Greetings to all readers :)
My name is x-LiveFantasy-x, but you can call me Fantasy if you want. Some of you might know me through my Ib fanfiction called The Four which was completed in… September? Yeah, I think it was September. Well, that isn't the only 2D RPG I'm abnormally obsessed with, and that unhealthy obsession led to the birth of this story. I wanted to write more intense horror, which this will have. Violent deaths galore! I'm not going to neglect the sequel to The Four, though. For all you seasoned readers of my work I'd like to happily inform you that the sequel will be up within the week. But enough about that story, let's focus on this one. This will not really include any of the characters from the Corpse Party game. It will include a lot of OC's, but some familiar faces will pop up now and again. There will be some descendents of familiar characters though *wink wink*. The romantic aspects and the violent, horror aspects will be equal here (tipping more towards the horror side). I'm hoping this will be a really good one, considering my writing has improved a lot in the six months or so that I've dropped off the face of . Thanks to all my fans for giving me great feedback in all my work and I hope for as much feedback for this one! Now, without further ado, I give you Death and All His Friends. I almost cried writing this first chapter, so I hope you stick with it past the tears even if it's a little slow to start.
Arrivederci,
x-LiveFantasy-x
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"We're very sorry, Miss Akota, but we have some bad news…"
Mariko didn't hear much of what followed. The words coming out of the doctor's mouth were muddled and confusing. So many medical terms were used that she was convinced he wasn't speaking any known human language. She gripped the table she was sitting on, the metal cold under her fingertips. The lights seemed to bright all of a sudden, the sounds too loud, the room too small. The smell of alcohol that was not noticeable before now thickly coated her nostrils. Why? She needed to keep her mind on anything but what he was saying. Staring at her knees, she couldn't help but count the bruises all over her legs and arms. They never bothered her before because she was so prone to them, but now they stuck out like warning signs. Like bulls-eyes for Death's scythe. The pain, the bruises… it all made sense now.
The only thing that managed to get through her sensory barrier was:
"T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia. Her kind will be very hard to treat, if we even can. It will be expensive and painful, but without it she only has a year, maybe six months…"
That's all Mariko could take. The room began to spin, closing fast. Her vision tunneled and the smell of alcohol burned in her lungs. She slipped off the table but never felt the impact of the floor. Her mom screamed, but even that was washed out by the darkness.
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"Come on, slowpoke!" Raiden cried as he rounded the street corner. The trees were full of green leaves and the air smelled like spring. Mariko loved spring because it was the time of life and rebirth, and the light seemed to bless everything it touched with a glow of dewy happiness, including her. People passed by them, reveling in their youthful outbursts. It was true; even though they were both very smart for their age, they held on to a kind of sophomoric lifestyle that only children could enjoy. She giggled and tried to follow, but she wasn't nearly as fast as him. Even though they were both around the same age – her six and him seven – he'd already shot up three inches. He could run much faster than her. "You used to be faster than me! What happened, short-stack?"
"Hey!" She protested, and ran full speed towards him, knocking him over when he stopped. With a cry they both tumbled down the green hill. The sky and ground blended in her vision to the point that she couldn't tell which was which anymore. When they reached the bottom, Raiden and Mariko were both laughing, lying side by side looking at the sky.
As Ryn picked grass out of his pitch-black hair, Mariko winced and rolled up her pants leg to reveal a large bruise. It was nasty and black-and-blue. Raiden's face fell, but he tried his best to keep the laughter in his tone, "We just fell down the hill, not off Taipei-101! How'd you get that?"
"I always bruise," she rolled down her cuff and waved it off. "I'll be fine."
"Want me to kiss it? Make it better?"
"Ew, no way!" She giggled, and they completely forgot about the incident.
They spent the rest of the day in the little grassy area below the hill. Mariko could see the tip of Raiden's house at the top, over the green crest. It was easy; Raiden's house was one of the biggest in town. His parents were wealthy, but a lot their money went to charity. He was fortunate to have such giving parents to learn from. He'd always joked that Mariko could always find her way back to his house if she just looked above the trees. She wanted so badly to just walk up the hill and visit Raiden and his parents…
"Mariko? Mariko?" She could hear a voice calling to her. Her mother? Was she calling her home so soon? It wasn't even dusk! Mariko wasn't sure how she was able to hear her from so far away, but when she turned around to say goodbyes to Raiden, he wasn't there. The hill had gone, and the tip of his house was no longer visible. The valley melted around her, and reality conformed to her vision…
"Raiden!" She sat bolt upright in bed, her breath escaping her lungs in a huge burst. She breathed heavily as she realized it was just a dream. Slowly, as she gripped the white sheets in her trembling hands, she recalled the day's events. The doctor. The diagnosis. No, not the diagnosis… the death sentence. She realized then what her life has come to and exactly where it was going. In six months she would be six feet under.
Mariko began to sob bitterly and loudly into her shaking hands, drowning in her sorrow. No amount of prayers or hopes or wishes could save her. Her mother came in a few minutes later and curled up with her, and together they cried until they both fell asleep in each other's arms, not a word exchanged between them until the sun rose.
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Meet me at Kiyoshi Park in ten.
Raiden Nakamura was confused by the sudden text message from Mariko at six thirty in the morning. The sudden sound of his phone vibrating on his wooden end table shocked him awake. As he wondered what she could possibly want, he got out of bed and flicked his light on. He pulled a shirt on and some jeans while he replied:
This early?
He knew he would go anywhere for Mariko if it was that important, but it didn't help to ask. He fished in his closet for his favorite jacket, but it was awfully hard to find amidst all the other fancy yet unnecessary articles of clothing bestowed upon him by his parents. He tried to quell the flow of gifts his parents gave him, but every time they went on trips his mother insisted on getting him lots of clothes. His phone buzzed again as he finished shoving his arms into the sleeves of his worn black leather jacket.
