Author
[Long chapter ahead, have fun.]
Girl
[*pants* *pants*]
She ran. As far as she could, as much as where her legs could bring her.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she recalled the gruesome images of her friend's murder.
She could still hear her's friend's pleas before the sound of hammering echoed alongside her screams.
There was nothing she could do.
She had to run before the girl with a hammer got her.
Girl
[*sniff* Hana... *sniff* I'm so sorry...]
It seemed almost twenty minutes before she finally dropped on her knees from exhaustion.
Only after she had caught up with her own breathing did she realized she entered a room.
She was seating on a floor with what seemed like a symbol.
A symbol painted in red that reminded her of those symbols you saw on horror shows.
Somehow, the sight of the redness alarmed her and she moved away.
It smelt like paint, but it reminded her of blood.
While she moved away, she knocked on something behind her.
Or someone.
Girl
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH !]
Before her was the spirit of a lady with short hair.
There was blood on her sides and her neck was snapped.
The eyes of the spirit stared into hers.
Her lips quivered and she was too scared to scream.
Her eyes widened in fear as the spirit approached her.
Ms. Yui
[I-I'm, I'm sorry to have scared you!
But I mean no harm!]
Girl
W-what? She must be kidding me...
Did she think I was a kid?
I won't be fooled!
Ms. Yui
[Please, believe me! *pause*
Let me help you.]
The girl's body shock when the spirit suddenly appeared beside her, holding her right leg.
She almost screamed when she thought the spirit was going to pull her apart,
until she realized the spirit was bandaging her wound.
It was only then did she realized she had a deep cut on her thigh.
Now that the girl has calmed down a little,
she noticed the spirit had an apologetic look.
It's the first time she's seen something like that since she's been brought to this God-forsaken place.
Girl
[... T-thank you.]
Ms. Yui
[*smiles* You're welcome!
And I'm sorry, I must have scared you with my look...]
Girl
[...]
Ms. Yui
[I'm Shishido Yui, what's your name?]
Girl
[... *hesitate* Ri-rina. Morishige Rina.]
Ms. Yui
[..! Morishige? *pause* *smiles*
I once had a student called Morishige too.
He was a very smart boy.]
Rina
She said 'was', didn't she..?
Does that mean he's...
Ms. Yui
[All right, Morishige-san. *serious*
Do you know where you're at right now?]
[THE AFTERMATH - CHAPTER 4: START]
Naomi woke up feeling like she did not sleep at all.
Her eyes were swollen and tired from all the crying last night,
yet she could not fall asleep.
Every time the fatigue plagued into her,
she would then jerk herself awake from the gory images of her friends.
The scene of which she accidentally killed Seiko kept replaying in her mind.
She knew if this were to go on, she might just go mad.
She was too tired and could not push herself to change into her uniform and go to school.
It was too tiring for her to have to put out a smile as if nothing had happened.
It was too painful for her to be reminded that Seiko, Mayu, Ms Yui and Morishige were no longer around.
She decided to stay home.
Nakashima Natsumi was worried.
She had noticed a sudden change in her daughter recently.
She was always locked up in the room when she's home.
She would hide in the corner of the room,
clenching onto her cellphone, muttering 'Seiko' repeatedly.
And today, Naomi was all locked up again.
Natsumi made a phone call to the school and informed that her daughter was feeling unwell.
She then made another call to her own school and asked for a leave to take care of her daughter.
It would not be necessary if Naomi were just sick,
but Natsumi knew that her daughter was deranged.
On certain days, Naomi would come home smiling brightly,
as if something great had happened in school.
Then the next moment, she would become stiff and her eyes would harden.
Natsumi
[Naomi, open up. I've brought you some food.]
She waited.
Naomi
[I'm not hungry.]
Natsumi
[...Naomi, you got to eat something.
It's not good to skip breakfast and lunch...]
Naomi
[I SAID I'M NOT HUNGRY!]
Natsumi bit on her lower lip when she heard Naomi crying in her room.
She had no idea what was happening and Naomi was refusing to speak with her.
[FLASHBACK]
Naomi opened the front door wide and entered her home.
Natsumi
[Welcome home, Nao-]
Naomi had ran into Natsumi's arms and started sobbing.
