, but he felt confident they would make it. But then, another rumble went through the school, straining the old wood beneath them. There was a loud crash, and before he could really register what had happened, his back hit against the floor, followed by some stray planks that landed on him. He was still disoriented and the breath had been knocked out of him, so he laid there for a moment in silence. He coughed with the dust that was sprung up in combination with his breath returning to his lungs. His head hurt, and several places ached... but as far as he could tell, most of him was fine. What... had even happened, anyways?

Satoshi was gripping Yuka's hand tightly, trying to keep an eye on the entire group as they raced towards the exit. It felt unreal that the nightmare was finally going to end. He knew that he had to reign himself in, though. Because the second after that thought passed through his head, there was a violent shake. The earthquake forced him to stop, the sound of breaking wood echoed through the the halls. He had pulled Yuka close, shielding her from any debris falling. When it seemed safe, he looked to take a headcount to make sure everyone was okay. His blood ran cold when it became obvious Yoshiki and Ayumi had been swallowed up with the broken floor boards. 'No, no, no,' he thought in worry as he moved towards the edge. He couldn't see a damn thing below, which just made his fear run more potently. "Yoshiki! Shinozaki! Are you two okay?" he yelled down, anxious from the thought of losing more friends.

Yoshiki opened his eyes, squinting through the dust still floating about. Up ahead, he could see a dim light filtering through, and even though it didn't really light anything this far down, he could finally assess the situation. The floor had caved in. His eyes widened at Satoshi's voice, now alert that Ayumi had fallen with him. He held his sleeve to his mouth to quiet his coughing, as his other hand pushed the light planks off of him. He searched through the darkness, calling Ayumi's name quietly, so that if she was okay he didn't needlessly alarm Satoshi. With no response though, his heart grew quicker with worry. His hand finally caught onto cloth, but it wasn't normal, per say. It was... damp. His heart practically seized, but he tried to remain calm as he further investigated. What his hand found was one of his greatest fears. Out from the cloth, and the slow breathing body covered by it, there stuck out a jagged, wet wooden plank. "Aa-!" he went to call her name worriedly, but held his tongue.

Earlier in this ordeal... when the two of them had made it out by themselves, he had made a horrible choice at first. To ditch his cherished friends in favor of Ayumi. It made him really reflect on what kind of person he was. Sure, it sounded noble at first, but in reality, it was selfish and cruel, wasn't it? He had been willing to leave behind his friends because he was scared of losing Ayumi. But it wasn't like Ayumi wanted to be saved, in exchange for her friends' safety. She was truly strong... a lot stronger than him... The second bell finally rung into his ears, and he was trembling slightly with the decision weighing heavily upon him. Of course he wanted to save Ayumi! But... them coming down a whole other floor would set them back too much. Alerting them to the reality of the situation would damn them all, wouldn't it? His hand trailed up her back, to find her head and then brush lightly through her hair affectionately, though it held solemn undertones. His other hand lifted her arm across his shoulder, so he could be her support instead of the plank she was impaled on. He took a deep breath, and even though he wanted to scream for help, he had to consider Ayumi's wishes and his other friend's well-being. "You... would want it like this, right? Okay... for their sake," he said, even though he was aware he was talking to himself. He was just trying to make the idea concrete in his head enough for his voice to actually surface, and create a convincing lie. "... Yeah, we're fine! Just keep heading to the exit, we can meet you out!" he yelled up, filling his voice with confidence, however empty it was.

Satoshi perked up a little at Yoshiki's voice, relieved that the two were okay. But... the bell overhead rang loudly in warning that their time was running out. He would rather come down to the floor to help them up, but he was sure Yoshiki would manage to find a way to get back up. He was reluctant, and he really didn't want to leave before having the group all together, but he couldn't put himself in the position where he held Naomi and Yuka back too. Yoshiki told him that they would meet up, and he believed him. "Okay! See you soon! Stay safe!" he yelled back before giving a nod to Yuka and Naomi that they needed to start running again.

Once the footsteps of the three were out of range, Ayumi began to stir to awareness. What... happened? She had been running, and then everything went black. She didn't have much time to think about the past events when a sudden burning, all encompassing pain ran through her. Her eyes cracked open, the sight of the reason for her pain resulted in it hurting so much worse. "AAAAAAaaaaAAHgNNN," a scream tore out of her, the only response she could possibly have with the knowledge she had been impaled. It wasn't the type of pain one could adapt to, it was burning and biting, making it impossible to register anything but the agony tearing through her muscles and skin.

