As a note, this chapter does contain suicide. So please avoid if that makes you squeamish, etc. (Though it doesn't go into too much detail-)

"I wouldn't expect you to understand!" a feminine voice screamed, then there was the sound of a door slamming, and then a crash as several things were shoved off the older teenager's desk. From the destruction that she was causing, it was obvious that Mai Akira was extremely irritated. The sound of shattering glass as a picture frame fell to the floor, a loud THUMP as books fell from her desk to the floor…-

And then there was the sound of the door slowly creaking open—a small boy with messy, black hair staring in at his sister as she proceeded to keep throwing things. Something that she did… quite often when she and their mother would get into a fight, which… was quite often. Especially after their father had died—Both had been under a lot of stress since then, and were almost constantly on edge with each other. And to be honest, fights like this weren't… uncommon in the Akira household.

But there was one thing that would almost always lead to Mai being able to calm down—her younger brother, Yoshito. The one person that she would always be there for—no matter what. He… was her bro-bro, after all—

"…. Maimai…?-" the little five year old, Yoshito, asked, looking up at his older sister with big, green eyes. From the way his voice shook, it was obvious that he was extremely nervous to be speaking to her—and for good reason. She had just been irritably shoving everything from her desk after a loud argument with their mother that had lasted for almost an hour and a half—However, it was obvious that he was constantly redirecting his eyes to the shattered picture frame on the floor… Almost as if he knew that it contained something extremely important to his sister.

Mai was silent for a moment, not looking at Yoshito. Then, finally, Mai turned to face the younger boy. It… was obvious that the girl had been crying, though she carefully wiped the tears from her face. She… didn't need to be crying in front of her younger brother. She needed to look strong for him. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Mai knelt down so that she was on Yoshito's level—also forcing a small smile for the younger boy. She… had to look strong. And confident for him. Nothing could change that. "… I'm fine," she whispered, blinking at him with her green eyes. And that was partially the truth—there was nothing wrong with her. Yet at the same time, she was still so worked up…-

Yoshito blinked at her, before slowly approaching her and wrapping his arm around her in a comforting hug—he didn't like seeing his precious Maimai so upset. She… didn't deserve that. Not at all—There was a moment of silence between the two of them, the five year old giving his older sister a squeeze before, finally—"… You threw down your picture frame—"

And with that, Mai quickly and quietly turned her head, her eyes focusing on the picture frame that had been on her desk. The one that had shattered on the floor only minutes ago. The one that held a very important picture to the teenager…

The frame that contained the last picture of herself and their father.

"O- oh god…" the teen blinked, staring at the picture frame. Her arms still wrapped around Yoshito, as well. She… couldn't believe that she had thrown that of all things—that very important picture that meant so much to her… Carefully pulling herself away from her younger brother, and ruffling his hair for a moment, Mai quietly crawled across the floor—being careful not to cut herself on the broken glass. She could feel Yoshito staring at her, watching quietly… But she didn't care. Finally picking the frame up, her eyes watered ever so slightly—the picture, unlike the frame, hadn't been damaged. "… Thank god…" Mai muttered to herself, bringing the broken picture frame to her chest—tears starting to swell in her eyes once again.

Then there was the sound of quiet footsteps as Yoshito got up and walked over to her, quietly peeking over her shoulder—"…. Maimai…? Are you okay…?" he asked, his voice slightly high-pitched due to his age. It… was honestly extremely adorable, in its own way.

Even though tears were still falling from her eyes, Mai nodded quietly, still holding the shattered frame close to her chest. "I'm… f- fine…" she murmured, not looking at Yoshito. There was silence, and then—"… You should go check on Mommy. I'll… c- clean all this up…" she muttered, finally glancing back at her younger brother.

Yoshito was hesitant, not wanting to leave his sister by herself. She was crying after all… Would leaving her have been a smart decision…? But at the same time, the dark-haired child knew that his mother was also extremely worked up after the argument—both of them always were, even if their mother didn't express it in the same way that Mai did. Finally, after his moment of hesitation…- "Alright…"

And with that, the younger boy had left the room, effectively leaving Mai by herself. Still holding the photo frame. Still crying… Listening for Yoshito's footsteps to stop—to fade, Mai reluctantly pulled the photo away from her chest. Staring at it, her tears started to flow even more. She… she really did miss their father. And though she loved their mother, they… weren't as close as she had been with their father. It was a shame that Yoshito had never gotten the chance to even meet the man who had been a large part of her life for ten years—and then there had been the accident. Their father had passed away, and everyone was devastated.

