Under…
Genre: Tragedy, Spiritual, Horror
Rating: M
And another HonoMaki! Some tragedies and spiritual issues ahead, but has a happy ending!
Summary: Honoka woke up in a very dark place with no memory of the events that happened before. She realized soon that the place was really cold and the air was un-breathable. She had to find a way to get out of that situation, and quick.
Anyway, here we go with this psychological story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live or Honoka.
[-x-x-x-]
"Hun…?" Honoka returned into consciousness. She opened her eyes and realized that it was total dark around her. Her head was paining her. She tried to rub it and felt some weird liquids on it. She was laying on something stony and the air was really cold.
She tried to stand up, but her head hit something really hard as she tried to sit up. She gave up and decided to lie back since her head's back was hurting her.
"What happened? Where am I?" Tons of questions were running all around her head. She couldn't remember anything that could have happened.
The last thing she remembered was gong home after a long day of practice with the µ's. She had to go to a certain shop and decided to walk on her own without the group. She entered a small sweet shop and that was all she could remember.
Honoka tried to look around her but it was too dark. She reached over her skirt's pocket for her phone, but it wasn't there anymore. She started to panic and tried to move to the side. She was surrounded by stony wall in all 6 sides. It was as if she was inside a box.
"What do I do, now?" The ginger was about to crack. She tried one last time to reach for something from the area, but her head was paining her so much that she had to give up.
There was only one thing for her left to do: trying to remember. She had to remember what happened so she ended it. She closed her eyes and replayed the events of earlier in her mind.
[-x-x-x-]
Honoka was waving goodbye to her friend. She then ran downtown to go to a certain sweet shop because her mother asked her to run some errands. Well, the truth is that she found a paper that told her to get some ingredients lying on her bed the day before. Her parents were out for a week, so she presumed it was from them and decided to go to the specified shop.
She arrived in front of the shop at 16:30 and entered it, only to be greeted by a brunette woman. She gave the needed list to the woman and decided to have a look around the shop, waiting for her order to be ready. The building was small, so she just sat on a chair near the counter after doing a complete turn of the boutique.
"Looks like we're running out of these!" the shop owner spoke as she gave the list back to Honoka.
"Really? That's too bad…"
"But… We may still have some in the storage room… I can go look if you aren't in a hurry." The brunette woman quickly proposed as she saw that the customer looked down.
"Really? That's great!"
With that, the woman walked toward the shop's back. She was still displaying a weird scary smile on her face. Her long curly brown hair looked like dark in the shadow. Her crimson eyes were scary.
Honoka stood from her chair and decided to take another look around the shop. She realized that no one else was there except for her. The place was quiet, too quiet. The shop was located at the calmest zone of Akihabara, but that couldn't explain this silence.
The air started to get cold as a courant bruised Honoka's ginger hair and chills ran on her throat. That was starting to scare her. She realized too that the glasses used are carbonic. The inside can see the outside, but no one at the outside could see what happened inside. Plus, they are thick; in other words: soundproof.
Honoka decided to have another walk. She watched the sleeves and realized how empty they were. She realized that most of them seemed to be lusted. The building's light too was weak. That just look like these horror films she watched with her sister at the TV.
She turned to the clock attached at the wall. It was already 17:30 and the shop owner wasn't back yet. It was autumn, so the sky was already dark. Honoka started to get anxious. She didn't like that atmosphere.
"It's starting to get late… I thing I will go home for now and return her tomorrow to apologize." Honoka walked to the door and tried to open it, but it didn't budge.
She soon realized that it was locked and the sheet 'open' was turned to her. That meant that the shop was supposed to be closed. She panicked. She turned around to see an exit. She didn't like this kind of situation.
She turned to the counter and walked to the small table to investigate. To her big surprise, the counter was empty. There was no trace of paper or merchandise, or even vending license. Honoka quickly grabbed her phone and watched it in horror.
"No way!" she cursed as it displayed no signal. Honoka walked around the room, looking for signal, but in vain. "Hell…"
She now had no other choice but to count on the shop owner. She turned to the door where the woman from earlier walked away and hoped for her to return. 'Maybe I should go to look for her…'
She decided to walk to the door and peeked in. It was dark, but there were some lights illuminating from downstairs. There was a stair leading down. Honoka decided to go and investigate.
"Excuse the intrusion…" she slowly walked the stairs and kept her eyes open on her surrounding. She then arrived at the end of it. She met a dead end. Honoka took some glance around but didn't find anything that would resemble an alley.
She finally decided to go back and walked the stairs back only to find out that the door from earlier was closed. Honoka tried to push the metallic door open, but in vain since it was locked. "What should I do now?" Her voice was starting to shake as she realize in what bad situation she was. Honoka took he phone from her pocked in despair and cursed as there was still no signal.
