H-hey guys, sorry for being inactive. You see, I was writing my stories on my iPad and my iPad BROKE DOWN AND IT WON'T TURN ON I DUNNO WHY IT SUDDENLY DID! Um, sorry got a little carried off there. I'm drawing the cover images for all of my stories and I'm writing a few stories and they might be erased so ;-; I was going to start this story after I upload Only One secret ending and Episode 2 of A Curse, A Gift, but... I guess I'll have to start this first... Hope you enjoy anyways! ;u;
The Kisaragi students all made it back alive from Heavenly Host Elementary School. They were shocked, yes, but they soon overcame it by helping each other. The incident seemed to make the students bond in closer than before, so they could say the charm worked 'well'. Mayu Suzumoto moved away, of course, as the transfer was planned before they performed the charm. Morishige didn't seem so affected by it since he called her everyday, but Ayumi, on the other hand, couldn't call her much since she was calling Morishige for hours. Ayumi was Mayu's closest friend besides Morishige. Since Naomi and Seiko were always together Ayumi thought that she didn't have much space between them. Yoshiki always stuck close to Ayumi, which she didn't realize since he walked up to her too casually. Yoshiki couldn't talk to Ayumi much even if he always hung around her. When she wasn't around, he would tease his best friend Satoshi for his crush on Naomi.
"Why don't you just ask her out already?" Yoshiki said, smirking.
"Dude, quiet down! She might hear us," Satoshi said, panicking a little. "I'm not sure if she likes me or not."
"Wow, are you fucking kidding me?" Yoshiki exclaimed. "I'm just gonna go bring Shinohara here to give you a preach about how much Nakashima likes you."
"W-what?"
"Be right back."
"Wait! Yoshiki!"
Yoshiki approached Seiko, who was talking to Naomi as usual. Yoshiki could hear her loud voice praising Naomi's ass. He poked her shoulder for attention.
"Hmm?" Seiko said. "Oh, what is it Kishinuma? Do you want Naomi's ass too?"
"W-what? NO! I just wanted to bring you to Satoshi and..," he paused.
Seiko saw Yoshiki eyeing Naomi and Satoshi in turn.
"Ooooohhhhh," she said, realizing Yoshiki's little code. "Okay, I get it."
Naomi noticed Seiko's evil cat face and got a bad feeling on what Yoshiki and Seiko was up to.
"Mochiiiddaaaaa~" Seiko purred. "So...are you planning to ask her?"
"Ask who? What?" Satoshi said, acting like he didn't have anything to do with this.
Seiko put her face right in front of Satoshi's ear and said,
"ARE. YOU. TRYING. TO. ASK. NAOMI. OUT?!"
Of course, it wasn't loud enough for Naomi to hear, but it was loud enough to hurt Satoshi's ear.
"Gaaww! Stop that! It hurts!" Satoshi said, rubbing his ear.
Yoshiki chuckled a little, then kept his smirk on his face.
"God dammit, stop it with the smirk, man!"
"Are you a chicken to ask her out?"
"NO! I'm not a CHICKEN!"
"Heh. Go for it then!"
"Yea, Naomi is always talking about you and she was planning to ask you too anyways," Seiko said, grinning.
"F-fine!" Satoshi said, blushing. "Here I go..."
Ayumi couldn't believe what she watched. Satoshi just asked Naomi out and she said yes. Did this mean they were a couple now? Probably, since Naomi agreed on being a couple with Satoshi when Ayumi asked her. She knew this would happen one day, but now? Ayumi was heartbroken. She was walking back home with heavy footsteps and dull eyes.
"Shinozaki?" A voice behind her asked.
She turned around to see Yoshiki.
"What do you want?" Ayumi said coldly.
"I just wanted to see if you were okay," he said. "You seemed so down today."
"You already know the reason why."
Yoshiki didn't answer.
"They are together now." Ayumi said quietly. "You already know I like him."
"Well didn't you already know they liked each other for a long time?"
"Of course I did!" Ayumi snapped. "I just wish he could have noticed me more... Why did they have to become a couple? Why TODAY?"
"Shinozaki..."
