Author's Note: In honor of the Silent Hill tradition of multiple endings, I decided to write three different endings for this fic. One will be the "bad" ending, which will be very dark, one will be the "good" ending, which will end on a happier note, and one will be a silly alien ending, as the games have. If you think this is an absolutely horrible idea that I should definitely not do, please let me know, but I thought it would be fun and hold the tradition. The endings would start with the next chapter, each ending getting its own chapter, and each will be labeled as to which one it is. That said, thank you again to my reviewers, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!


-Tsuzuki Asato-

The demon that stands before me is at least twice my size. It is humanoid, like the others I've seen, but walks with a hunched back, as if a great weight is upon its shoulders. Large chains hang from both of its wrists and both of its ankles, clattering as it moves. Its skin looks like it is stained with blood spatter, as if the blood of those it has killed will never wash off- just like the blood of all the people that have died because of me. The creature lets out a low, agonizing moan. As it takes another step forward, I pull out an ofuda, ready to attack. Another step forward, and I send a blast of energy at it.

The monster stumbles back, but the weight of the chains helps prevent it from being knocked back further. With a cry, it rears back its fist and aims a punch right at my head. I quickly move out of the way, only to feel its other fist connect with my chest. The force of the blow knocks me back, into the steel door. Dammit, I walked right into its second punch, and it's strong.

Luckily, I recover quickly enough to scramble back to my feet and put distance between myself and my opponent. I might not be able to fight this thing on my own...I need to summon a Shikigami.

But...I can't feel their power! I didn't notice before, I was too focused on finding my way out and hadn't needed the help, but, now that I want to summon one of them, I can't find our connection. How is it possible for this place to lock out my Shikigami? I should be able to summon them anywhere in the Living Realm, so why can't I feel their power? Perhaps that would partly explain my own lack of power here. When a Shinigami tames a Shikigami, the Shikigami shares his powers with the Shinigami, thus increasing the Shinigami's abilities. It's a lot strong with parasitic Shikigami, but the summoning type boost power a bit. But here...my attacks seem weaker, and my healing has definitely slowed. I don't have my Shikigami, and I don't have my partner. I'm completely alone.

I probably deserve as much. After all, why should I be around people when those who get involved with me always end up getting hurt? I don't like to be alone, I enjoy the company of others. Except for when I'm upset, I love being around my friends. I enjoy brightening people's days, making them smile and laugh. The problem is, I don't make people happy. No matter how hard I try, all of it goes to waste when I screw something else up and hurt them more than I help them. My good intentions don't mean anything if my company only makes things worse. I don't deserve to be around people, and I don't deserve to be the master of twelve wonderful Shikigami.

This is how it should be. Just me, alone, fighting these demons. Perhaps I won't make it out alive. Perhaps this is where I'm to finally pay for all my sins. No, I'll live, but I won't make it out. After all, I want to die. After I know Tatsumi and Hisoka are okay, I'll be happy to finally be relieved of this otherwise eternal life. I'll cease to exist. I don't deserve even that though. I'll be trapped here, tormented endlessly. That is what I deserve. But, I'm a coward. I'll find the easy way out.

The demon is headed towards me again. I almost want to let it crush me. I'm sure it could kill me if it wanted. But I still don't know if Hisoka is alright. So I'll fight, just for now, until I can be assured he'll make it out okay along with Tatsumi.

Having no Shikigami, I continue to use my ofuda against the demon. I can't tell if my attacks are damaging the thing. Despite my strikes, it keeps stepping forward. Are my attacks getting weaker? As the monster steps toward me, I step back. Bad move. Now my back is against a wall, and I'm trapped in a corner. I duck just in time to avoid being punched right in the face. As I try to run to one side, I can feel the monster's hand grab my arm. It flings me back, sending me across the room. There are sudden sharp pains all over my back as I collide with some large, spiky object against the wall before I fall to the ground.

How am I going to beat this thing? If my attacks are damaging it, I can't tell. If they aren't, what am I supposed to do? A part of me still wants to just give in to the demon. Is it my own indecisiveness that is weakening my attacks? If part of me doesn't want to kill the creature before it kills me, I may not be attacking at my full strength. I have to decide now if I want to survive this or not. There's not enough time to sit around trying to figure out what I want. I have to pick something and stick with it. I have to...

