AN: I can't quite believe I've uploaded this second chapter within a week of the first - it's unheard of! First off I'd like to thank accentcore8 and 'Ela' for their lovely reviews, as well as Sumiku Agaishi for your favourite. It means a lot!
Alright, down to business. To all those Morishige-haters out there, bear with me! He's a favourite of mine (gosh, he's like marmite or something!) and 'cause Mayu's the narrator of this chapter he figures quite prominently... it had to happen, so apologies if you don't like him :) Thinking about that I find it quite sad that Morishige's the only one never addressed by his first name... all of the other characters would've been if they'd been narrating!
But I digress - sorry, tangent. Well, without any further ado here's chapter two, enjoy.

Two:

"Shige-nii…? Shige-nii?" Mayu stroked his cold forehead gently, feeling him stir slightly beneath her hands. His eyelids fluttered but didn't open, and she ran her fingers through his matted hair, feeling them snag a little on various knots and tangles. The floor gave another rumble and she paused her ministrations, looking about nervously and watching more dust trickle from the ceiling. Following its path Mayu's eyes fell upon the phone before them, lying quite still and quiet next to the lifeless form of its owner, and another wave of sorrow washed over her. It was closely followed but the guilt she knew was probably irrational but just couldn't shake. It was her fault this had happened to him – she had let those ghosts manipulate her and it had got her killed. And then Morishige – her Shige-nii – had… had…!

Closing her eyes Mayu shook her head, not wanting to remember as the tears welled all over again. Swallowing she told herself to not think about it, that there was no point dwelling on the past, but it was too difficult. As soon as she opened her eyes and saw the blood, saw that little mobile phone, it all came rushing back. Not that it had really gone anywhere. She was deluding herself if she thought she could forget it in the span of a few short hours.

She should never have told him it was her. She knew that now – hindsight was a wonderful thing – but she hadn't been able to stand having her look at her in such a state, especially not with those eyes. Those eyes, usually so clear and cold, so dark with fear and madness. And hearing him say she was pretty… she hadn't been able to stand it.

"Why?" she murmured, dropping her eyes to his still face. "What happened that made you like that, Shige-nii? Is it my fault? Was it because I left you?" She got no response, only a shiver, but all the same her hopes raised their heads and she fixed her eyes on him. Bleary, pain-glazed green eyes opened slowly, blinking once before latching onto her. For a long moment his eyes roamed over her face, his expression one of perfect confusion.

"Good morning, Shige-nii." Mayu said softly, hoping not to startle him. She smiled gently, quietly allowing him to take in her whole, unbroken form. Something had happened that allowed her to leave the confines of his phone, where she had been trapped after the dreaded photograph had been taken, and she had found herself back to normal – if a little less alive – when she had awoken, the only evidence of her demise a dull, throbbing ache that pulsed throughout her entire body. All the same she was grateful – she wasn't sure if even a spirit could handle that much damage.

"…" Morishige tried to speak and she saw his lips form her name, but all he got for his troubles was a terrible gurgling sound and another small trickle of blood from the hole in his throat. Mayu cringed at the noise, and Morishige winced in apparent pain, the confusion on his face doubling.

"Don't try to speak, Shige-nii." Mayu said, gently brushing her fingers against his cheek. Something changed in his expression suddenly; his eyes widened slightly behind the crooked glasses. And then he had shot to his feet, staggering in a circle as he finally processed their surroundings. Mayu rose to her feet slowly, concerned. Perhaps, half-asleep as he had been, he had forgotten all about the 'Sachiko Ever After Charm' and the Heavenly Host Elementary School. Her heart ached for him.

Morishige's frantic movements suddenly stilled and Mayu found his eyes fixed on her. His expression scared her. With a jolt she noticed his wide green orbs still held the manic edge they had died with and she stepped towards him, anxious.

"Shige-nii-" she halted as he staggered two steps back, lifting his hands as if to shield himself from her. Worried, Mayu stretched out a hand, noticing as she did that it was shaking slightly.

"It's me, Shige-nii – it's Mayu." She said, watching as his gaze slipped from her onto something behind her and a disturbing kind of stillness fell over him. The failing, flickering light caught his glasses, turning them a flat, opaque white. Apprehensive Mayu turned, following his gaze. He had seen himself – his abandoned, spiritless corpse. Pain splintered across her chest and she turned back, but not before his wide, glassy eyes had met hers, still full of disbelief at his death. He hadn't expected to die. None of them had. Letting her eyes close briefly Mayu fought the persistent prickling, the moisture gathering in her eyes, and her thoughts wandered onto their friends. She didn't know what had happened to any of them, she realised.