Yoshiki was relieved his voice had been convincing enough. He felt sort of bad about it, though... Satoshi trusted him because they were best friends, but he had abused that to blatantly lie to him... Though he couldn't dwell over this and that, as he had to get to business quickly. "Right, see ya!" he replied, and as soon as they were a few steps away, his readjusted eyes were focused on figuring out the best way to get Ayumi off the plank. It's true that pulling her off would increase bleeding, but he'd stop it as best as he could. After all, keeping her there would definitely lead to her death, whereas helping her off gave them somewhat of a chance, no matter how small. He was startled when she began screaming, and his panic quickly climbed. He hated hearing her in this pain, and he definitely hated knowing he'd be causing her more, but it was necessary. He had to be the strong one, as he was still unwilling to just let her die. He was quick to try and comfort her, holding her head close. "I know it hurts... but just hang on for a bit...This is going to be painful too... but I need you to be strong for me this time around, okay? I know you can... you've been really strong this whole time," he told her, trying to keep his nerves in check and a soothing tone, though he wasn't so sure how well he was doing that. On the inside, his thoughts were in a flurry, about exactly how he would go about doing this. He wasn't trained whatsoever in the medical field... his best bet would just be pulling her carefully off, and trying to wrap it as quickly as possible. But... with what? His jacket may be the only thing that would remotely do... Though, it was thinner in comparison to his undershirt...

Ayumi finally realized Yoshiki was with her when she felt her head moved against someone and his voice hit her ears. She couldn't choke back noises of pain, as they were the only slight relief she could manage. She tried to focus on Yoshiki's voice and what he was saying... Strong... She had to be strong. Like Ms. Yui told her to be before she died. She was so tired of having to be strong through all of this, but they still had a chance, right? If she let Yoshiki get her off of this thing that tore her apart, they could hurriedly race to the exit. Tears were slipping out, her body had no idea how to deal with the damage dealt to it. Instead, it was panicking, pain shooting to her brain with unforgivable vividness. It was even worse than reliving Yuki's death, because it was constant and actually happening to her. Was this how she was going to die...? No, no, the thought just made a painful sob rise, which caused her body more distress. They had made it this far, she couldn't lay down and die now. "O-o-kay," she gasped painfully, giving a tiny nod. She couldn't hold Yoshiki back either... she would have to let him do this, despite how terrified she was of being in more pain.

Yoshiki was actually a little shocked she was able to speak past her screams. She never ceased to surprise him... So, he had to match her strength with this. He couldn't delay either, because they were on a strict time limit and making her wait longer was too cruel. He was scared though... He was scared of messing up, causing her more pain and maybe consequently leading to her death. If she died because of this, even if they got out, he wasn't sure he could recover. Her blood was already on his hands, and he felt solely responsible for her well-being. He took a deep breath, using the arm around his shoulder to lift her up, his other hand moving away from her head to help lift her stomach along with her upper half. He hated the feeling of gushing blood. The fact that it was Ayumi's hurt his head... but he pressed on, and eventually she was completely off the plank. It was luckily short, and the fall hadn't been high enough for the whole length to stab through her, but there was still the urgent problem of her open wounds. He sat her back with his arm under hers, to give her adequate, stable support while his other hand hurriedly unbuttoned his under shirt. He maneuvered it off, then worked it around her as best as he could. All throughout these tasks, he tried to ignore her screaming, because it only unsettled him further. He had to keep the calmest mindset he could manage if they had any hope of making it out. He tied the two ends of the shirt, pulling it tightly to place pressure on her wounds, though he doubted the shirt would work for long. Hopefully they wouldn't need it to. They'd get out of here, and take her to the hospital. "Okay... You alright to go for it?" he asked her as his other hand grabbed hers that was across his shoulders, hoping the answer to be yes. If she couldn't go forward at all... he wasn't sure what to do. He'd guess he could carry her or something... but he definitely knew he wasn't giving up on her. He would never leave her for dead.