I have to make sure the people I love are alright. I know I've done many terrible things, and I know that I eventually have to pay for my crimes, but that will have to wait a little longer. I just can't let myself die before I know that the people I could protect are alright. At one point, I would have been able to make the decision very easily, I wouldn't have hesitated so much to let this demon kill me, but a small bit of hope has found me since then in the form of my partner. That's why I've been torn ever since I got separated from him and Tatsumi. Even at my worst, Hisoka has managed to pull me back when nobody else could. He's been the only thing keeping me here, providing me with that small bit of hope that everything would be alright in the end, that, maybe, I wasn't as horrible as I thought I was. He may be an empath, but I don't think he realizes how much he has done for me.

I pull myself back to my feet. My decision has been made; I'm not going to let this thing kill me. My punishment will have to wait, because there are other people who don't deserve punishment that I must protect. I send another blast at the monster, more powerful this time, and I can tell it's working. The demon lets out a cry of pain and stumbles backwards. Another blow, and another. The demon falls to the ground with a loud thud. Is it finally dead? I wait a moment, but the monster doesn't move. I killed it.

Taking a deep breath, I let out a sigh. My body aches from being punched and tossed around and my back stings, but I can't rest. There's no time for rest. I have to keep going. Now, if I can just get that door open, I can leave this room and continue to try to find Hisoka and Tatsumi.

Oddly enough, the door opens easily now. I know it was locked before, how did it unlock? Did an attack from the battle break the lock somehow? Well, whatever, it doesn't matter how it happened, just that it did and I can get out.

I head back down the row of cells, ignoring everything that isn't what I'm looking for. I can't waste time looking at anything else. Investigating not only makes it take longer for me to find my friends, but it may just finally push me over the edge. I have to keep my mind fixed on my goal, or else I'll never see them again.

As I arrive back in the hospital area, a sound reaches my ears. It sounds like...somebody talking.

"...zuki...Tsuzuki! Tsuzuki!"

I freeze. Is that Hisoka? It is! That's Hisoka's voice! He's around here, I found him!

"Hisoka! I'm coming, hold on!" I yell and run ahead. It sounded like he's in pain, he might be under attack! I don't hear any monsters, but he may be in danger. Where is he? I hear him call out for me again. There, he must be in that room! The door is open a crack, so he must have gone in! Not wasting any time, I run in, shoving the door the rest of the way open.

He's...not here? I shine my ofuda around the dark room, but Hisoka is nowhere in sight. Was I wrong? I call out to him, but there's no response. Was I imagining things? But it sounded so real...

There it is again! Why does it sound...broken up? Hisoka's voice calls again, but it sounds like there is static, like a radio losing its reception. What is going on?

There, in the corner of the room. A television? Why is Hisoka's voice coming from it? Curious, I walk up to it. The screen is full of static. Slowly, a picture comes into view. Tatsumi and Hisoka? They are walking together in what looks like this hospital...is this showing me what they are doing right now? If so...then they are together and safe. That's good.

"Do you think we're going to find him?" Hisoka asks on the television.

"We should. He can't have gone too far."

It looks like Hisoka shakes his head. "I can't believe that idiot. He has no idea how much trouble he causes. He's making this case so much harder than it has to be."

"Tsuzuki-san always makes things difficult. Why do you think I ended our partnership? You should probably end yours with him too."

Hisoka sighs. "Probably. Who knows what kind of trouble he got himself into now. Though, whatever it is, he deserves it. Maybe we should just leave him here."

I stare at the screen, not wanting to believe what I'm hearing. Hisoka wants to get rid of me? I know I cause a lot of trouble for everyone but...if he didn't want me, why would he have done so much for me? No, this can't be real. This has to be another trick. Hisoka wouldn't say those kinds of things. He told me he wanted me to stay...that he needed me. He wouldn't leave me here.

"Maybe we should." Tatsumi says. "He only ever causes problems. We'd all be better off without him. You'll get a new partner, and in the meantime, you can work with Watari or myself."

Please don't say things like that! I know I ruined my partnership with Tatsumi...but he's never tried to break my partnership with Hisoka. He has always encouraged it, he wouldn't leave me here either! He's my friend! It has to be a trick!

But...they're right. All I ever do is cause problems for people. We're separated because of my own stupidity. If I had listened to Hisoka, I wouldn't have fallen and we'd all still be together. It's my fault. Hisoka really would be better off with another partner. Tatsumi and Watari would both take care of him, and he'd have a much easier time working with them than he would with me. Tatsumi and Hisoka would probably work very well together. I owe Hisoka everything, and yet all I ever do is make things difficult for him. I don't deserve him. He deserves so much better than me. I'm just useless, annoying, pathetic excuse of a person. I try to do better, and I still mess everything up. I never deserved having the friends that I do, and I never should have existed.

