I ignored the smug comment and clutched the collar of his shirt.

"Why are you doing this?!" I spat at him as I pulled him up closer to my face, "Why?! What's your motive?! What do you think you'll accomplish by doing this?!" I glared down at him as I gritted my teeth. He didn't say a word as he opened his eyes slowly and sighed deeply.

"Oh so you don't know. I thought you would be a little smarter than that. I mean, you learned about the Daze now that you encountered the Dan, right? I must admit I'm sincerely disappointed in your stupidity."

"What the hell is your problem?!" I shrieked as I threw his body against the metal pole. We were in the middle of town and corpse of her littered every area around us. Each body had a diverse epilogue, each one a different finale. It sent shivers down my spine every time I thought of it. I was so thankful no one from the Dan had come over to stop me. I needed to figure things out by myself. They were at the crosswalk across the street, staring at all the bodies. I guess they didn't expect a grade schooler to have such a tragic past.

I walked over to him and gripped his shirt collar tighter as I shoved my face against his. "Now…" I muttered furiously, "Tell me, why the hell are you doing this?" His bored expression faded and was replaced with a smirk.

"Because, I'm you Hibiya."

I was so done then.

I let go of his shirt collar only after I threw him up against the pole a few times. When he hit the ground I began kicking him with all my strength.

"You liar! You killed her! You killed her! You're the reason she's dead! It's your entire fault!" I stopped suddenly when I felt a weak tug on my pant leg. I glanced down with an enraged look.

"I-I'm not lying… It's the truth. I. I am you."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" I shook his hand off my leg and began to punch him in the face, "You're lying! I would never do this to her! I would never kill her! I loved her!"

"I didn't do this though…" He gasped for air in between words, "I loved her too…you see…"-cough-"but I loved…what you could call, an alternate version of her…"

"You liar! Of course you did this! Who else could of?" He took his weak trembling hand and blocked his face before I could punch him. I followed his slow moving finger as it pointed over towards a red yield sign. A man dressed in black and yellow was leaning against it with crossed arms. After realizing the eyes on him he turned towards us with a stoic expression on his face.

""Oi brat," his face became twisted as he dropped his arms to his side and faced us directly, slumped backwards a little bit, "you've figured it out have you? Isn't it amazing how many ways one can die?" I got up and faced the man with balled fists.

"Konoha…" I said grinding my teeth, "I knew I couldn't trust you!"

"Oh no you are mistaken. I'm not Konoha. I'm Kuroha. Try not to confuse me for that weakling. I'm surprised you didn't trust him. I mean, he was the one who tried to save you after all." I glanced over pas the sign to another version of me. Hiyori was grabbing my hand while Konoha was reaching out towards the two of us, screaming. Kuroha snapped his fingers and almost immediantly multiple thick, black clock hands caged the android in before the truck pulverized me. Then, with another snap, the scene faded and I heard a scream from the other side of town. I heard a soft cough come from below me and I glanced down at the boy who lay on the ground.

"You see," He said entering a coughing fit, "this world is connected to every world. I died with her too. I experience the same thing you do every day, only in the world I'm from," he began to cough up blood, "she made it out…" I crouched down to help the poor boy up while mumbling "I'm sorry" repeatedly. Tears fell from my eyes as I rubbed his back while he coughed violently in a raspy dry voice. I supported the boy by let him lean on my back as we stood before Kuroha.

"You killed all of us." I stated, "and tortured Konoha. Konoha was the key to opening the world but unfortunately you made it so the key had to suffer to death while opening the locked doorway. Why must you keep prolonging our agony?!" I yelled. with every word I said my body shook and I had to be careful not to move too much. I feared I might hurt the boy more. I had noted that he was bleeding from the head and he winced a little when I began to yell. I used the arm that was swung over his shoulder to brush the hair out of his eyes. We smiled for a moment at each other before we looked back at the devil.

