A/N: I promised you guys I would deliver another chapter early to make up for lost time, and with some hard work and motivation, I fulfilled that promise! So you now get to see the aftermath of Hinata and Yui's reemergence early! Consider yourselves lucky, guys! HOORAY!
Alright, on with this exciting chapter! ENJOY!
CHAPTER 27: UNION AND REUNION
Afterlife Name - Post-Afterlife Name
Yuri Nakamura - Kimiko Nishimura
Takamatsu - Takayoshi Asahara
Yusa - Rikana Egami
Ōyama - Hozumi Karubo
Takeyama - Touya Hamada
TK - Tyler Kendall
Matsushita - Mutsuto Fujikawa
Eri Shiina - C
Chaa - Chazawa
SECONDARY_RESPONSE_PROTOCOL_REQUESTED
SECONDARY_RESPONSE_PROTOCOL_REQUESTED
SECONDARY_RESPONSE_PROTOCOL_REQUESTED
SECONDARY_RESPONSE_PROTOCOL_REQUESTED
SECONDARY_RESPONSE_PROTOCOL_REQUESTED
Unknown location
Yumie Matsushina opened her eyes and looked around. She was back in the baseball field, and it was sunset again. The entire scenery was painted with a hue of golden-orange. Her skin was plastered with sweat and grime. She was panting, as if she had just recently completed a home run. The helmet and baseball bat weighed heavily on her head and hands, respectively.
And most of all, in spite of her current state, she was happy.
"Me getting a home run is like a joke!" she proclaimed out of instinct, to no one in particular, as the sunlight seared into her eyes. "I'm happy even if I didn't make a home run since I got to move around so much. The way we practiced, it was just so much fun! I had a blast playing baseball!" Then, her voice softened. "Remember, I couldn't move my body at all. So this was a bunch of fun!"
For the longest time, Yumie didn't know why those very words should matter to her at all. After all, none of what she was saying applied to any part of her life whatsoever. Nevertheless, saying those words seemed like a natural act to her, like these facts were an integral part of her being. Thus, she just let everything proceed as it should. After all, there was no stopping this dream. If she couldn't interrupt its flow after all those years, there was absolutely no point in trying now.
A vaguely familiar voice then asked, "So did...everything come true, then?"
Yumie's body turned around. "Did what...come true...?" she replied.
"Well, doing what you wanted. When you were paralyzed."
In her mind, Yumie sighed somberly and sympathetically. Initially, she was confused as to why she was dreaming about being a girl who was once paralyzed but was now walking again for some reason. But after dreaming this dream enough times, she overcame that confusion and had come to pity whoever she was dreaming about, even if this was something she shouldn't be dreaming about.
"There's one thing left," she replied automatically.
"What's that?" the voice asked.
"Marriage."
"Huh?"
Yumie smiled fondly. "It's the ultimate happiness for a girl. But I couldn't do chores or laundry. I couldn't do anything on my own. I was just some annoying baggage in the way. Who would want to marry me...?" Then, that fondness subsided and was replaced with loathing. "God is so cruel. He stole all my happiness away! He's such a mean God. He's such a big meanie..."
The second voice, in that moment, now reminded her of her older brother Ginga, whenever he would try to convince her to change her mind about something that she had already made up her mind on.
"That's not true, Yui..."
"So then what?" Then, Yumie quickly got an idea. "Maybe you would marry me!"
She could tell the other speaker didn't think of her that way. "...Well, I..."
"Well, I'll marry you!" another voice shouted boldly.
Yumie felt her heart flutter. It was him. He was standing closer to the benches, near the entrance to the ballpark. Even if she couldn't make out any of his physical features, she could tell he was wearing a face of absolute determination.
Then, the boy walked up to her, each step powerful and evocative of his conviction.
"I'll marry you!" the boy declared. "I'm serious! I mean it, Yui!"
Yumie was befuddled. "Uh...you wouldn't..." she replied. "I mean, you don't...know the real me, do you...?"
"No matter what you were like or what you've done in your previous life, I'd still marry you today! No matter what type of terrible physical handicap you had!"
