"I told you we should have brought blankets," mumbled Yukiteru, pulling his hat further down on his head.

"Mm, it's not that cold, right, A-ya?" said C-ta.

A-ya shrugged.

Group 3 and Group 4 had split off for the night. Ciel had decided that the plan would be that though each group would sleep in the woods, they'd sleep in separate clearings for security reasons. In other words, 'we probably won't hurt you and you definitely can't hurt us.' Though slightly annoyed by the way Ciel had gone about it, C-ta agreed with the idea. After the previous battle, he had become the voice of his group as a whole. A-ya had gone as mute as he usually was in ordinary situations back at home. Yukiteru seemed a bit bothered by the whole thing, but didn't comment on it.

Now the three of Group 3 were settling themselves down in a clearing within range of Sebastian's sights. The demon didn't have to sleep, and on Ciel's orders he would watch over both clearings for any intruders, stopping any and all of them. As the sky grew darker and the bright moon began to rise, Yukiteru wondered if the runners of this game would send off a firework for Keiichi. He wondered if anyone else in the game had even died. Amazingly, even in the fight between their groups and the other demon's group, no one had been killed. The fact that two of the three in that group didn't really care to fight seemed to help. Sighing, Yukiteru closed his eyes and rolled onto his side. He doubted that A-ya would speak up tonight. A lot had happened today… Keiichi had been killed in front of them after he'd tried to kill A-ya. Yukiteru still couldn't get Keiichi's glazed eyes out of his head… Though the eyes that haunted him worse were the eyes of C-ta, so calm and warm immediately after doing something so cold-blooded… And then soon after that A-ya had gotten one of the most powerful groups to make an alliance with them. Later in the afternoon, there was that huge fight. After nothing happening the first two days of the game, this was pretty insane, at least for Yukiteru.

He rolled onto his back. Not only was he not comfortable, he was just so restless. He didn't think he would sleep much tonight. He was ironically too tired to sleep. He worried about A-ya. With those dark bags under his eyes, anyone could tell that he didn't sleep much anyway. Not to mention Yukiteru knew that A-ya was probably beating himself up for not doing anything in that fight back there…

"…Hey, A-ya?" It was the first time he'd directly addressed him to start up a conversation this late. He could make out both A-ya and C-ta in the moonlight - the moon was almost full. Both of them were still as stone.

A-ya stirred, much to Yukiteru's relief. "Sebastian…is a crow demon," A-ya said slowly.

"Yeah… What about it?" Yukiteru inquired.

"Did you know… there's a legend, ah… There's a legend about how crows are the things that carry your soul to the afterlife."

"Really?" Although he was happy that A-ya was going right back to those legends he liked, Yukiteru found that kind of eerie. Didn't that imply going to hell, then, if Sebastian was a demon? That didn't sound good at all.

"Yeah… I'm sure there are different ideas in his realm…but the crow is often a symbol of death. But they say…that if a soul is too heavy with regrets, the crow can't carry it. It falls back to earth, and walks the mortal world as a lost spirit, trying to right the wrongs it can't let go of. If they're lucky, the soul falls back in the body and they wake up from a near-death experience."

"Huh…" Yukiteru blinked. "A heavy soul…and that's how ghosts happen. The out-of-body stuff too. Somehow, I kinda like that idea. I mean…not being a regretful spirit or anything, but…the concept is pretty cool."

"Yeah…" A pause. "I, didn't do much earlier."

Yukiteru frowned at him through the dark. "A-ya… It was you who managed to cheer me up in the middle of the night even though we're in such a crazy situation as this… Don't even get me started on how amazing and awesome it was when you were first talking to Sebastian's group… You saved our lives, there, y'know? C-ta's wrong… you're not helpless. You're really cool… I consider myself a coward and a loser, but… but you know what? If all of us were in a play, then you're your life's leading part, just like I'm mine. So…we've gotta walk with confidence!"