Ayumi couldn't suppress trembles when he began to move her off the plank. The pain was even worse than it had been initially, and screams kept erupting from her lungs. She almost begged Yoshiki to stop, but she knew it would slow them both down. He was being as gentle as one could be given the situation, but there was no way to stop the torment. Even off the plank, everything felt worse. She was weakening quickly from blood-loss, and the pain made it impossible to hold herself up. She rested her weight completely on him as he hastily tended to her wound. The pressure of his shirt against the wound initially hurt more than anything else, but the pressure provided some relief. She was panting and gasping erratically, unable to adapt to the wound. She blinked slowly at his question, her muddled brain lagging in the ability to process information. She registered his hand over hers quickly though, and grasped it tightly. Could she walk? She wasn't really sure. Breathing hurt her body from the small movements it caused, so walking would probably feel like torture. She couldn't run, either, which is the pace they needed to have... The bell! Was it still ringing? The timer reentering her mind made her panic worse. They were so close! "Uh...h-huh," she choked out as she began to shift. The aching brought more tears to her eyes, but it would be worth it. They'd get out and back home.

Yoshiki could hardly imagine the pain she was in. Of course it wasn't 'okay', as walking would inevitably hurt her more. But at this point, it wasn't an issue of 'can'. They had to, or else they'd die here, despite their many efforts to get out. He nodded to her, slowly lifting her to stand, trying to support her as much as he could. Once she was stable enough, he was walking forward, making sure to avoid holes in the floor or bumps that may make Ayumi's wound worse. They were... on a floor below the exit, weren't they...? That meant they had to find stairs, and he was uncertain of Ayumi's ability to complete such a task. But, he'd press on, keeping his hopes up. He couldn't consider the possibility of failure. It was too scary, and clawed at his heart too much. So he had to believe they could make it before the last bell rung.

Getting to her feet was more difficult than Ayumi cared for, because if that was such a task, how long could she force herself to walk? She had to at least try, their freedom so tantalizingly close. Once up and moving, her wound proved to be agonizingly affected by the movement. Each step felt like a mountain's climb. She tried to think of Satoshi, and Naomi... little Yuka... the friends they lost that wouldn't want her to join them in their fates in this place. She tried to stay optimistic... strong. She wasn't sure how long she had walked, her mind becoming blurred and foggy with the testing of her injury. It was after another bell chimed that the hopelessness hit her. They still weren't at the main floor, and she was moving so slowly. Tears were uncontrollable when her mind came to the dark conclusion that it had been trying to ignore. She stopped forcing herself to take steps, having a difficult time finding her voice. "G...go," she panted, hoping he would understand her short command. She couldn't make it, and she didn't want to hold Yoshiki back. Even if he carried her, he'd have to be slow and careful because of her wound. He needed to run as fast as he could possibly muster at this point.

Yoshiki was completely focused on their task, but it was obvious to him that Ayumi's movements only got slower. His heart was beating painfully against his chest at the third bell, yet they hadn't made hardly enough headway to truly have a chance at making it. It was during one particular step that he noticed a sharp pain in his side, but Ayumi's complete stop took his attention away easily. He looked at her with wide eyes, his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach. She was giving up... and he had to be honest, their chances weren't looking good. Nonexistent, even... But still, he didn't want to go back without her, with her blood on his hands and clothes. Rather, he couldn't. He looked down quietly, a shadow casting over his eyes. "No," he answered firmly, his hand tightening around hers. 'I can't leave you here... I can't! This isn't how things were supposed to end up at all... But even if I'm doomed here with you, I'd rather keep you from dying alone than going on without you. Though I confessed... I don't think the magnitude of these feelings got across. I... really can't... live without you as I am now.'

Ayumi was becoming desperate when Yoshiki quickly denied her. She knew he didn't have a chance if he stuck with her. There was no conceivable way of getting her out of there... even when they did, they'd have to call an ambulance and just hope she didn't bleed out. At the very least, Yoshiki could get out. She wanted him to live, because despite the huge fight that had blown up after they got back at Kisaragi, she still considered him one of her closest friends. She wasn't even sure how that happened, since she had never expected that boy she had scolded one day to come back into her life. Her hand tightened around his as much as it could, but her body was too weak for it to really do much. "P-please... We don't... b-both have to die," she forced herself to speak. He could still have a life outside this place. Besides... he came because of their fight and her idea... She could accept responsibility for her own demise, but not his.