Natsumi
[W-what's wrong, Naomi?]
Naomi
[Mummy... Seiko... Seiko...
I... Seiko... *wails*]
Natsumi
[N-naomi? What are you talking about?
Who's Seiko?]
It was right after that when Natsumi felt her daughter stiffen up.
She pulled away from the embrace and her eyes bored into Natsumi.
A single tear dripped down her cheek and she ran into her room.
[FLASHBACK ENDS]
Natsumi
Who on earth is Seiko..?
Doorbell
[*rings*]
Natsumi
Who could that be...?
Natsumi opened the door and a familiar face appeared at her doorsteps.
She had seen his handsome face somewhere in Naomi's photos.
Natsumi
[Are you Naomi's friend...?]
The boy bowed.
Satoshi
[Y-yes! G-good afternoon, Mrs Nakashima!
I'm Mochida Satoshi, Naomi's classmate!
... *looks around*
Is Naomi home?]
Natsumi
Naomi...? First name basis, huh..?
Ah! So he's THAT Mochida...
Natsumi
[*smiles* Sure, she's home...
*smile fades* But I don't think she'll want to meet anyone now...]
Satoshi
[?]
Natsumi
[*sigh* She hasn't eaten anything all day and she's refusing to open the door...]
Satoshi
[...Is that so...]
Natsumi
[Do you know what happened to her?]
Satoshi
[*shrug* Mrs Nakashima, why don't you let me try?]
Natsumi
Well, I guess there's no harm in that...
Natusmi
[Come on in, then.]
Natsumi led Satoshi in and took a plate of cupcakes with her.
She led Satoshi up to Naomi's room and knocked on her door.
Natsumi
[*knock* Naomi, your friend's here to see you.]
Naomi
[..! W-who's that..?]
Satoshi
[Naomi, it's me.]
It took about five seconds before the door opened and Naomi peered through the small opening.
After inspection, she finally opened wide the door.
Natsumi was shocked and relieved at the same time,
amazed at how much influence Satoshi had on her daughter.
He must mean something to her.
Natsumi passed the plate of cupcakes to Satoshi.
Natsumi
[I'll...leave you two alone.]
Satoshi and Naomi stared at each other along the corridor for a minute.
Satoshi
[U-uhm, can I come in..?]
Naomi
[N-no...It's a mess..!]
Satoshi
[I don't mind.]
Naomi
[... G-give me a second!]
Naomi panicked and tried to tidy up her room as Satoshi peered into the room.
It was not as messy as he had expected.
Sure, the bed was messy and there was a couple of clothes lying around,
but it was all right.
Naomi
[Y-you may enter now...]
Satoshi
[*blush* Well, excuse me then...]
Satoshi and Naomi sat across each other in the room.
The silence was overwhelming and heating up the room.
Finally, he broke the silence.
Satoshi
[I was worried when you didn't turn up to school today.]
Naomi
[..! I-I'm sorry..]
Satoshi
[Are you okay? Feeling unwell?]
Naomi
[*shakes head* I'm fine...]
Satoshi waited patiently.
Naomi could feel his gentle gaze on her and finally spoke.
Naomi
[I-I couldn't sleep...
I kept thinking about Seiko and the others...
When I was finally tired and about to fall asleep,
the image of Seiko's...m-murder...just kept replaying... *sob*
And the thought of everyone forgetting about them...
I...I... *sob* I don't-
..!]
Satoshi held her into a tight embrace, almost suffocating her.
That was when she realized he was trembling.
Satoshi
[It's okay... Naomi.
I'm sure Shinohara's forgiven you...]
She felt something wetting her shoulders and realized Satoshi was crying.
Naomi
...!
What an idiot I am...
To think that I was all alone...
They both cried silently together for a while.
Naomi
[*whispers* Thank you, Satoshi.
*smiles* I know I'm not alone now.]
Naomi tightened the hug and it took a few seconds before Satoshi pulled away from the embrace.
Naomi
[...?]
Satoshi
[*blush* I-it's no good.]
Naomi
[...?]
Satoshi
[*blush* D-don't look at me like that!
*frustrated* Geez, when you hug me like that, I can f-feel your...*blush*]
Naomi
[...! *pause* *whispers*...Pervert.]