Including Mai. Of course, unlike everyone else, Mai had hope that he would be back. That'd he'd be home, like he was supposed to be, in a week. He'd… just have to survive the Game, after all…-

That's right, Mai Akira had been able to see the UG. She'd seen it for her entire life—as long as she could remember. Of course, after the accident, Mai never talked about it anymore. She wasn't going to worry their mother with the fact that she saw things that others couldn't… She didn't need the stress of thinking that her daughter was crazy…

And it was better to avoid the questions of what happened to their father with that lie, too. The memory of the man's Erasure still hurt Mai greatly—and she had burst out crying almost instantly as it happened. All her hope of her father returning to life had been lost in an instant.

Mai hadn't been the same since then, either. She had been even more on edge. She had been more easily angered, and she couldn't stand the fact that she saw the UG anymore….

So why was she contemplating going into the UG tonight?

The answer to that question was simple. Their mother had pushed her over the emotional edge. She couldn't deal with any of it anymore—she couldn't deal with her anymore. She couldn't deal with the stress of school, seeing the UG, and the stress she felt from their mother, anymore. It was just far too much for one person to handle.

And with that, Mai quietly stood up and closed the door to her room. She wasn't going to clean up her mess. She… had other things on her mind. Silently, the door was pushed closed and Mai turned her back to it after locking it. She… didn't need anyone—especially Yoshito—walking in on what she was about to do. Carefully tearing a piece of paper from one of her school notebooks, the teenager began carefully, even if it was a bit shaky, writing on the paper as neatly as she could manage. The katakana slightly messier than normal. She was obviously still extremely shaken from the earlier argument with their mother.

To whoever finds this—

I want you to know that, above all, my family means the most to me. And even if you cannot see me… I'll always be watching over you. I understand that my young death may be devastating for those who care for me most, but I still want you to know that, no matter what, I still love you.

No matter the things I've said, I still love you. And no matter what, I swear that I'll be there to protect you. Even if I can't be seen, I'll protect you.

And for my final thoughts… Yoshito—I love you more than anything. You're my little brother, and I swear that, no matter what, I'll love you. You mean so much to me, and I want you to remember… No matter what you see, no matter what other people tell you… You're not crazy. Just because you see things others don't doesn't make you insane—it makes you a very special kind of person, who could go extremely far…. But, for now…

Goodbye.

With the note written, Mai neatly folded it and left it on her desk—which was still cleared almost completely. It… wouldn't be too hard to miss, especially with the large "For Mother and Yoshito" written on the back of the folded paper, obviously visible from a glance.

Without a moment of hesitation, Mai hit the floor, her hand going under the bed and grabbing something that was long, and rough to the touch—a rope. Pulling it from under her bed, the teenager stared at it, silently debating to herself. Would she be able to go through with it? Would she regret her decision…?

Yes, I can do it…- she thought, tying a noose into the rope. It'd be easy—just hang the rope over her bed, put the noose around her neck, and step off to let herself suffocate. A simple way to do it that wouldn't leave too much of a mess to be cleaned up… Yet it wouldn't be as slow and painful as… overdosing on medication, per se.

Quietly, she threw part of the rope upwards, quietly securing it in place with the noose that she had made only a moment ago. Tugging at it a couple of times, she was satisfied with the fact that the knot held, and the rope stayed in place.

Quietly tying another noose into the rope while she stood on her bed, Mai kept glancing to the door that led into her bedroom. She was expecting someone to come in at any moment… But she remembered that she had locked the door a couple of minutes ago. She had no worries of getting caught doing this. The only thing that could hold her back was herself… And she had no intention of stepping down.

Well, stepping down from doing this. She had every intention of stepping down, off the bed, with a rope around her neck. Taking a deep breath and glancing towards the door one last time, Mai brought the rope around her neck. Just remember this isn't the end… Not truly…- she reminded herself. She had been able to see the Game her entire life after all.

And with that, she stepped off the bed, the rope tightening around her neck, slowly suffocating her. Slowly, as she was gasping air and struggling, everything went black… And eventually, her body went limp and lifeless.

So this is probably a lot to take in, but I'm sure this'll all make sense in the next chapter, which… actually doesn't take place directly after this. As a matter of fact, it takes place about… five-six years later. I'm honestly not sure how often I'll update this, either. But I'll try to update it often.

Anyways, I guess you're wondering who exactly these two characters are. Well… Long story short, without spoiling anything that I have planned, Yoshito is Joshua. And Mai is, obviously, his sister. So… I guess you could call Yoshito a… half-OC of sorts, I guess? Though all that will be explained much later. In the meantime, enjoy the death of Yoshito's sister, who'll probably be showing up a bit in the next chapters! Anyways, feel free to leave any constructive criticism—I'm open to listen to any suggestions that anyone has! :3