Ayumi couldn't hold in her tears anymore. She cried, tears falling down. Yoshiki seemed to panic a little, but then he reached her and hesitantly pat her back.
"Do you know what happned?" She said, sniffling. "Like, did you see what happened? All of it?"
Yoshiki sighed, then nodded.
"Tell me."
"No..," he said. "It's gonna make you feel worse."
"Just tell me!" Ayumi said angrily, more tears falling.
"Fine," he said. "I was teasing him about his crush on Nakashima...and I brought Shinohara to tell him that she liked him back."
Ayumi stopped sniffling. She backed up so he couldn't touch her anymore. She lifted her face and glared at Yoshiki.
"So it was you who started all this?" Ayumi said. "You and Shinohara made them together?!"
"Look, I just wanted Satoshi-"
"AND YOU KNEW HOW I FUCKING FELT?! You are probably the only one who knows that I like Mochida... and you just LET THEM ASK EACH OTHER OUT?!"
"Shinozaki, I-"
"Fuck off."
"What..?"
"I said, FUCK OFF, YOU IMBECILE!"
Yoshiki didn't say anything for a while, but just stared at her, shocked. The stare suddenly turned into a glare.
"Fine, I'll 'fuck off'," he said, turning around. "But YOU are the imbecile around here, Shinozaki. You don't care about anyone else's emotions. Only yours."
Yoshiki stormed off, seeming angry.
"K-Kishinuma..," Ayumi said. "He's right... I was being selfish, wasn't I?"
Ayumi continued heading back home. She took out her phone and started texting Yoshiki.
"I should just...apologize in person..," she said. "Hope he'll be school tomorrow..."
The next day seemed perfectly normal. Ayumi opened the classroom door. She saw Satoshi and Naomi talking with Seiko. She decided to be happy for them, since it wouldn't be beneficial for her if she held a grudge on Naomi. Ayumi glanced at Yohsiki's seat, which was empty.
'He's probably late again...' Ayumi thought.
"Shinozaki?"
"Hmm?" Ayumi turned around. "Oh hi Mochida. What's up?"
"I'm worried about Yoshiki... I tried calling him last night but he didn't pick it up. I called him like 10 times."
"Maybe he was at work?"
"Maybe..." Satoshi said worriedly.
"Don't worry about it, Mochida," she said. "He's probably late like always."
Satoshi nodded and went away.
First period passed, and it was break time. She looked at Yoshiki's seat. Yoshiki was sitting there, with a tedious look on his face. Ayumi was glad he was there. She got out from her seat and approached his.
"Hey, Kishinuma..."
Yoshiki looked up at her, but didn't say anything.
"W-when did you come in? I didn't see you coming in."
"During first period." He said, without any emotions in his word, making his words hard as a rock.
"Oh..," Ayumi said, thinking that he's probably still mad about yesterday. "Kishinuma, look... I'm sorry about what I said yesterday... I was too harsh..."
He didn't answer. Instead, he just avoided her eyes. Ayumi sadly looked at him then noticed his pale skin.
"Kishinuma? Are you okay? You seem really pale."
"I'm fine. Just...mind your own business."
Ayumi turned around sadly. The bell rang, so she went back to her seat. She couldn't concentrate on the second period. She was keep stealing glances on Yoshiki, to see if he was there.
"Class rep?" The teacher asked. "Are you okay? You look anxious."
"Huh?" Ayumi looked at the teacher. "S-sorry, I had some things in mind..."
"Try to put that aside and concentrate, okay?"
Ayumi nodded. She was able to concentrate for the rest of the second period. The second bell rang, and she saw Yoshiki walking off.
"Kishinuma, wait!"
He stopped, and looked back with his cold eyes.
"Why...didn't you get Mochida's call yesterday? He's really worried about you, you know..."
Yoshiki turned around and walked away. Ayumi ran to him and grabbed his wrist. Surprisingly, it was cold.
"Are you ever going to talk to me?" Ayumi said sadly. "I'm really sorry...please, forgive me!"
He glared at her. She felt like his glare was penetrating through her heart. Ayumi let go of him, and he just walked away. Ayumi felt her eyes tearing up, but wiped them quickly since she didn't wanted to cry. She went back to class and took her seat.