Satoshi
[...! W-what?
H-hey, I'm a regular guy after all!
Of course I'd get aroused!
...! W-what am I saying?!]
Naomi
[*giggles*]
Satoshi
[...*blush* O-oh well...]
Naomi then gently cupped his cheeks in her hands and pulled him closer before her face.
Naomi
[...*smile* Silly.]
They kissed.
Naomi knew that the only person that could help retain her sanity was Satoshi.
Ayumi was dressed in a black jumper and a pair of dark grey pants.
She hid her hair under a black cap she was wearing while waiting outside the convenience store.
It took another five minute before Yoshiki showed up in a bright yellow pullover and grey pants.
Ayumi waved cautiously at Yoshiki.
Yoshiki
[Yo!]
Ayumi
[*whisper* FOOL!
Are you trying to attract attention wearing that bright colored thing?!]
Yoshiki
[*shrug* I didn't know there was a dresscode...
Besides, what difference would it make anyway?
I mean, it's still daylight...]
Ayumi
[*glares*... *sigh* Well, from the looks of the address,
Naho lives just right around the corner...]
Yoshiki
[Eh?]
Yoshiki
Such... Coincidence..?
Ayumi
[*nods* Come on, let's go.]
They crossed the road and reached the Karaoke place located opposite the convenience store.
They took a left turn and turned into an alley.
They passed by two dumpsters before they turned right and reached a building.
The building looked expensive with its security guard and glass doors,
though it looked a little washed out from years of rain.
Yoshiki
[Woah... What are we going to do about THAT?]
Yoshiki pointed at the security and looked at Ayumi questioningly.
Ayumi in returned smiled brightly and took off her cap.
Yoshiki blushed at the sight of her hair slowly touching her shoulders like petals.
Ayumi
[Since we've come to this...
There's only one way!]
Ayumi tied her hair into two high ponytails that made her look four years younger.
Ayumi
[Let's go!]
Ayumi led Yoshiki to walk normally toward the security counter.
Ayumi lowered her head to meet the security guard behind the counter.
The guard was a kind-looking old man with sparse grey hair.
His small built made him much more approachable.
Yoshiki relaxed a little when he realized the security guard was not the big scary man he had imagined.
The security guard looked bored but lit up a little upon Ayumi's smile.
Ayumi
[Good afternoon, Mr Security Guard!]
Security Guard
[Ara, ara, good afternoon little miss! What can I do for you?]
Ayumi
[*smiles* I'm Saenoki Ayu and this is my brother, Saenoki Yoshi.
We're here to look for our sister!]
Security Guard
[Saenoki...? *checks* Ah, Ms Saenoki living on the fifth floor?]
Yoshiki
..! Nice one, Shinozaki!
Ayumi
[That's right! *concern* The truth is...
Naho-sis has not been returning out calls for the longest time...
Well, honestly, Naho-sis can be quite a loner..
She only calls home once every few weeks, but at least she still calls!
But...but.. *sobs* It's been half a year already, we still haven't contacted her...
Mummy's afraid something might have happened to her... *sniff*
So... *sniff* *whimper*]
Yoshiki
I gotta do something..!
Yoshiki put his arms over Ayumi's shoulders patted on her head.
Yoshiki
[*concern* Ayu... *turns to look at security guard*
*pleading* If only you were so nice as to help us contact our sister...]
Security Guard
[Ah... That is a big problem, isn't it? *shuffles*
All right, little miss, wipe those tears away!]
The kind security guard bent to meet Ayumi's eyes.
Security Guard
[This old gramps here will bring you up to find your sister,
all right?]
Ayumi
[*brighten* Thank you so much!]
The security guard led them into the lift while Yoshiki and Ayumi exchanged a glance.
Ayumi and Yoshiki
We did it..!
The lift stopped at the fifth floor and they followed the guard out.
Security Guard
[Now that you've mentioned it,
I remember the owner of this building did mention that Ms Saenoki was late in her payment...
Said she had always paid a year of rental in advance,
but she missed the last payment date and couldn't contact her.]
He stopped right at the third door on the right and fished out his key.
Security Guard
[Hmm... Let's see... Ah, this one...
Excuse me, Ms Saenoki!]
The door clicked.