Suddenly, a metallic sound resonated from behind. She turned around and saw the shop owner at the bottom of the stairs. She was holding a metallic bat. Honoka trembled in fear as her legs gave up on her.
"So, you're finally here!" The woman gave her a devilish smile. "I am done with the preparations too. If you stay calm and become a good girl, I will go easy on you."
"W-why… Why are you doing this?" Honoka summoned her remaining courage to ask that question.
The woman chuckled. "I'm surprised that you still have enough courage to ask, but whatever…" She started walking the stairs in Honoka's direction. The ginger's legs were still as weak as jellies, so she just watched with eyes wide open.
"The truth is that you are an idol. And idol's job is to make people smile. Though, some might not like the fact that you are distracting people from their original plans." The woman continued.
"Could you explain yourself?"
"To be more accurate, you are disturbing our business. I am from a worldwide organization that aims into turning humanity in our slaves. Our mission is to steal human's hope away so they fall in despair… But you, dear Honoka are a somewhat reincarnation of hope for some… and I have to delete your existence."
Honoka gulped. The woman was in front of her. Her baby blue eyes met crimson ones.
"I am the one who placed that paper in your room. That was a piece of cake infiltrating your house. As for this shop, it was so easy getting it. We just had to give some 'money' to the former owner and everything's in hand. And do not worry; we will build up a random situation to make your kidnapping normal. You know, with our actual world, we can make impossible possible."
The woman was really close from Honoka. The ginger decided it was time to play her last card. She kicked the woman's stomach and grabbed her hand. She laid the woman on the floor and picked her weapon.
"You're not bad… But…" Honoka felt something like darting her back. She watched it and saw that a needle was on her shoulder.
"Do not worry! That poison isn't deadly. It will just weaken you up." At these words, Honoka fell on her knees as she realized that all her strength was gone.
The woman stood up and picked her weapon before giving the ginger's head a great spin. Honoka's vision got troubled. She couldn't hear anything. All she knew was that she saw fountain of blood dripping from her head. She was still half-conscious and saw blurry scenes. She couldn't hear well, but still could. Thought, she was unable to speak.
The woman picked her and walked her wounded body to another hidden door at the bottom of the stairs. They ended up in front of a black car. The woman placed Honoka on the back and she sat on the driver's seat before driving. That was the last thing Honoka could remember.
[-x-x-x-]
"So… This is the end…" A tear ran on Honoka's cheeks. She cursed fate itself as more tears formed in her eyes.
She gave a heavy punch at the wall at her left. She curled herself in a ball but realized that she hit something. She found her cell phone and powered it. The 9 µ's were at the wallpaper. They worshiped that special picture.
More tears ran on her cheeks as she hugged the phone. She sang: "Datte kanosei kanjatanda… Sou da susume… Koukai shitakunai me no mae ni… Bokura no michi ga aru…"
She picked her phone once again and focused her vision on their smile. She just realized at that time that her phone had signal. It had signal, but the battery is about to give up.
Honoka quickly dialed a random number from her contact list. She found Maki's number and quickly dialed it. The phone rang for 3 seconds before a panicked Maki picked it.
"Hello… Honoka! Where are you? Why did you disappear all of sudden?" The younger girl's voice was shaking.
"Listen up, Maki-chan… My battery is about to give in, and the air the place where I am right now is getting colder. I might not have that much time left… So I just have one last thing to say…" Honoka took a deep breath. "…The truth is that I've always loved you! I've loved you since you joined µ's, but I never got the opportunity to confess. I may be done for, but I want you to be happy. I wish you a happy life. I thank you for everything you did for me up to now… I love you, Maki-chan!"
"No, wait… Honoka!" the phone shut off as its battery was totally dead.
The ginger-hired girl smiled at the ceiling. "I'm glad I could confess to her… Too bag we never got the chance to be together…"
Honoka sighed and let go of her phone. She realized that her breathings took a slower pace. Her head didn't hurt anymore and her muscles have weakened. She laid there movement-less, waiting for her end. She closed her eyes and recalled every single time she spent with her family, the µ's and Maki…
Half an hour passed then one hour, then two… Honoka felt like the air was totally heavy and impossible to breath. She soon realized that it was the end.
Just as despair was consuming her heart, she heads a loud bam and metal from atop. It was followed by a blinding light. She hid her eyes from the sunlight and then realized that the µ's was in front of her.
She readjusted her position to see that she was underground, between 6 stone walls. The top (cover) wall was remover by the 8 girls after they dug the hole.
"Everyone…" Honoka smiled.
"Honoka…" Maki hugged the girl and they returned into the surface.
They were at the cemetery (graveyard) and Honoka realized soon that she was buried alive in a tomb (grave)'s emplacement. An ambulance was waiting for her. The red-head went with her to the hospital where she will receive treatment.