"Oh? Why do I prolong your torture, you ask? Well, you obviously haven't seen the extent of my persecution." He grinned maliciously as he glowered down at the ground. I couldn't see his eyes anymore. He snapped his fingers and snakes flew out from behind him. The poor boy I had supported was knocked to the concrete and devoured. I heard more snaps and things fell from the sky, impaling the concrete where the boy lay. I heard one final cry as blood poured out from his body. I saw him go into convulsions. And what was the worst of all, when he was pushed to the ground. I met his eyes while his arm reached out for me, and I saw something glow in the back of my mind.

Fear.

The snakes slinked away from the corpse and I was left to witness the gory sight of him. I covered my mouth and began to gag. I looked towards the man as he threw his head back and raised his hands and laughed.

"Welcome to my womb rubbish! Let's see how long you can last holding onto that petty thought called hope!" He lurched forward, glaring at me with a tilted head. His grin became wider. "Here, everything is taken from you! Remember those days when you said to yourself, 'the one thing they can't take away is your thoughts'? Well, let us see how much you enjoy having your sanity ripped from your soul and distorted to no end!"

I fell forward on my knees as tears fell into the puddle of blood. This was so much worse than hell. Hell was isolation. Isolation with your thoughts. There was nothing for you to hold onto here. I felt the blood seep into my shorts as my body was crouched over the body. I couldn't stop the tears.

We had come so far. We had figured out everyone's deaths, we had gotten rid of their eye powers, made them normal! We had defeated Azami and all that was left was me. Rather, all that was left was Hiyori. She was the last one. I felt someone come up behind me and shake my shoulder. Thinking it was Kido, I shrugged it off as my body shook painfully as I bawled. I paused in shock when I heard that familiar faint voice,

"Hibiya…"

I glanced behind me. There she was. Her long black hair was tied back into loose pigtails and laid on top of her hot pink dress that went past her knees. She leaned down and engulfed me in a hug. The hug, I had noted, was shallow, almost hollow. And then I realized, this wasn't the Hiyori I knew. This wasn't the cheerful Hiyori I had come to know and love. This wasn't the living Hiyori. It had become his Hiyori when I left the daze. I glanced back up at her. She was transparent. I didn't care anymore. I wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled my head into her neck. I listened to her soft breathing for a moment before I heard her whisper.

"Ne, Hibiya, you can still defeat him. I know it. Remember, you still have your eye power. Maybe you can use all your strength and use it on him."

I suddenly felt her warmth leave me and I heard a "Trust Me." when a summer breeze blew by. For a moment I glanced back at the boy's body. It hadn't faded. This was reality.

I stood up abruptly, my back towards the demon. A cocky "Huh?" escaped his mouth as I turned around. I flashed my eyes at him, mustering all the strength I could. The world around us faded, and we were in a black space. The ground underneath us was like water. Every step I took a ripple was sent out. Beneath us a chair formed, then a desk, then a classroom, then two students. We watched as a girl with twin-tails whispered to a boy who was asleep. We watched as the two laughed and we watched as the girl cried when the boy died. I saw Kuroha clutch at his head as he mumbled with an anxious expression on his face.

"No, no, no." I heard come from him, "NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONOONONONONONONO!" I walked over to him, slowly at first, and then I started running. The distance between us was so great. When I reached him I grabbed his arms. "NONONONONO NO!"

"Kuroha remember! Kuroha remember what you were before all this! You have to remember!"

"NONONONONONO!"

"Remember dammit! Please! Remember!"

"HARUKA!"

A voice rung out in agony. The girl shook the boy as tears collapsed from her face. Kuroha stopped yelling and froze. He fell to his knees and his arms dropped to his side.

"Takane…" He whispered, his body began to change a little. The red mark on his face changed to black. "Takane…" He repeated, as his eyes changed from snake-like to a more natural expression, "Takane…" Tears dropped as the world faded back to normal and he covered his face. When we arrived back at the intersection I walked over to Shintarou. I pointed to his phone. I had an intuition that I needed it. I held it in front of the boy.