Yoshiki's eyes narrowed, not persuaded in the slightest. Though, was there really any point pushing her forward? It would only cause her more pain, and they wouldn't make it regardless... So he guessed it didn't matter anymore. He hadn't given up at the start, but there was no feasible way that they could get out now... There was no other choice than to stop trying. They had lost before they even began... and that realization crippled him considerably. Still, he wouldn't desert her. He shook his head adamantly, lifting his head to look at her. "You make it sound... like leaving you here wouldn't affect me at all," he told her, his voice straining on account of all this rottenness hitting him at once. It was true... They really were going to die... But he'd be near her for as long as he could. "Everyone seems to think I can handle anything... That I can just move on... but really, I'm the weakest one. I can't make it without you... especially knowing I left you here to die by yourself... I can't do it," he told her, his eyes stinging slightly, but he kept any tears from surfacing. He only appeared strong here... because Ayumi needed him to be. But he was really just suppressing everything... And in his life where the fear of a loneliness loomed so heavily upon him, he couldn't make it without her. Past Heavenly Host... he wouldn't make it very far. He wanted to be with her here, knowing the other option would be no better, actually worse. In his opinion... emotional pain hurt so much worse than anything this school could do to him. Separating completely from Ayumi... would tear his mind into shreds.

Ayumi felt so tired and weak, her body shivering uncontrollably when she began to notice how cold this entire school really was. Or maybe it was the fact most her blood was on its way out of her body. She watched Yoshiki through cloudy vision. He was as stubborn as ever, but it would be to his own demise. He was healthy... he could run and get out of this hell hole for good. His soul wouldn't have to be trapped. But what he was saying... he couldn't make it without her? She knew... that fight they had also served as a confession from him, that she hadn't given herself very much time to think about. "I'm telling you... to go. I-I don't think- it'd be... easy," she said, voice cut off by sharp pains. She wanted to lay down... she was resting most her weight on him, but it wasn't enough. Her fatigue would only get worse. "N-nothing would be ga-ined b-y you... staying here," she said quietly, more tears slipping out. She was going to die either way. It didn't matter how hard the two had worked to get through this place. Her own timer was running out with her blood. "You'd... get past t-this," she tried to assure him, although she didn't know if that would ever be true. Heavenly Host wasn't something that people could work past, but still... he could still find happiness. He shouldn't throw his life away for a high school crush.

Yoshiki noticed she was getting heavier. She was tired, of course... At this point, did they really have to wait for the bell to tell them they didn't make it? "I wouldn't... I'm not strong like that...," he told her solemnly, then his eyes moved away to search for a place where she could settle down. There was no point in keeping her standing. It was only straining her wound further. He walked over to a nearby wall where the floor looked stable enough, having to half drag her because of her exhaustion. He unwound their arms from one another's shoulders, and just let her body lean completely on his as he slid down to sit. "I'm sorry... but I'm staying," he told her again firmly, knowing full well that it may be a selfish decision, but... maybe that's what he truly was. Selfish... Pushing the disheartening thought away, he took his jacket that he had slung across his arm and wrapped it around Ayumi's shoulders. Once that was in place, his arms moved to hug her, but since she was most likely angry with him, it was more to protect her than anything affectionate, though he was willing to provide that comfort if she needed it. Though in reality he had failed to protect her, to make sure she lived past Heavenly Host... he still wanted to make himself feel useful. He would... protect her from further harm, he decided, so her passing could be easier as opposed to some ghosts coming along to rip into her.

Ayumi frowned at his response, frustrated that he wasn't thinking ahead. What was he going to do after she died...? Just sit here? Or would he kill himself like Sakutaro had done? None of it seemed appealing, and she didn't want him to go through any of it. She realized he was moving them, settling down against the wall with her. He was so difficult to understand, and she wasn't sure she could appreciate his actions when he was denying her last request. Her weakening body couldn't help but to slump against his warmth. For a moment she was lost in exhaustion, but when she snapped back to awareness, his jacket was blanketing her and his arms were wrapped around her. No, no, no! This couldn't happen. "I d-don't want you dy-ing bec-cause of me," she said with as much urgency as she could. The bell tolled again, her eyes widening slightly. How many times has it been? It was a sickening reminder that she didn't have very much time to convince him. "Please, Kishinuma!" she yelped out, the pain shooting through her made her flinch. She didn't even know if he had enough time to get there on time now, but she wanted him to try.