"Yukiteru," said A-ya, and it was then Yukiteru realized it was the first time he'd said his name. It made him kinda happy that he'd said it, as odd as that was. "With the way this game's set up…we might be doomed no matter what. Even if we have an epiphany like how we don't need to participate in the game… do you really think that everyone involved will listen? In that fight today, there were still a lot of injuries… Look at what happened with Keiichi… And…well, humans or ghouls or whatever else is out there… maybe even the demons… they'll just fall to the same ends. More people will die. Everything will keep repeating itself and that voice will get exactly what it wants…"

"But A-ya…" Yukiteru's brow was furrowed. "Don't you remember? We talked to the Voice earlier - if we find them, then we can end the game! If we last just that long, it will be okay! We've just gotta find them…"

"Are they even in the playing field? I mean, if they were…" A-ya seemed to start thinking deeply. This made Yukiteru happy – that means he might not be mulling anymore. "If they were, I'd say they're either high up in the city, or down low… like… below. That'd be the most logical place… I think."

"As in below the ground?" asked Yukiteru, and A-ya nodded in the moonlight.

"Yeah. But how we'll be able to find either place, I have no idea…"

Yukiteru sighed. "Yeah… but… but it's a start!"

"It is," A-ya agreed.

At some point Yukiteru suggested they sleep, and A-ya quietly agreed before Yukiteru began nodding off. A-ya would close his eyes, though he still couldn't sleep for the life of him. C-ta's eyes, on the other hand, were wide open.

When C-ta and A-ya were little, A-ya had been very adorable. They'd play house together, and hide-and-go-seek. Hide-and-seek was one of their favorites - A-ya's lungs were weak, though, so whenever A-ya would hide anywhere dusty, like a closet, he'd start coughing. C-ta never did tell A-ya why it was he could find him so easily back then. When they grew older, however, and middle school came along, that was when A-ya became pessimistic. You know…he started wearing darker clothes, he slept less and less, and he looked at life as the ultimate bore. He hated the mundane and craved something more. That was around the time he got into the occult, and C-ta of course just went right along with him because it made A-ya happy. If anyone were to look at A-ya, they would describe him as someone 'pessimistic'… Of course he was doubting the success of his group in this game. C-ta understood.

And yet, something like Yukiteru's assurances struck something terrible through C-ta's chest. Was it fear?

When they were little, A-ya didn't know how to speak for himself. Everyone disliked him. It was C-ta that changed that. C-ta had always looked out for him. A-ya was the child that nobody understood, and C-ta was the only one who could understand him. He became his voice. He was his voice. To this day, A-ya still needed him…right? A-ya still relied on him, right?

It was still C-ta who understood him, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

And now there was this Yukiteru person, claiming that he understood A-ya. Saying that he could help A-ya…when really C-ta knew that Yukiteru was just as helpless as A-ya was. No, Yukiteru was just a threat to A-ya. They were getting too close, too fast. At this rate Yukiteru would break the poor A-ya that rightfully belonged to C-ta. A-ya was C-ta's to take care of, and no one understood A-ya better than C-ta did. For Yukiteru to make false claims like that…and for A-ya to believe them… Well, that was only something to hurt A-ya in the end. And for Yukiteru to do that, well… hurting A-ya was unforgivable.

It was as these thoughts spiraled in his head that Yukiteru murmured, so soft that C-ta could barely hear with his back to them, "Say, A-ya… Please, please, be careful of C-ta. Something's definitely wrong there… I know it, because… well, you might be asleep anyway… So… I'll have to tell you some other time…" C-ta heard Yukiteru sigh. "I hope everything will be okay…"

C-ta saw only red. This person was trying to turn A-ya against him, on top of all of that? He should have gotten rid of Yukiteru far sooner…

Yukiteru was nodding off for good now, feeling the world slip away. He was finally ready to go to sleep. Maybe he'd have a fitful rest, but after such a long day he was definitely exhausted. Giving one final, drawn-out yawn, Yukiteru curled up on the grass and fell into slumber. The last things he heard were a few subtle clicks nearby.