"Maki-chan…" Honoka said as they were riding the ambulance.
"What is it?"
"H-how did you know where I would be?"
"… The call you gave me earlier… We had some policemen investigating on it and found your position." Maki leaned closer to Honoka's face. "But something is working on my mind… You were underground, and yet… How did your phone get signal?"
"I don't know… maybe that is called a 'miracle'"
[-x-x-x-]
Honoka was now lying on an hospital bed. Her operation went well and her friends and family just went back home. The Nishikino family owned the hospital, so Maki stayed with Honoka at the night. It was calm and silent. Only the machines keeping Honoka's life were resonating in the big room they gave her.
The red-head fell asleep on Honoka's lap after a long day. The ginger smiled as she patted her head. "You must be tired…"
Honoka laid her head on the pillow while still patting her crush's beautiful red hair. She was also tired and wanted to sleep, but her mind wandered. 'What about that woman?'
Her thought was interrupted as the door slid open. Honoka opened her eyes and saw a woman wearing a nurse's outfit. She walked in their direction. The ginger couldn't see her face yet, but Honoka's face turned purple as the woman was just one meter away from the bed.
"You…" Honoka was about to say something, but was silenced when a handkerchief was placed on her mouth.
Maki was still fast asleep and couldn't hear. The woman was strangling Honoka on the bed as she was covering her mouth, so she couldn't move.
"I don't know how you managed to escape that coffin… But one thing is sure: I will finish you by any means." The assassin's strangle became tougher. Honoka's eyes were starting to become blank.
Just as the woman thought that her mission was about to be done, she received an heavy hit on her stomach. She fell on the backward. That gave Honoka the opportunity to take the handkerchief away and breathe again.
"What the heck?" The woman stood up again, only to be greeted by another punch on her left cheek.
Maki was standing in front of her. The red-head has wakened up and was ready to fight.
"How did you?" The assassin pated heavily from the hits she just got. "I injected some heavy tranquilizing in your body earlier. You should still be sleeping for at least one hour."
"Oh… You mean this…" Maki held a pillow with her left hand. A needle was darted on it.
When the assassin entered the room, she went straight toward the red-head and tried to inject her some powerful tranquilizing. What she wasn't aware of is that Maki always knew what would happen, so she took precautions: she brought a pillow that can imitate human body, something to lure the assassin out.
"Shit!" The woman charged at Maki, but the red-head could easily block her attack. The assassin was already weakened by the hit she just got. She took a knife from her pocket and pointed it at Maki.
She charged again and bruised the girl's right cheek. She slashed, but Maki evaded it. She didn't give up. She repeated her slashing attempt.
Maki fell on the floor. She was now covered with scars from the multiple slashes she got. Her clothes were covered with her own blood. She just realized that the woman managed to wound her thigh. She couldn't move anymore for now.
The woman raised her knife in the air and was ready to truss it into the young girl's heart. Maki couldn't do anything but to watch as the knife slowly approached her.
Suddenly, the assassin stopped. Her eyes and mouth were wide open and her knife fell on the floor. She looked down at her chest and saw that something metallic has passed through her body. Honoka was standing beside her and holding a large knife that was trussing their aggressor.
The assassin fell on the ground and gave her last breath. Honoka ran toward Maki and hugged her.
"Maki… How are you? Did you get hurt?"
"Honoka…" Tears formed in the red-head's eyes. She just hugged back.
One hour later, they called the police. The two teenagers received treatment and were sent into temporary detonation for involuntary homicide. That detention was only temporary thought; just the time the officers needed to prove their innocence.
Honoka and Maki were treated well in detonation. The guards gave them more protection and assurances and no one dared to disturb them. They shared the same room and took the opportunity to know each other even more. They eventually started dating.
One week later, the lovers' innocence was somewhat proved. Their aggressor was one of the most wanted criminal in the region, so their sanction was just to do forced job at the town's library for 2 weeks. Everyone was happy to hear that. All their friends and family organized a huge party at Otonokizaka the night after the process. They all enjoyed the present and partied.
Honoka turned to the door and saw Maki standing outside. She walked beside her girlfriend and poked her face.
"Still spacing away?"
"Honoka…" Maki smiled at the ginger's sign. "The truth is that I am just watching the stars."
"Oh… I see… May I join in, then?" Honoka smiled.
"Yes!" Maki leaned closer and the two kissed in front of the starry night sky.
[The end]
I hope you liked it!
Honoka: Hehe… That was funny, don't you think?
Maki: N-not really… I don't get what you mean.
Honoka: Hehe… I love you, Maki-chan!
Maki: *blushing* S-stop saying nonsense!
Honoka: *give Maki a hug*
That is it for now… I am still working on my other stories, but the truth is that I have problems with writing them (author's block) and I don't know yet when I will updated them.
With than, see you next time!