Yoshiki flinched at her yelp, also registering that she had hurt herself putting forth such energy. His heart twisted painfully, but he didn't make a move to leave her. Instead, his somewhat trembling arms tightened around her. "I'm not... don't take responsibility for my choices. I'm staying here because I chose to... It's my own fault, so don't you dare shoulder something else that isn't your weight to bear, okay?" he asked her sternly, but it was more rhetorical than anything. He was the weak, selfish one. He was the one choosing to die here, with her. He wouldn't let her blame herself for his inability to cope with leaving her. "I'm the one being weak, and selfish... I'm the spineless, pathetic one, that can't stand without your support... So don't ever blame yourself over my decisions," he told her again with a light shake of his head, on of his hands going to hold the back of her head. He slackened against the wall, trying hard to ignore her blood soaking into his clothes. "It's just-... You don't understand... how important you are," he added as a last detail with his voice cracking slightly, his eyes squinting to push back that stinging sensation again.

Ayumi was recovering from the sharp pain her shout caused, but she forced herself to put her focus in Yoshiki's words. Yes, it was his decision... but she didn't like it. At this point, though, he had spent so much time dealing with her, the bell had to be approaching its last chimes. It wasn't something she could easily accept, and she didn't think she'd be able to come to terms with it before she passed. She blinked up at him slowly, finding it hard to believe he was weak... He had been unyielding through most of their trials. Yes... he had initially refused to come back, but he ultimately came back. Although... was that because of her influence too? She had never thought she had made much of an impact on him. Sure, there had been that lecture she had given him, but she couldn't wrap her head around why she was so intrinsically important to him. She moved her head to fit more comfortably on his chest when he moved a hand to hold the back of her head. "I don't... I never... d-did anything for you... tha-at would justify... all this," she panted quietly. He was saying his life would crumple if she wasn't there... supporting him. But how much support could she have really been? Asking if he had read the assignments and done the homework... She didn't deserve his devotion.

Yoshiki stared ahead in the darkness, his other hand tightening it's grip on the jacket. He still wanted to protect her... as fruitless as it would be. He had failed again... but now he could at least let this be the extent of her pain. He glanced down at her, leaning his head slightly against hers after she shifted. She wanted him to justify this? He guessed there was a sort of explanation... but as to how it got this serious, he was unsure. It may have been because he had no one else before, so he clung to her like a lifeline. Regardless of that point, though, he could easily say what had been the start of it. Since he had refused her dying request, he felt in necessary to try and bring the reasoning past 'just a crush'. "No, you did... it just seems insignificant to people besides me, I guess... Our first year, when I almost dropped out... everyone always wrote me off and encouraged me to quit. But you...," he paused at this point, holding her a little tighter. It was surreal that they would really die here... that Ayumi would die, undoubtedly before him. It was a little hard for him to reminisce over why he cherished her so much, in light of everything he currently knew would happen. "You didn't judge me based on rumors, or my appearance... and I don't know whether I deserved it or not, but you believed in me... That I could do all the things everyone else said I couldn't. I wanted to prove that you weren't wrong... and the feelings past that... they just sort of followed suit without me really noticing. Being around you more often after feeling more like a friend for the first time... I kept finding things that I liked about you. So, now...," he trailed off at that point, since she didn't feel the same. He wasn't trying to drive his feelings down her throat, he just wanted to attempt to convey why she was so important. More important than anyone else...

Ayumi's eyes were zoned out, but she intently listened to every word Yoshiki said as she tried to wrap her head around his reasoning. She came to the slow realization that he was in love with her. Yes, he had said that before, in the midst of their fight, but she had doubted the sincerity. Now, put in this situation, she couldn't doubt he really meant it. How many people would ever be willing to do this? Would she be willing to put her life down like this for Satoshi? She wasn't really sure of that, but she knew Yoshiki was here with her now. He wouldn't leave no matter how many times the bell tolled, which was a scary thought. She knew it was his decision, but she couldn't believe he was doing it. "Y-you're a good... person," she panted lightly. She felt so weak and weary. "B-but... I don't t-think I understand," she confessed lightly. Perhaps it could only be felt, not explained... She could see how she would garner some affection from him, but not this love.