"Class rep?" Satoshi said. "Kishinuma still isn't here..."
"No, he was here during first period...but he just left."
"He did? I didn't see him... Why didn't he say anything to me?" Satoshi said.
Ayumi shook her head, showing that she has no idea.
"I'm worried about him... Do you know anything that happened to him yesterday..?"
"Well... I kind of yelled at him...and told him to...fuck off..."
"What? Why did you say that?"
"I was being selfish..."
"Did you talk to him today?" Satoshi asked. "Anything off about him?"
"He didn't talk much...he still seemed angry at me..," she said. "He did seem pale, and his hand was really cold."
"Huh?"
"I'm not sure..."
"Then I'll go visit him today," he said. "But I don't have much free time..."
"I'll go for you," she suggested. "I have to make up to him for what happened yesterday too...can you tell me his address?"
Satoshi nodded and started writing down Yoshiki's address.
"Text me if he is okay or not. He may be sick or something..."
"Alright.
"Is this it..?" Ayumi asked herself.
She was in front of an apartment door. She nervously knocked on the door. No answer.
"Huh?" She said, grabbing the door handle. The door opened.
"Why is it unlocked?" She said. "He probably doesn't lock it since he's alone..."
She carefully peeked inside. Yoshiki was sitting on a couch silently. He looked up and saw Ayumi peeking from the door.
"Sh-Shinozaki?" Yoshiki stood up and quickly got to the door. "What are you doing here?"
"Kishinuma... you looked sick so... I was worried."
Yoshiki looked startled. He panicked a bit too.
"I'm fine," he said. "You don't need to worry."
Ayumi looked at him. His gaze was soft, the total opposite from before. But he still looked pale, maybe even more than how he looked in school.
"How can I not worry? You're still pale!" Ayumi exclaimed. She grabbed his hand to check the temperature. "Your hand is cold, too."
Yoshiki flinched at the contact and backed off.
"Can I come in?"
"I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Oh come on, your house isn't dirty! I peeked in!"
Ayumi pushed her way in. There was two doors in the small apartment with a living room and a small kitchen. Ayumi assumed they were Yoshiki's room and a bathroom. Yoshiki sighed and let her sit on the couch.
"It's a bit small..." Yoshiki said.
"It's fine! It feels cozy."
"Why...are you here?"
"I told you, I was worried about you. Mochida was going to go first but I came instead of him. I...need to apologize properly too, so..."
"You don't need to apologize..." Yoshiki said quietly.
"No, it's needed! I was always mean to you... and you're right. I shouldn't be so selfish. I'm so sorry, Kishinuma... I hope you can forgive me..."
"It's okay. I understand you. You had a crush on him for a long time and I should have thought more before I acted."
"What? No, no, it wasn't your fault. It was all my fault," she said. "I'm truly sorry..."
Yoshiki smiled and looked at her.
"I forgave you already," he said, looking at her eyes. "I guess I was overreacting on a small thing. I shouldn't be angry about it. I don't want to lose a friend like you."
Ayumi looked at him sadly. He just smiled at her.
"I...really don't deserve a friend like you..," she said. "By the way, why are you so pale? Did you get a cold?"
"H-huh? No. I d-didn't..."
"Hold on, I'll get a towel or something to warm you up." Ayumi said, standing up. "Where's the bathroom?"
Ayumi opened the door, thinking that it was the bathroom.
"W-WAIT! NOOO!"
It was too late. She accidentally opened Yoshiki's room. Yoshiki ran to his room to see a silently trembling Ayumi.
There was a figure, just a foot above the ground. It was motionless even if it was above ground since a rope was holding it still. It was wearing a familiar school uniform with a dyed blonde hair.
"KYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA! NO, NOOOOOOOOO! WHHHHYYY!?" Ayumi screamed uncontrollably. Horror struck her and tears were flowing out as if it was raining. She collapsed on the ground but she was still looking at the body.
The body of Yoshiki Kishinuma was hanging above ground, with a rope around his neck. Yoshiki looked at his body and then Ayumi.
"I told you it wasn't a good idea to come in."
-End of Chapter 1-