"Haruka, it's me, Takane-san." The computer virus stated with a smile as the boy's arms shook. He reached for the phone and touched the screen, causing a hologram projection to appear in front of him. The blue static faded and left a girl with black hair wearing a blue jacket with white stripes down the sides. She was no longer a virus, but a physical person again. She reached her hand out in front of the boy and in a cheerful voice, she smiled and said, "Let's go home Haruka-kun. I've missed you for a while. I-" Her voice began to break as her hand shook. She stuttered on her words as the tears fell, "I," She eventually got a hold of herself and smiled as the tears continued to collapse, "I really was upset the day you died. But now, we're going home now! So come on Haruka-kun, you won't have to worry about dying anymore! Because now, when we die, we'll be together! We won't die one at a time! I promise you that!" The tears fell from the two as they took each other's hand and walked together.

When we were ready to escape the never-ending world, we went to the gateway. Mary was waiting for us there. She brightened up when she saw us.
"Is it time to go home now?" She asked.

"Mary, are you sure your okay with this?" Seto asked sadly as he walked over to the girl.

"It's okay Seto, really. Even if you leave, I'll meet you at the other side of the gateway. I don't have control over the snakes so it will really strain my body but since the world doesn't repeat anymore, it's no longer August 15th! So when I die, I'll see you again!"

Seto began to crumble as he grabbed Mary and hugged her tightly. His voice was stern and serious.

"Promise, you'll come with us."

"I promise."

He held her arms as he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. When he was done, Mary stepped towards the doorway. She folded her hands and bowed her head, as if praying. I watched as the white gateway began to open as the girl struggled to remain standing. Kido and Kano grasped hands and I watched them run through. Next were Shintarou and Ayano. Then came Seto and after him was Takane and Haruka. That left me. I felt a presence beside me and I looked next to me. I felt two cold breezes push me forward towards the door. One was humid and the other was cold. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I was holding someone's hand.

We passed through the gateway. We had made it out, all of us. Unfortunately, our eye powers were what let us live in the real world. After losing them, our pasts were re-written. Our stories had no sequel. We had a final chapter, and we had completed it. We all had died on August 15th, at different times, for different reasons. After passing through the gateway, we had reached a place none of us could even fathom.

It was so bright, and cheerful. Some of us had families there, others, their pets or their friends. The place was so joyful and limitless. I felt so elated. I watched as Kano and Kido kissed each other, Seto met Mary at the doorway and the two cried in each other's arms. Shintarou and Ayano were nestled against one another, smiling. Takane and Haruka were holding hands. I even saw Azami and Tsukihiko in the distance watching us. I smiled at them. I had no grudges in this world.

I felt the presence beside me again and looked next to me. On both sides of me, I had Hiyori and my other self. I broke into tears and fell to the ground, dragging the two of them with me. I just couldn't believe it. After all those years in the time loop of watching her die, and that gruesome death that I witnessed, here they were, right beside me. They leaned over and hugged me. And I felt Hiyori kiss my cheek. I looked over at my alternate self.

"Where is your Hiyori?" I asked.

"Well, you see, I guess she never entered the haze. I don't believe she died. I just guess I knew she had escaped the daze because she was never in it." He said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

'I'm sorry." I whispered.

"It's okay, really! It's like your friend said! We'll all meet up eventually!"

I leaned over towards him and hugged him and began to cry again. I knew the feeling of waiting. I knew what it felt like. But for some reason, this world made waiting seem so much more exhilarating. Without a word, he returned the gesture and whispered to me:

"I waited an even longer time for you to come and save me, Hibiya.

Thank you."

In another world a girl stands in front of a row graves, thinking quietly to herself. A warm breeze blows by and seems to wash away a wave of guilt that she had carried for many years.

"I'm glad you're okay, Hibiya. I'm so glad you okay." she muttered, tracing her fingers over the names written on the tombstones.

Ayano Tateyama

Kido Tsubomi

Seto Kousuke

Kano Shuuya

Mary Kozakura

Momo Kisaragi

Takane Enemoto

Shintarou Kisaragi

Hibiya Amamiya

Hiyori Asahina

Author's Note: So I just realized people might be confused with the fact that Hibiya's eye power came out to be very similar to Shintarou's. Hibiya did not look back into the past but when he looked at Konoha and Kuroha he was able to activate his power. I also believe that in the haze(the source of their powers/snakes) their powers are stronger. In which case Hibiya's power would give him the ability to work with people that are not only his own.