Yoshiki lifted his head away for a moment, getting a small look at her face. She looked... so close to death... He didn't like it. His eyes went back to the darkness looming all around them, as he didn't want to see her life drain away. She was in a lot of pain, though... He couldn't keep her around. He was already being selfish about staying, so he owed it to her to give her a peaceful passing. Then again... what help would it provide? She'd feel her death forever, regardless. These facts twisted his heart painfully, and he just wanted to breakdown, but he wouldn't allow his strength to falter. Not yet, with Ayumi still around. He looked back down at her curiously, then gave a solemn smile. "I don't think... it's necessarily possible to," he admitted with a light sigh.

Ayumi couldn't think of a response, so her mind flickered back to the pain resonating from her wound. Her breathing was heavy and slowing, which made a claw grab at her heart. She wasn't ready to die yet, but she knew there was no way out of this. There would be no relief or happy ending for her, but at least three of them made it out. She wished Yoshiki could be included in that group, but it became obvious he wouldn't yield in his decision. His stubbornness was frustrating, but she was glad she wasn't facing her death alone. Her eyes stayed opened and unfocused, because she was afraid when she finally gave into her exhaustion and shut them, that would be it. Shouldn't some great last words be coming to her mind right now? All she could do was cry and think that she wasn't ready for this. The agony was too much, and she couldn't do this for an eternity.

Yoshiki's look grew unconsciously blank with the developing silence. He had been forcing down his fear the best he could this whole time, but now he'd have to hold down his despair while Ayumi slowly died. She was so close, but it killed him to know he couldn't help her at all. He held her closer with fear of what would happen, his head leaning back onto hers. He couldn't tell for sure, because of the jacket and his own body heat, but it felt like she was getting colder. His heart was extremely stressed with all this, and how much he couldn't control. His grip tightened on the cloth of the jacket, as if that would give him some decision of what was slowly happening to Ayumi. He blinked back tears, straining to keep himself leveled. "Sh-Shinozaki... is there anything... I can do?" he asked her hesitantly, wanting to be not so helpless in everything. He wanted to have some sort of an effect... but without knowing what she ultimately wanted, he was stuck waiting in silence for her body to just give out. He was also scared with the silence that she'd die without him even noticing at first. Stolen right from under him...

At some point, Ayumi realized the bell wasn't ringing anymore. The thought seized her heart painfully. They had worked so hard and done so much, but they couldn't escape this. The door was sealed, as was their fate. In the midst of her jumbled, scared thoughts, she heard Yoshiki. She took a long moment to process the question. He wanted to do something for her, but her mind was blanking. The hot throbbing reduced her mind to a muddled mess, but she was able to pull some ideas out of it. "Could you... tell a story... sing... j-just... distract me," she requested quietly. A distraction of any kind would be welcomed, since it would comfort her mind at the very least. Otherwise, all she would be thinking about was her death, and it was too scary to confront what she had no power over.

Yoshiki waited for what felt like an eternity before she finally spoke. Her voice was getting weaker and weaker, and more strained by her pain. He took a quiet, deep breath to soften his tone after the hard blow to his chest this all caused. She wanted to be distracted... by something or other, so he couldn't sound panicked, distressed, nothing. Just soothing, if he could manage it. He couldn't come up with a story off the top of his head... Honestly, he didn't know many in the first place, and didn't care too much about them, so they never stuck with him. Singing however... Normally, he'd be embarrassed to sing anything, especially in front of Ayumi, but this was a special case. If it helped her... of course he'd do it. He didn't really delve into singing as a career or hobby, so he didn't know a lot of songs by heart or if he was any good at it, but there was this one... It had a nice guitar piece in it, so he'd often practice it against the actual song. It wasn't hard to pick up the simple lyrics along with the guitar after listening to it so much. While it sounded a bit solemn... there was an obvious soothing factor to it. It was an American song... but even so, he felt it would be okay to sing it. It was also the only song he knew all the lyrics to... and he wanted this to be fluid, so he could succeed in fulfilling her request. Skipping over words with mumbles or just cutting the song short wouldn't do. "Alright then...," he responded quietly after composing his tone to be level. He waited a moment, letting the opening melody play in his head before attempting to sing it. Without a good flow in his head, he was bound to mess up, so he had to keep the guitar parts in mind, even though he wasn't practicing. Once the vocals part started in his head, he started alongside it. Safe and Sound... It was horribly misleading to their plight, but it was a very calming song that he hoped drowned out the chaos surrounding them, and to allow them to forget what their 'end' would ultimately be.