Painful choking noises made her eyes snap open, to reveal a staggering Morishige, his head in his hands. There was a faint light gathering around him, coating him in a dim reddish-orange.

"Shi- Shige-nii?" Mayu tried again, thinking maybe he was crying. His shoulders were certainly shaking enough. However, a glimpse of his expression a moment later sent a thrill of fear through her. He was laughing. And it wasn't his usual soft, cold 'heh heh'. No. It was a crazed, pained shriek of a laugh that she knew, if it wasn't being obstructed by his broken throat, would sound more like screams than laughter. She had heard it once before, ringing clearly into the space she had inhabited in his phone. Mayu's heart broke a little for him. The aura around him grew a little stronger; red-orange flames licked along his arms, caressing his face with dark tongues. She fancied she could almost see his eyes glowing with some evil, ethereal light from beneath his fingers.

"No- stop…!" Mayu cried, moving to him. He was still laughing – soft little gurgles that seemed more sinister than the hysterical choking from a moment ago. "Please, Shige-nii! Stop!" Seeing no other option Mayu wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face against his bloody shirt and wincing from the dark heat rising from the flames encasing his body. Beneath her cheek she felt his chest hitch before he fell still, the laughter petering out. Tightening her grip on him Mayu wondered what she was supposed to do, other than reassure him of his presence – after all it was his losing her that had caused all of this pain, the slipping of his mind, and she desperately wanted to right what she had done. Just as she had sensed the pain in the three children's spirits she could sense the agony in Morishige, and her chest was tight and painful as she hugged him.

"I'm so sorry, Shige-nii." She whispered into his shirt, trying to ignore the overwhelming smell of blood. "I'm so sorry for leaving you. I promise I won't ever go anywhere again so please – please come back to me." The tears finally broke the dam, sliding down her cheeks as she bit her lower lip firmly to stop its quivering. One sob broke free before she had squashed them down, allowing only the tears to show themselves.

"M…a…y…u…" her name was barely more than choked little sounds as slowly, slowly, his arms snaked around her, loose at first and then tightening painfully. Pressed against him as she was Mayu clearly felt it as he began to shake again, more violently this time, the noises working their way through his broken throat louder. His head fell against her shoulder gently and she felt the warmth of tears begin to seep through her shirt as his glasses dug into her skin.

"…" he was trying to speak again, and though Mayu couldn't make out his words she could easily make out their sentiment. 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Mayu."

"It's alright, Shige-nii." She said, smiling genuinely for the first time in what felt like an age. "It's alright, I forgive you. Thank you for trying to help me… thank you for not leaving me alone." He definitely hadn't gone about it the right way, but she knew well the ways the strange school they had ended up in could warp a person's thoughts, erode their mind until there was nothing left but darkness. They stood for a long time, Mayu stroking his back gently as he cried, tall frame shaking with sobs that made little noise beyond agonised chokes. She waited patiently for them to subside and for a long time they didn't, but as she stood there her thoughts turned to their friends. What had happened to them? Had they met similar fates to her? Or perhaps even similar fates to Morishige – trapped in a world of darkness where madness was the only way out? She recalled briefly seeing Miss Yui before… but other than that, Morishige was the only one of her friends she had come come across. It couldn't be helped, she supposed, seeing as how early she had fallen in the ghosts' clutches. She hoped with every fibre of her incorporeal being that they were alright, but the heaviness in her heart suggested it was hollow.

Sudden movement jolted her from her morbid thoughts and Morishige stepped away from her, out of the circle of her arms. Eyes downcast he didn't bother to hide the evidence of his tears, though he did attempt to clean his glasses with the corner of his shirt, staring resolutely at the rotten floor before hugging himself protectively. She could see the struggle in his face as he tried to regain his familiar, icy composure and she was well aware of the worry plastered all over her own face as she watched him.

"Are you alright?" the words slipped out before she could stop them and as they rang in the air she caught a brief glimpse of her Shige-nii as she earned herself a sharp, sardonic look. As his eyes slid back to the floor she desperately wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know how. She could see but a fraction of what he was feeling, and she got the impression that no amount of sweet or soft words would help. Not now, and perhaps not ever.

