"W-What are you doing!?"

"I have to do this! You mistreated Misao!"

"I'm sorry-"

APOLOGIZE IN THE AFTERLIFE.

With one strong swing, the bat came down on him. It only took one blow to render him dead. This wasn't optional, it was needed to break Misao's curse, to save the school, to even save herself. She looked back on Tohma's now lifeless body and sighed. Any feelings that lingered were gone along with his heartbeat. How many people had to die for this? Kudoh, Yoshino, Ayaka and even his girlfriend Otome. None of them had to perish the way they did, but he was a coward. He deserved this more than anyone. Now it was up to Misao to decide his eternal punishment, Aki's job was done. She dragged her bloody bat along the floor as she made her way to the nurse's office. Ah yes, her homeroom teacher was waiting oh so patiently for her return. It was just the two of them and now the final sacrifice was done. The school had changed back to normal and the meandering spirits seemed to disappear within an instant. Truly, Misao's curse was done for.

"That's it, hmm? She can finally rest easy I suppose."

Aki found herself on the rooftop looking up at the clear blue sky above her; it was finally over. She couldn't help but smile knowing she'd done so well and brought justice to her deceased classmate. Before she could even ask her teacher for reassurance that everything was back to normal, he spoke.

"You know, you always were my favorite student."

She heard footsteps but they stopped short as a bright light shown through and almost blinded them. What was played before them were Misao's memories, specifically the ones before her tragic death. Aki could only watch as Misao was constantly violated by not only fellow student, but by none other than himself. She gazed into the distance with horror and fear; she'd sacrificed the wrong evildoer. Surely both Tohma and Sohta had done their wrongdoings but nothing could compare to her teacher being the real culprit. As quickly as the flashbacks started, they began to fade out leaving Aki once again alone with . The footsteps started back up again, this time a bit slower.

"Always so eager to please, you really outdid yourself this time."

"Stay back!" She didn't have her bat on her, in fact, it disappeared along with the rest of the abnormalities the spirit world had to offer. She would have to defend herself with her own raw strength, which was a considerable amount even at her size. She quickly turned herself around to face him but he was already too close for comfort. Although the bleeding died down, she could still see the wound on his side and his outfit disheveled. The tacky colors that she hated oh so much were the least of her problems. On the inside of his open suit jacket, she spotted a knife big enough to damage and sharp enough to kill. The amount of new information was too much for her to handle, she froze in place putting all the pieces together. Besides, if she stepped any further back, she'd meet a harsh fate with the concrete 5 floors below.

"You can drop the hero act now, Miss Aki. You've lost."

In one swift movement, one hand held her head in place and the other placed the knife right on her neck. She almost shivered as she felt the cold blade gently touch her skin. It didn't help how sensitive her neck was, but she couldn't let him know that and she shouldn't be thinking of those sorts of things in a life or death situation. She quickly entered panic mode. "I-I promise! I won't say a word! Please!" She was a strong girl, but never stubborn. She knew when to move forward and when exactly to give up. One wrong move could give her a one way ticket to Misao's skeleton parade back in the spirit world.

She pleaded and begged with her hands both clutched onto the arm holding her head. She could almost cry as she felt her face turning different shades of red. Aki looked him in the eyes and saw a wide variety of twisted emotions. Was he...enjoying this? What a creep! To think the entire female portion of the student body actually liked this guy! She could throw multiple insults at him right this moment, but her nervous system said otherwise.

The hand gripping her cheeks let go, only to caress them. Don't touch me, don't look at me, don't feel me... "I can trust you, can't I? You'd never betray me the way Misao did, right? My accomplice." That word made her feel disgusting. "I had nothing to do with her death!" She snapped back at him without a second thought. His laugh gradually increased in volume. The knife never moved from her neck. "I recall a certain student of mine not being with us at the moment. What was his name? Kudoh? No...ah, yes! Tohma was his name!" Aki's pupils got smaller and smaller as her eyes widened.

She'd done it. She killed Tohma.

It was her fault. She'd killed the wrong person.

Offered the wrong sacrifice.

Aki failed at the only job she was given.

Save Misao

Her killer stood before Aki laughing like a hyena at her own mistake.

Her blood felt like ice running through her veins; the cold tip of the knife pressed against her was nothing. Suddenly, she felt his grip on her loosen just a bit. He cocked his head to one side while his smug expression brought anger and fear. "Say, wouldn't it be terrible if I just turned you in? Of course, you'd turn me in as well. Then we both lose don't we?" His chuckling made her almost lose it. "Why don't we...work together?" His bold brown eyes examined her as she thought about her next choice.

Become your teacher's accomplice?

[ • Work with ]

• Death