Ayumi was a little surprised he chose to sing a song, but she guessed it made more sense. He wasn't a storyteller, but she remembered catching pieces of his and Satoshi's musically fueled conversations. After that detail passed in her mind, she noticed Yoshiki had a very nice voice. She never noticed it among his blunt and tactless words, but now that she listened to it, feeling his chest rumble with the lyrics, she found herself liking it quite a lot. She didn't know the song, but it was calming. During one of the lyrics, 'just close your eyes', she followed the soothing command. Her eyelids becoming too heavy to keep open, and looking at the bleak hallways didn't help her. At some point, the lyrics stopped becoming audible, but his voice's low rumble comforted her. The pain wasn't dulled, but she found her mind latching to the song for what relief it could give her. The slow rising and falling of her chest continued to dwindle, and the blood still rushed out of her body. She wanted to thank Yoshiki, or say goodbye, but her small voice couldn't even be grasped. She hated to leave him like this, but it wasn't something she could stop. Eventually, her thoughts faded to nothing but awareness of her slowing, pained body. Her chest stopped rising, and her body slumped with death.

After he was about halfway through the song, or a little more, Yoshiki felt the added weight of a lifeless body. Despite that, he was determined to go through the song to completion. Though, with it painfully apparent that she was gone, perhaps forever separated, his tone could no longer hold onto the calming, even pace. His voice was slowly breaking down, and he held her closer as tears began to escape. 'Ayumi's gone... Ayumi's dead... Will I ever see her again? Is she suffering, even now? Somewhere in the school... she's alone... Ayumi... You can't be gone forever... You can't!' His thoughts derailed his voice from the song, but he just managed to finish it, even though it was by far off key. He cradled her closely, now not having to care about shifting her too much and hurting her. His chest hurt immediately when his voice lost all control, erupting into sobs as he buried his face against her shoulder. With no one to be strong for, he felt himself crumbling to pieces. "NO! No dammit! It wasn't... wasn't supposed to end up like this... We were so close! If it had been me... If only... I could have made Satoshi take her back... She'd be okay... Then why?! Why do things like this happen?... Shinozaki... didn't deserve anything like this... She had tried so hard... and been so strong through all this... WHY IS THIS SO UNFAIR?!" he screamed out in a cracking voice, his pained words echoing through the empty school hallways. He slumped against the wall, biting his lip so he didn't wear his voice out, though tears were still streaming heavily down his face. He held her head close, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to ignore the pressure on his head and chest.

Time passed by in a blur, but for a place like Heavenly Host, time didn't matter all too much, did it? It didn't really exist. The only reason such a factor would matter to anything in a place were time was muddled, the sky was black and it was always raining, was the time limit of the human body. Plenty of people were... lucky? No... more unlucky to survive this place long enough to die from starvation or dehydration. They had read about people who went crazy and ate other people, but... he wouldn't dare defile Ayumi's body. His mind was instead occupied with keeping her close, and making sure nothing else put a single mark on her. Not that it would accomplish anything... but he didn't want to see anything else done to her. So he stayed quietly, despite the growing fogginess in his head.

His stomach began to hurt eventually, but more noticeable was a pounding headache that began to encompass his entire head, instead of just one specific place. It made it extremely hard to focus, but more so... was the threatening sensation of his mind being swiped into darkness. His tongue felt increasingly dry, and his grip on Ayumi was fading. He was... dying, huh?... For some reason, the fact didn't matter much to him. He tried to restore his tight grip on Ayumi, but it didn't make much of a difference, besides making his muscles tremble. His eyes were dull, staring forward, and he sort of... almost welcomed death. Though, he couldn't really think much past the pounding pain in his head, and his chest ached with a fast heart and constantly ragged breaths.