Yes, they'd be better off without me. Everyone would. I have to finish what I started in Kyoto. There's a knife on that table over there. How very convenient. I think this place was meant to be my grave.

I'm sorry, Tatsumi...I'm sorry, Hisoka. I don't ask for you to forgive me, because I don't deserve it. I just hope you will both be more happy now. I hope you get the kind of partner you deserve, Hisoka.

I'm sorry...

-Tatsumi Seiichiro-

I glance over at Kurosaki as we walk, worried. Though he tries not to show it, he is clearly distraught. I know he is upset over losing the American Shinigami, and he is quite worried about Tsuzuki. I can remember when he first became a Shinigami, how he always kept the same, serious expression on his face, careful not to show emotions. That's slowly been changing, however, and, even though he's trying to be strong now, his pained expression gives away his worry. Of course, I can't blame him, as I am worried too. He's grown such strong bonds since becoming a Shinigami, it really is good to see.

"We'll find him, Kurosaki-kun. Keep alert, I'm sure you'll sense him if he's nearby."

Kurosaki nods. "He is very easy to sense. The fact that I haven't sensed him at all since I passed out bothers me. Though...I think this place messes with our abilities, other than not being able to fly."

"Yes...I think you are right. I'm not sure my shadows are as strong as they usually are when I attack, though at least I can still use them."

"This place is so strange. I'm not sure we'll be able to figure out what happened with it. I don't know how we are going to solve this case..."

"Do not worry about the case right now, Kurosaki. Once we find Tsuzuki, we are going to leave. We need to get away from here, all of us." While he doesn't need to know what I have experienced, I am not going to deny that I too want to leave this place. It is a danger to our mental health. We can worry about trying to figure out what happened once we rest and know we aren't all going to go insane.

We turn a corner and abruptly stop. Standing just before the staircase we need to go down are what appear to be two doctors. Looking at their faces, however, it is obvious they are another one of this town's monsters. I ready myself for attack as one of them turns to face us. I glance over at Kurosaki, but he is only staring in horror. I understand what is bothering him- looking again, the doctors look a bit like Muraki.

"Kurosaki-kun, don't let them intimidate you! You have to fight back!"

Kurosaki nods and pulls one of his ofuda from his pocket. I attack first, gathering shadows from around me and sending them at the demon closest to me. Kurosaki follows up my attack with one of his own, effectively killing the first opponent. Before I get a chance to strike at the next one, Kurosaki attacks it, once, twice, three times. The ofuda in his hand dissolves into nothing. I release control of the shadows, watching as Kurosaki slowly makes his way over to the bodies of the demons. He looks down at one and kicks it. I walk over to him and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry, Tatsumi-san."

"No need to apologize. I know how much he upsets you. He bothers all of us."

Kurosaki lets out a sigh. "Yes. I'm alright now, though. Come on, let's find Tsuzuki."

We make our way down the staircase, Kurosaki walking in front of me. His hand trails along the banister, probably trying to pick up on any traces of Tsuzuki. He stays silent, and I don't try to talk to him, letting him concentrate.

I wonder what the Chief will think of our report when we get out of here. If it wasn't for the fact I experienced it first hand, it would be difficult to believe the psychological effects this place has. I'm sure he'll understand us not finishing our investigation. He knows we wouldn't lie about something like this, he'll understand how serious it is. The problem is preventing anyone else from coming here. Perhaps a large group of Shinigami would be alright, but only sending pairs probably isn't going to work. Right now, however, I need to focus on getting Tsuzuki and getting us out of here. Then we will have time to worry about what to do next.

As we reach the bottom of the staircase, Kurosaki suddenly freezes.

"Kurosaki-kun? What's wrong?"

"I think...I think I sense Tsuzuki! He's nearby! It's unusually faint, though, like he's..." Kurosaki's eyes widen, as if he realized something, "Dammit, Tatsumi, we need to hurry!"

Like he's what? I don't have time to ask Kurosaki to finish his sentence, however, as he is already running ahead of me. Something must be wrong. It's very likely that this town has been eating away at Tsuzuki's sanity. It almost drove me crazy, and Tsuzuki is more fragile than I am. His guilt is his weakness, and this town most certainly seems to be able to play at one's guilt. He's one of the last people that should be alone in this kind of place. I just hope he is unharmed and we reach him in time before there is any severe damage done to him, physically, mentally or emotionally.

Hisoka stops turns into a room. I follow him, and almost crash into him due to him stopping abruptly in the doorway.

Sitting in the corner of the room is Tsuzuki, a knife in his hand, his wrist bleeding, a lifeless expression on his face.