"Shinozaki?" A voice broke through the quiet before Mayu managed to think of anything to say, and she glanced instinctively about for its source, seeing from the corner of her eye Morishige doing the same with a slight noise of pain.

"Kishinuma? Nakashima? Mochida? Shinohara? Morishige? Su-Suzumoto?" With each name the voice drew a little closer, a little louder, and Mayu recognised it after a moment.

"Miss Yui…!" she breathed, clutching her hands to her breast. A twinge of sadness ran through her as she noted the hesitation with which her name was called, knowing Miss Yui had witnessed her death.

"Come on, Shige-nii." She said, beginning to head in the direction of their teacher's voice. "It's Miss Yui!" She took a few more steps before glancing back, finding him stood very still in the same place. There was something like anxiety in his expression and he tightened his arms around himself as he cast a brief glance at the section of hallway illuminated by the faltering light. Mayu hesitated briefly before moving back to his side. She touched his arm gently, waiting until he met her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, gently tugging at his sleeve. "It's Miss Yui, we need to find her." His green eyes flitted about restlessly again and he shook his head almost imperceptibly. Frowning Mayu tried to understand; he couldn't tell her, nor did he seem to really want to. It suddenly struck her that perhaps he was afraid, afraid to leave that little pool of light and walk about the school that had corrupted his mind so much. Perhaps he feared regressing once more, despite Mayu's promises to never leave him again.

Worming her hand between his fingers and arm she took hold of his cold hand, squeezing it gently between both of her own. He looked at her slowly, a slight crease in his forehead as his eyes quietly betrayed his feelings.

"It'll be fine, Shige-nii." She said, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "I'm right here." For a long moment she could tell he didn't believe her, but then a little of the tension ebbed from his body and he nodded once with a wince. Not relinquishing her grip on him Mayu turned and began picking her way across the broken floor, towing him along behind her. She could feel his hesitation, the many stops and starts, but she wasn't about to let him just sit and give in to his fear. Better to face it now and get it over with. More than once his hand almost slipped from hers and she would immediately turn and recapture it, exchanging a brief comforting look with him.

As they went Miss Yui continued to call, gradually growing louder as the distance between them closed.

"Miss Yui?" Mayu worked up the courage to call back after a while, pausing to listen for an answer. "Miss Yui?!" There was the sudden clatter of heels before Miss Yui appeared from the gloom at the end of the corridor, rounding a corner and halting. For a long moment she simply stared, shocked.

"Suzu… Suzumoto?" A hand flew to her mouth. "But you…!" They approached each other slowly, Mayu still trailing Morishige, and halted a few feet apart. For some reason their teacher's jacket was tied tight about her neck, stained red in places. Mayu felt the persistent tears resume their onslaught as she noted the soft glow that encompassed her teacher. So Miss Yui had…

"What's going on?" Miss Yui asked her gentle, lively voice wracked with concern. "Suzumoto I saw-" her eyes suddenly caught on Morishige, bloodstained and silent, and her eyes widened, the hand again returning to her mouth to catch a soft gasp.

"We're ghosts, I think." Mayu said slowly, drawing Miss Yui's gaze back onto her. "But if you can see us then…"

"Yes." Miss Yui gave a smile that lacked its usual vitality. "I was caught under a collapsed ceiling and, well, I suppose you could say I lost my head." She lifted a hand to the jacket, smoothing it gently. "I won't be taking this off any time soon."

"Have you seen anyone else?" Mayu asked, still uncertain on the fates of her friends. "Is anyone else still alive?" A shadow fell over Miss Yui's face and she dropped her eyes to the floor, sighing softly.

"I came across Shinozaki just a little before I…" she trailed off, lifting her gaze as she avoided the topic. "She said that it was only herself, Mochida and Nakashima who were still alive." Mayu finally dropped Morishige's hand in order to bury her face in her hands, unable to stop the tears this time. After a moment a gentle hand touched her arm, more hesitant than she was used to, and through her swimming vision saw that even Morishige's cold face was downcast. It was strange, though, there was something like guilt there too and Mayu suddenly remembered the events that had led to his death.

"Everyone?" she beseeched Miss Yui. "Even Mochida's little sister?" The hand on her arm twitched.

"Yes." Miss Yui said, unable to nod.