Click… click… click…

Darkness. Rest. He was too tired to wonder about what those sounds were. Here, in sleep, there were no worries. He and A-ya could be friends, there were no battle royals to worry about… A-ya would introduce him to his mother, and he would try his mom's hamburger steaks. Afterwards, he'd of course have to show A-ya his own mother's hamburger steaks, and then after a debate about whose were better, they'd decide that both made them really well. And maybe they could even go to the planetarium together… Or A-ya would drag him off to a haunted house… They'd go on adventures together. Nothing to worry about. Everything was al…

Jerked from slumber, Yukiteru was forcibly rolled onto his back, a hand over his mouth and nose. He saw C-ta's face above him, eyes burning with rage and something that reminded him scarily of what Keiichi had looked like when he was about to kill A-ya. Panicked, Yukiteru struggled with all his might, trying to find his darts. "I know what it was you were trying to do…," hissed C-ta, green eyes manic. "Don't you worry, I'll protect A-ya, and he and I'll get out of this alive. A-ya and I… We'll make it out, together. I'll make sure of it. He doesn't need you…"

Realizing his darts were nowhere to be found, Yukiteru's hands were on the arm of the hand holding his mouth and nose. He pried it off, gasping for air. His blue eyes shone with a purer anger. "He doesn't 'need' you, either, C-ta! He can stand on his own! I can stand on my own! Can't you see he can do just fine without your help?!"

C-ta froze. He wasn't right. He wasn't. He wasn't. Was he? Gripping his box cutter tighter with his free hand, he raised it, ready to strike.

"Do you really think he'll thank you for this?!" cried Yukiteru.

C-ta wasn't listening anymore; all had gone red. The noise he heard was all static.

"C-ta, stop!" A-ya pounced on him as the blade game down, slicing at Yukiteru's cheek but otherwise leaving him unmarked. After C-ta had toppled over and A-ya had tumbled to the ground, C-ta grabbed at Yukiteru's throat. A-ya grabbed at the back of C-ta's collar to try and stop him, and C-ta brought all of them forward, slamming Yukiteru's head into the tree before them. The world spinning, Yukiteru's eyes rolled. He was alive but unconscious. A-ya spun C-ta around and grabbed his shoulders. "C-ta." His voice was firm. "Snap out of it…!"

At A-ya's serious face and imploring tone, C-ta gazed at his childhood friend. "Ah, Yukiteru… He was right."

A-ya's shoulders relaxed. Relief flooded him.

For C-ta, his head was spinning. Yeah, that was right. Wasn't it the truth that A-ya had jumped to the conclusion not to fight anyone so early? Wasn't it A-ya who had befriended Yukiteru so fast, when he was someone who couldn't even speak for himself? Wasn't it A-ya who had managed to speak so smoothly as to convince Group 4 to make an alliance with them? Wasn't it A-ya who had just pounced on C-ta?

A-ya… his A-ya… His A-ya would never do any of those things, would he? For this A-ya to know so much about the game…to act so different… This couldn't be the A-ya he knew. This couldn't be his A-ya. The game had done all kinds of insane things already… Who was to say that the game couldn't have placed a fake in among the contestants? C-ta knew A-ya better than anyone else… This A-ya, wasn't his A-ya.

In turn, C-ta put his own hands on A-ya's shoulders…and shoved him to the ground. A-ya gasped at the impact, having not expected this. "C-ta, what are you—?!"

"You thought you could trick me?" asked C-ta, smiling a broken smile, eyes glazed over with his delusions. "You can't, 'A-ya'…" C-ta had backed A-ya into a tree, paralyzing him with fear.

A-ya could only stare at his best friend's face in horror. What was he doing…? He couldn't be actually…

Terrified, A-ya's red eyes flicked around for something, anything. Yukiteru was out cold in front of a tree, and his scissors…his scissors! They might be just within reach…!