Security Guard
[Please excuse me, Ms Saenoki! I'm coming in...]
The security guard enters the apartment and searched for the lights.
He finally found it and turned on the lights as Ayumi and Yoshiki entered the apartment.
The apartment was simple and plain looking with lots of books.
They were not surprise to see that there were no plushies,
or anything girly for that matter, in Naho's apartment.
There was a photo frame on her desk with a picture of her and a bright-haired girl wearing the same school uniform.
There was quite some dust in the room and the security guard started sneezing.
Security Guard
[Looks like it's been unoccupied for some...tiiiiime..*sneeze*!
*sniff* Haa... Seems like my nose's too sensitive..
I'll be back to my post downstairs.
Just ring me up if you need my help!]
Ayumi
[Oh! Sure, thanks a lot, Mr Security Guard! *bow*]
The security guard left the apartment and closed the door.
Ayumi and Yoshiki waited until the sound of his footsteps were gone.
Ayumi
[Huuu... *brightly* Guess that's the advantage of being short!
All right, let's do some searching then!]
Yoshiki
[Un! ...Wow, now that I looked it...
She sure has a lot of books! The shelves even have labels on them!
"Spells & Charms", "Spirits & Afterlife", "Occults"...
*pause* Hey, Shinozaki, look!]
Ayumi walked over to where Yoshiki was standing.
Before him was the only shelf that had a glass cover.
It was labelled "Kibiki Kou".
Yoshiki
[This must be the works she was talking about in that library...
Woah... She sure is a die hard fan...
Woah! There's even a notebook about his family background...
*read*...?! Even to this detail?!]
Ayumi looked around and found a book divider labelled "Tenjin".
She took out a pink note book and blew away the dust on it.
Ayumi
This looks just like the one in Heavenly Host...
She flipped a few blank pages until she saw an envelope.
Ayumi
[*reads* ...H-hey Kishinuma!]
Yoshiki
[Hmm?
*reads* 2-7-1-0.
Is this some kind of pass code?]
Ayumi opened the wardrobe and found a safe in it.
Ayumi
[Yup, it is!]
She entered the number they found and the safe clicked open.
There was a small jewelry box and a sealed file.
Ayumi opened the jewelry box and there was a was necklace.
It had a heart shaped pendant and a silver chain.
The initials 'KN' was carved behind.
Ayumi
[...Hmm... What could this mean..?]
Yoshiki
[Hmm... Ah! So that's it!
She wasn't just a crazy fan for Kibiki Kou, she loved him?
'KN' has got to be 'Kibiki Naho'!]
Ayumi
[! Hmm, well that's very likely...
How did you even derive that?]
Yoshiki
[Uh, j-just a wild guess.]
Yoshiki recalled the number of times he repeatedly thought Kishinuma Ayumi had a nice ring to it.
Ayumi
[Well, I guess it's safe to assume this belonged to her then.
Let's take this...
...?]
Yoshiki
[? What is it, Shinozaki?]
Ayumi
[This file... Seem to contain many details about Heavenly Host...]
Yoshiki
[!]
Ayumi
[I'm going to take this with me.
We should get going now...
Ah, hold on!]
Ayumi grabbed a few books on charms, spells and communication with spirit.
Yoshiki looked at a book titled "Tearing Through Dimensions" before Ayumi grabbed it with her as well.
Ayumi
[All right, I'm done here. Let's go!]
Yoshiki
[Woah! Hold up, how is that not going to look suspicious to the old man?
*turns around* Here, put it into my bag.]
Ayumi stuffed the books, file and the jewelry box into Yoshiki's bag.
They thanked the security guard and said they would come back again before they left.
Ayumi
[Thank you, Kishinuma. You can pass me the books now.]
Yoshiki
[Huh? *hesitate* I-I'll send you home.
I can carry this 'til then.]
Ayumi
[Eh? ...Hmm... Alright.]
Yoshiki had a mental victory sign and felt himself smiling inside.
As they walked to Ayumi's house, Yoshiki was unaware of the silence,
for in his head he played the multiple situations that may happen when he reached her house.
He imagined scenarios of himself greeting her parents,
and then suddenly wondered why he even thought he'd get to enter her house.
Ayumi
[We're here.]