He zoned in and out constantly, and he hadn't really noticed until he eventually woke up against the floor. To his relief he was still clutching Ayumi, but only loosely now. His strength was horribly reduced, and his vision made the school look even darker and blurrier. Though, even he could start to make out the figures of some bright apparitions inching closer to him curiously. His lagging brain eventually recognized these spirits. Tokiko and Ryou... the kids they had once saved, but now they had seemed to revert to their old selves. So... they hadn't been able to do anything for those kids in the long run? He couldn't feel much sympathy for them as they came closer, since he knew their intentions weren't pure. His shaky arms brought Ayumi closer, completely shielding her face against his shirt. He was also wearing the jacket again, since his primal instinct to survive hadn't been completely shut down. When he had started to feel cold, with only his short-sleeve shirt covering him, he took the jacket back in an almost zombie-like movement, but that had been... quite a while ago.

Tokiko knelt beside him, tilting her head curiously. She may not be able to discern whether he was alive or not... and he couldn't blame her. He probably looked as horrible as he felt. He felt pretty dead... so he probably looked that way too. A gleam caught his eye, which was naturally attracted to the light with curiosity. Despite his vision being poor, it was easy to make out the familiar, but unwanted, figure of the scissors. She brought it close to him, and even though inside he was panicked, he gave no reaction. Further curious, she placed one tip of the scissors to his right cheek, digging it shallowly into the skin. Still, not much. She placed the other edge as far as the scissors would stretch out vertically, pressing it into the skin again.

She and Ryou seemed to wait a small moment, expecting some twinge of fear or something, but they still got nothing from the half-dead boy. She clutched the scissors, aiming to really test if this guy was dead or not. It was a sick curiosity, and if she had had a top half of her head, she would be smiling in anticipation. She paused, noticing his eye was quivering, but it still didn't stop her action. It was quick, the scissors coming down together quickly. The blades met in his eye, completely slicing his pupil. The pain was excruciating, but his weakened body could only twitch lightly, and his voice came out in shallow, pained screams. A hand instinctively tried to lift to his eye, but he could barely move it before it plopped on the ground. He felt helpless, and now, he noticed, his eye was rendered completely useless. It quickly squeezed shut after the blades were pulled out, but it did nothing to stop the burning agony.

With true confirmation that he was alive, though just barely, the ghosts got closer. Tokiko grabbed his left arm to pull his weakened grip off of Ayumi. Ryou approached him, eyes wide and soulless staring at Yoshiki's remaining working eye, even though it was shut. "Give it back... Big sister's...," he muttered, but Yoshiki was unable to listen, with the pain grasping all of his brain's attention. He was still making choking noises of torment, and burning tears made their way out of his eyes in response to the unbearable pain assaulting his eye. He didn't get much time to recover, however, as Ryou's hand was placed firmly over his other eye. He pushed his eye open, then continued that pressure to squeeze out the eye. The sensation was alarming to Yoshiki, but his body could make no movements to deter Ryou. He could only wait in horror as the pain in his other eye continued to increase, until it was worse than the other, which he hadn't thought possible before. There was a horrid gushing noise, and the feeling of fingers being where they should never be able to touch was horrid. Then, it was pulled straight out. With horrible agony, his last remaining source of sight had literally been stolen from him. His choked screams rang slightly louder this time, though it caused his throat to crack painfully and sometimes his voice just gave out.

His body was sent into complete shock, unable to deal with that much pain and sensory loss. He began to seize, his screams becoming more like ragged coughs. It was then that he felt his arm being pulled on, but with the ghost's inhuman strength, it was apparent to him that it wasn't just straining his muscles. It felt like they were being torn apart. Though at this point, he was completely in the dark, and had no idea who was doing this or why, but there was soon a ripping sensation near his inner elbow. It was slow, agonizingly so, but it was soon revealed the ghosts were done taking it one thing at a time. He felt his throat grabbed, choking him to where he had no choice but try and desperately grab for breath. He would've died quickly that way, since he needed more air than normal anyway, so cutting it off would've been a faster death than average. But then the ghosts wouldn't be as satisfied. Another hand reached into his mouth and grabbed his tongue, which was admittedly scarier than the cold metal of the scissors being placed against it. At least that way, it would be clean. But it was easy to guess they aimed to tear it out of him forcefully, just like how they were robbing him of all his other bodily functions. The pull was fast, and so was his death. His body couldn't handle anymore, so it had easily given out with the gushing blood from his mouth. His head tilted lifelessly to the side, blood pouring from his mouth and eyes to pool onto the cracked wooden floor.