"Poor thing." Mayu murmured, recapturing Morishige's hand. "She was so young, too." Miss Yui sighed in agreement before she bent her knees a little and stared hard at both of her students.

"Are you two alright– aside from the whole…?" She skipped over the ghost issue, and Mayu wondered if she was asking after their mental wellbeing, considering how bad their physical wellbeing obviously was.

"I'm fine." Mayu said, taking a deep breath and smiling gently. Both females turned their eyes onto Morishige and he avoided their gazes, giving a considerably lacklustre shrug. When their gazes didn't waver he opened his mouth as if to say something, remembered he couldn't and snapped it shut again with a harsh clack of teeth. Deciding not to pursue the subject any further Mayu turned back to Miss Yui.

"Have you seen anyone else since then? They might have… come back like us." She said, and the answer she received was a negative. For all they knew it could have been just them who had reawakened, or all six of their group who had perished within the school. Mayu wondered if they were wandering the gloomy halls alone, and shuddered at the thought. How dearly she hoped not.

"We should look for them." Mayu said her voice quiet but brooking no arguments. Neither of her companions had one to give, however, though she saw a protest flicker across Morishige's face from the corner of her eye. Tightening her grip on him she waited for Miss Yui to start walking and then followed, smiling slightly when Morishige decided to fall into step beside her instead of making her drag him along. His eyes were fixed resolutely on the floor, as if he were afraid to look up.

Following Miss Yui around a corner Mayu heard a soft, 'oh my', from the teacher and peered around her, only to find the corridor in front of them filled with bodies. Unable to stop a gasp Mayu lifted her free hand to her mouth, feeling her stomach twist slightly. Fighting the rising nausea she looked towards Morishige, worried, and found his eyes still glued to the floor. With a pained wince he swallowed, hand tightening convulsively around Mayu's, and she pressed herself more firmly against his side, hoping to ground him. They walked on.

The corpses lining the corridor ranged from bleached white bones to barely decomposing bodies, and though Mayu desperately didn't want to look at them a strange kind of morbid curiosity drew her eyes to them, and she felt torn between disgust and pity. Now she was one of the many, and she wondered how they had ended up where they were; if they had met their ends at the hands of the ghosts, or at the hands of a schoolmate or other living person. Perhaps they had simply lost the will to live, or had perished from starvation or dehydration. She didn't know, and she tore her eyes away each time before she could make any kind of judgement.

Beside her Morishige was faring no better, if not worse. He kept halting, just for brief moments, to stare at the bodies they passed, but where Mayu looked away he kept looking, as if he could not bring himself to tear his gaze away. Most pauses would be over in a matter of moments, but occasionally a kind of calm would fall over him and the slightest smile would curl his lips as something dark flickered about him. Each time she noticed Mayu would, shocked and unnerved, call him back and he would shake himself and deliberately do something, anything, to aggravate the wound in his neck be it swallow, attempt speech or simply turn his head too far or too fast. It was as if he were trying to assure himself that, now, their suffering was no greater than his and so he could no longer take reassurance from that.

The gap between the pair and their teacher grew steadily wider but, when she found she could take it no longer, Mayu quickened her pace, hurrying them away from that terrible hallway, forging ahead through the gloom until those white bones and glassy eyes could not reach them.

At the end of the corridor they halted, finding themselves at a stairwell. Mayu paused to catch her breath, her heart beating a little faster than usual from the sudden exertion and still, tense atmosphere. Frowning Mayu suddenly caught herself – wasn't she dead? How was it possible for her heart to even be beating? Apparently some earthly sensations remained even after a person entered ghosthood.

"How are you two doing?" Miss Yui asked, turning to look at them as she reached up and absently adjusted the jacket around her neck. Her two students glanced at each other.

"I could be worse." Mayu said after a moment, feeling Morishige shrug once more in response. "And you?"

"Me?" Miss Yui repeated and then smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her bright eyes. "I'm fine." She took a deep breath and the smile became more genuine. "Ready to keep going?" Mayu gave her consent and Morishige a slight curt nod. Their teacher's next question was whether they wanted to go up or down the stairs and Mayu glanced at each staircase. Somehow the one leading down seemed more appealing, perhaps because it would lead to an entrance or exit even if it wouldn't open. Being further from them than necessary seemed like being further from hope, not that there was much now that she was dead. Voicing her opinion Mayu was relieved when neither argued and they headed down slowly, listening to the ominous creaks the rotting wood made with some apprehension. At one point Mayu felt a stair give a little under her weight and stepped too quickly to the next, staggering. If Morishige hadn't steadied her she would have fallen and she turned to him with a bright smile of thanks. He replied with a sideways look and a soft sigh that spoke clearly of his disdain for her clumsiness. Flushing slightly Mayu looked away, flouncing down the rest of the steps while trying to fight a smile at the reappearance of her Shige-nii. It was gone by the time he rejoined her but she had seen it and felt it was, for the time being, more than enough.