Grinning madly, C-ta laughed, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. "It looks like I win!"

A-ya groped desperately for the scissors. The box cutter was raised. A-ya could feel his hand grasp the scissors just as the box cutter came down at full force. A-ya tried to swing the scissors in C-ta's direction, eyes squeezed shut…

A-ya felt the blades of his scissors connect and sink into something not quite soft. The fingers closest to the blade felt something warm. He dared not release it. Fearfully, A-ya opened his eyes to C-ta, box cutter millimeters from A-ya's chest. The scissors were embedded in the side of C-ta's neck. Horror striking him, A-ya quickly jerked away and released the red handle; C-ta dropped the box cutter to the red-stained grass. One of his hands was to his neck. His eyes were calm and hazy - he looked sad. Tears were falling freely down his cheeks. A weak but warm smile touched his lips. "Ah…" His voice was faint. "A-ya… I guess this was how it would end… I should have known… I… understand now. I'm so… sorry, A-ya… You… w i n…" His voice trailed off, eyes dulling as he collapsed onto the slippery grass beneath him. A-ya continued to stare, unable to remove his eyes from him.

"…C-ta…?" A-ya shifted onto his knees, bringing himself forward. "C-ta…" His eyes stung. His face felt wet. "H…ey…" It felt as though the clearing was getting smaller and smaller. All else ceased to exist but this one moment. Before him lay his best friend, at his side since childhood. "Wh…y…?" Everything was so red. C-ta wasn't waking up. "Why?…" His voice broke. He felt the overwhelming need to vomit, and found himself heaving on his hands and knees. Wiping at his mouth almost blankly, he looked back at his friend, who had been there for him almost as long as he could remember. It was too late now, wasn't it? There he lay, asleep in the moonlight and as red as the grass he rested upon, as red as the handle of the box cutter, as red as the handle of the scissors. As red as A-ya's hands. If C-ta didn't wake up, where was the meaning in all of this? Where was the purpose? Despair made A-ya's insides hollow. Everything felt blurry. It all felt fake. He couldn't process what he'd done.

He knelt there for some time, in a daze. "I…" His hands were gripping that same red handle. Pulling the blades out from where they had nestled in the neck of C-ta. "I've…" He couldn't stop shaking. What had he done? Head bowed, A-ya received his enlightenment. There was only one true answer. In this red ringing silence, he'd found it… the truth.

There was only one true ending here.

And so, it came.

Yukiteru arose from unconsciousness too late. The world dark and blurry, all he could make out was the color of crimson. Then, figures. C-ta was laying down, but A-ya… A-ya was…?

He tried to snap himself back into reality.

"A-ya, don't!" At least, that's what he tried to say, but he couldn't tell whether he'd gotten it out or not. He watched as A-ya used the scissors to slit his own throat, making more red, more red until he slumped, slowly falling to the side and at last collapsing.

Head pounding and world still spinning too fast on its axis, Yukiteru rushed over to him, stumbling and staggering the couple yards it took to get there. "A-ya… A-ya!" Yukiteru desperately shook at his shoulder, tears sprouting but not falling. He rolled over his friend only to find emptiness and more red. His eyes looked nowhere, mouth ever so slightly open. His face was tear-stained and blood-stained.

Yukiteru put a hand to his mouth, falling onto his behind and feeling ill. He pushed away the feeling, though the scent of death and the scent of blood and vomit didn't help in the least. In a weaker voice, he called to C-ta. No response. He tried again. He didn't want to look at C-ta's face too, but tried anyway in case he might be alive after all. Nothing. Tear streaks, blood stains, a tired smile, and eyes that seemed to look at him even though they were well glazed over. Yukiteru could only collapse, sitting between them on the slippery red. "But… C-ta… A-ya…" He paused, lip trembling. How had it come to this so fast? "A-ya…!" Filled only with despairing grief, Yukiteru began to cry before hunching over in sobs that racked his body. Letting out a mournful wail to the stars above, he wept freely amongst the fallen.