Please, Raiden. I really, really need your help right now.
This made him even more concerned, but he said:
Well now I have to come. I'll see you.
He shut off the light and quietly snuck past his parent's room. He took the steps two at a time and locked the front door behind him before he left. The air outside was crisp with the air of late fall, and nearly all the leaves had fallen off the trees and coated the ground. It was the image of decay and death balanced out by the beautiful colors of autumn. Beautiful and melancholy at the same time. He rounded the corner and approached the grassy hill that marked the beginning of Kiyoshi Park. The grass, usually a vibrant green, was now a sandy brown color. The ground crunched and crumbled under his feet, and thin lines of steam escaped his lips as he began to descend down the hill.
He saw Mariko immediately. She looked like a ray of sunshine in the middle of a barren field. She had bright, light gold hair and the same colored eyes, and everything about her screamed "sunshine". She was luminous and made everything about where she was and who she was around a little brighter. She was wearing a regular shirt and stockings, with an old coat of hers and a hat, but she looked stunning to Raiden like usual. As he approached her, he had a smile on his face, but when she turned around and he saw her expression, his smile disappeared. He quickened his pace until he was right in front of her. Close up, he could tell she had been crying. She looked at him for about one second then collapsed into him and began to cry. Raiden didn't need any other cue; he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.
"It's okay," he said, closing his eyes . "Mariko, I'm here. It's okay…"
"No, it's not…" she sniffed and pulled back from him, her hands still gripping his jacket like she was scared he would disappear if she let go completely.
"What happened?" He gripped her shoulders tightly. "Come on. Out with it."
"I…"
"You know you can tell me anything."
"I know, Raiden. Of course I know that," she composed herself a little and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and said, "I went to the doctor yesterday… and…"
Raiden's eyes narrowed as Mariko trailed off, and anger began to boil inside of him, full of jealousy and disdain. He looked her straight in the eye and said. "Oh God, are you pregnant Mariko? If I ever find the crazy son of a bitch who did that to you, I swear to every god I know –"
"Raiden –"
"I mean it, Mariko. Was it consensual? Did someone rape you? Shit, we need to call the police or something, or tell your mom at least –"
He didn't stop his angry rant until he saw that Mariko was laughing and crying at the same time. He deflated a little bit and said, "What's so funny?"
"You, silly! I'm not pregnant. Of course I'm not pregnant," she said, her smile losing luster. "I wish I were…"
"What are you…?"
"Raiden, I have cancer."
At first, Raiden didn't feel anything. Then slowly, almost torturously, those three words sunk into his soul, and he could almost hear his heart tearing inside his chest. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears, and the beat was almost enough to drown out all the sounds around him. Suddenly, the shoulders he was clutching, the hands on his chest, and the eyes staring at his waiting for a reply became too real. It was like he was staring at her through a veil until that moment, and as it lifted, a clock began to count down, signaling he was too late to do anything. His whole world seemed to shatter.
"Raiden?" Her voice suddenly broke through to him through his numb senses. She moved her hands from his jacket and pressed her hands onto the sides of his face. "Say something, please."
He didn't know how, but he managed to say with a strangled breath, "How long?"
"Without treatment, I have six months to a year. It's a rare and vicious form of leukemia." She couldn't even look at him while she said it.
"Without treatment?"
"Raiden –"
"Is it because you can't afford it?" He was just rattling off words now to make himself feel better. "I can give you all the money you need to get treated. What is it, chemotherapy? Something else? I'll talk to my parents, beg even, but they'll say yes if they know it's for you. They love you –"
"It's not a money issue."
"Then you're getting treated, right?" He searched her eyes for an answer, even if he didn't know if he would like what he found.
"I…"
"Right?"
She let go of his face and stepped back a few steps before sitting on the dying field of grass and hugged herself. "It would take a miracle. I'm not even going to bother. Either way, I don't have much time, regardless of whether I have six months or three years. Either way, I know what road I'm traveling, and it's not going to end in me living."
Raiden turned and sat down next to her, looking sideways at her distant expression fixed palely at the dirt. "Why wouldn't you save yourself the pain, then? Without treatment…"
"It would be painful, yes, but with chemo or whatever drug they prescribe me I'll live my last years feeling sickly. It'll be worse than just dying… I'll be practically rotting. I don't want to live like that."
"But you don't know if it will help you or not."
"No, I don't."
"It could save your life."
"That's a one in a million chance," she smiled weakly.
He nudged her shoulder and said, "Well, you're too special to die, Mari. Not on my watch."
"That's sweet of you, but I still don't want to take the treatment. It almost seems like a feeble attempt at saving my life, giving people the hope I may survive. I'd hate to think those hopes that will be dashed when I die, leaving only scars in their place. And I am going to die." She said. "But… I want to enjoy my last months on earth, so don't treat me like a kitten without three legs. I want life to go on, okay?"
"I can't just ignore this."
"I don't want you to ignore it, I just want you to remember me as I was," she explained. "I'm going to tell the whole class tomorrow. I'd like you to be up there with me to help explain it. I… I don't know if I can do it alone. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, Mariko," he said. "Of course I will."
She let out a long sigh and scooted over to him, leaning on his shoulder. Well, half on his shoulder; he was much taller than her. They were the strangest friends; the ray of sun sitting nuzzled up against the shadow. For Mariko, it was completely platonic, but for Raiden it was more than that. He didn't know when he began to fall in love with Mariko, but he was nonetheless, and just being close to her was a blessing.
But in six months, that would all be over, and he couldn't do a thing about it.