Ayumi's sudden announcement startled Yoshiki a little.
Her house looked ordinary but very neat and spacious.
Ayumi
[Erm...*hesitate*
Would you like to have something to drink before you go?]
Ayumi
It's only polite that I ask, isn't it...?
Yoshiki could feel his blood rising up to his cheeks.
His heart was beating wildly and a smile formed on his face unknowingly.
Yoshiki
[S-sure! *blush*
U-uh, I mean, sure. I-I've got time.]
Ayumi
[Sister, I'm home!
Hmm..? She's not home? How rare...
Well, seems like my sister's not home.
Let's head up to my room.]
Yoshiki
[Eh?]
Yoshiki entered Ayumi's room, thinking to himself this must all be a dream.
It took him a while before he noticed he was standing right in the middle of her room.
Her room was simple and surprisingly filled with a number of plush toys.
Her walls were cream and her bed sheet was light pink.
He did not expect that.
He had imagined her room would be filled with pentagons or candles.
Yoshiki
[You sure have an... ordinary room.]
Ayumi
[Huh?]
Yoshiki
[I was expecting, you know, pentagons and candles...
That kind of stuff...]
Ayumi
[W-well, I have those too!
Just not in this room...
Is tea all right for you?]
Yoshiki
[Y-yeah, sure... ]
Ayumi exited the room and left a nervous Yoshiki in her room.
He froze for a while and then started unpacking his bag.
He placed the books neatly on her table, and noticed a drawing pad sticking out.
He took it out of curiosity and was stunned by the picture he saw.
It was a picture of Ms. Yui, just as they last saw her.
A heavy wound on her right heavily coated with blood,
her facial expression filled with emotion.
There was Ms Yui's gentle smile,
her hair combed back by the wind,
and her eyes, oh her eyes, filled with both fear and courage.
Memories of the time spent with Ms. Yui came flooding into him.
A gush of hidden emotions welled up to his chest.
Ayumi opened the door and saw that Yoshiki was holding her drawing.
She rushed in and quickly put the tea aside.
Ayumi
[What are you doing?!
*snatches* Who gave you...!
*pause* Ki-Kishi...numa?]
Tears brimmed his eyes as he stared into the space where Ms Yui's drawing once was.
A single tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away.
Yoshiki
[I-I'm sorry. It must have been dust...
*pause* This drawing...
*pause* Shinozaki, did you draw this?]
Ayumi
[*nods*]
Yoshiki
[*smiles* It's beautiful.]
She was left speechless.
She had never seen anything like that before.
Yoshiki, who was always so rough, rude and strong...
Now he was smiling at her, his eyes so gentle...and sad.
He was just like a painting...beautiful.
And for the first time in her seventeen years of life,
in her seventeen years of distrust in men other than Mochida Satoshi,
Ayumi found her heart skipping a beat for another guy.
Kei & Aya
[Yes Yuu-nii…]
Yuu sighed as Kei and Aya walked back into their house.
Their father had just left the town for a business trip.
Being the eldest son, Yuu had to play the father and the mother role.
Truth be told, he would rather be a child and behave the way Kei and Aya did.
Cat
[Nya~]
Yuu looked up and saw a cat on the wall.
Yuu
[*hands signaling* Come here kitty!]
Cat
[*jumps down and licks Yuu's fingers* Nya~ *jumps and attacks Yuu playfully*]
Yuu
[*laughs and pats the cat* You sure remind me of…]
Yuu frozed.
Yuu
Remind me of… Who?
[THE AFTERMATH - CHAPTER 4: END]
Author
[Hope you liked this chapter. I'm portraying the characters as how I would interpret them...
I'm hoping they would stay close to the original, but oh well... *shrug*
It was really intense while writing about the depression Naomi was going through.
Naomi will probably go back and forth in dealing with her emotions...
And as for Ayumi... I hope to get her vulnerable at some point...
She's starting to open up to Yoshiki, and she probably will not even realize it. :3
I don't know why but I'm feeling a little depressed now after writing... o.O
Maybe 'cause I just wrote Naomi's depression before I submit this..
The things writing can do to you...
I might take a while to write the next chapter. Need some planning to make this solid...
Oh gosh, I'm depressed..]