The floor below was thick with shadows, the only light coming from a light some way down a nearby hallway and the trio stood for a long moment, letting their eyes adjust. It didn't get Mayu very far, as the gloom stayed just as heavy and oily as it had when they had first entered it. She could barely see Morishige, despite his being stood little more than a metre away. Miss Yui turned to them with the soft click of heels.

"Stay close, you two." She said quietly, in her authoritative teacher voice and Mayu felt she had no intention of moving further away than absolutely necessary. There was something about the darkness here, filled as it was with the creaks and shudders of the collapsing school, that made her feel strangely uneasy. She half-expected one of the ghosts to suddenly appear and renew the tortures they had inflicted upon her and her friends when they had still been alive. They inched forward, Mayu resolutely fixing her eyes on Miss Yui's back so as not to lose sight of it.

"Let's just wait a little longer, okay?" Another new voice rattled out of the darkness, so close and so sudden it made Mayu jump. She had heard nothing – no footsteps, no rustle of clothes – to suggest anyone was nearby and it set the hairs on her neck rising as she, instinctively, moved closer to Morishige. He squeezed her hand ever so slightly, but reacted in no other way. Mayu wondered if he was glad for the sudden blindness.

"Yoshiki, are you alright?" the voice came again, no closer and no further away, and the three started at the familiar name.

"Y-yeah." A second voice replied, sounding considerably shaken. "Don't worry about me."

"Kishinuma?" Miss Yui's voice also made Mayu jump and she let out a slow breath, shivering slightly. The tension was becoming much too heavy for her liking. There was a soft gasp from within the darkness, and floorboards creaked softly.

"Kishinuma, are you there?" Miss Yui persevered and Mayu ran her fingers across her lips nervously, waiting anxiously for some kind of reply. She couldn't help but admire her teacher's boldness – she didn't think she would be able to call into such cloying darkness, even with company.

"Miss Yui?" There was the rattle of a door opening and footsteps before quite suddenly, from amidst the shadows, a familiar blonde appeared. He was limping, and looked considerably worse for wear. It was hard to tell the extent of his injuries in the darkness but half his face was covered in blood and a hand was pressed firmly to his stomach. All the same, his familiar roguish grin spread across his face at the sight of them.

"Well, don't you guys look like crap?" He said, apparently unsurprised by their appearance.

"Language, Kishinuma!" Miss Yui chided, and the grin turned sheepish. He paused before glancing back over his shoulder.

"It's alright, you guys. It's just Miss Yui." Mayu peered past him, wondering who 'you guys' were and she was torn between relief and sadness as one by one they moved close enough to be seen. Shinohara came next, her usual bright grin on her face, though Mayu could see her own grief reflected in the other girl's eyes. There was a brief hesitation that had both newcomers looking over their shoulders.

"Come on, Yuka. It's alright." A soft voice coaxed and Mayu felt Morishige stiffen slightly beside her. "What's wrong?" Mayu glanced up, studying Morishige's expression, but she found it as closed off and cold as ever. The tension radiating from him, however, told a different story. There was a soft, childish noise before the final two members of Kishinuma's group joined them.

Mayu couldn't help but gasp in dismay as Mochida materialised in front of her, his arms bloody stumps and face lined with grief and pain. She had thought he had survived. He was supposed to have survived. All the same he smiled sadly when he met her eyes, twisting his torso and gently coaxing his sister to stand beside him. She did, slowly, clinging to his side half out of sight. Mayu couldn't help but stare and her small, bloodied form and she forced herself to look away, trying to think of the positives. They were reunited, weren't they? It wasn't like anyone was wandering the hallways completely alone, was it? Could she dare to even begin to think it was enough?

Second chapter, yay! How was it? I really appreciate hearing people's opinions on my writing so... even if they're bad - even if it's just to lament my usage of Morishige! Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed reading!