"You know, I couldn't walk!" Yumie protested. "I couldn't stand!"
"I said no matter the handicap!"
She gasped, but he continued.
"Even if you couldn't stand and walk, even if you couldn't have kids! Even so...I'd still marry you. I WOULD!"
Yumie stared at this boy as he proceeded to pour his heart out. And as he did, her lips slowly but surely crawled upward into a joyful smile, one of complete fulfillment. Tears started to form from her eyes.
"I want to be with you forever and ever! The Yui I met here wasn't a fake. You're Yui. No matter where we met, I would have fallen in love with you, even though it's one in six billion chance we'd meet, even if you were already paralyzed when we'd met. I'd marry you, and I'd make you the happiest woman alive...if only you'd say yes to me."
Yumie was still smiling, but she replied, "You'd never meet me... I was...bedridden at home, you know..."
"I'd be...I'd be playing my baseball," the boy said quickly. "One day I'd send a baseball flying right through your window. When I'd go to retrieve it, you'd be there. That's how we'd meet."
At that point, Yumie had tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Even if she had never been paralyzed in her life, she was still touched by this boy's kindness and generosity and all of the love that he poured out to her. And so, she allowed him to continue, all the while taking in every word.
"We'd start talking and have so much fun I'd start visiting you every day. I'd start taking care of you. How's that sound?"
"Good," Yumie replied lovingly. "Say...when that happens...my mom would be there for me, taking care of me, all alone with no help... Could you lighten her load...?"
The boy smiled. "Count on it."
Yumie closed her eyes as she started crying happily. "I'm glad, then..."
She could imagine all of the good times she and this boy would have together. All of the fun, the laughter, the pain, the fear, the grief, the joy...and most of all, the love...
Just thinking about it made her forget about the weight of the helmet and the bat... All that mattered to Yumie now was herself and the boy, sharing a bright future together, no matter how unlikely it would actually be...
Matsushina Household
One month ago
Yumie shot up from her bed with a gasp. Panting rapidly and sweating profusely, she got out of her bed quickly, almost stumbling in her step, and switched on her lamp, filling her bedroom with light. Once her mind was fully caught up with reality and registered where she was, Yumie let out a deep sigh.
"Just a dream again..." she whispered to herself, her voice devoid of any stuttering.
At that moment, something caught her attention: voices downstairs. The pink-haired girl crept towards her door, slowly unlocked it, and cautiously opened it, allowing the voices to become more discernible. She immediately recognized them as belonging to her parents and brother.
"Dear Chi, maintain our Earth, stabilize its central form," they were chanting hypnotically and passionately, as a red light leaked into the hallway. "Beloved Sui, flow across our Earth, provoke change. Almighty Ka, move through our Earth, feed it your energy. Great Fū, spread over our Earth, grant its beings your gift of life." Their voices started to escalate in tone. "And together, these four innate elements of our Earth bring the everlasting Kū, and its astounding enlightenment of our dark and tortured spirits."
Yumie quickly shut the door, muffling out the voices, and leaned against its polished frame, her mind reeling with a storm of conflicting emotions.
"This is wrong..." she whispered. "This is wrong... This is so wrong..."
Her pupils automatically flitted to the cellphone her mother had recently given her. She imagined herself calling the cops and turning her family in as cultists...but then, the image of her parents and brother, the ones who still took good care of her and loved her greatly, suffering behind bars brought tears to her eyes...
And then, she started to think about all the families that had to suffer because of her inability to take action...
Yumie sat down on the floor, buried her face in her palms, and began to weep silently.
"Please," she thought. "Whoever you are... Wherever you are... Come and save me... Please..."
Remnants of Hashimoto Manor
Present day
"Hin-Hinata?!" Otonashi exclaimed, startled beyond belief. "Yui?!"
Upon hearing Otonashi's voice, Hinata and Yui looked around, their minds now catching up to reality. Confusion and even a little panic immediately filled their faces as they broke apart from their once-loving embrace.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hinata cried. "Where the hell are we?!"
"Is-Is this another operation?!" squeaked Yui. "Wh-What'd Yuri get us into this time?!"
"It's alright, guys!" Otonashi cried, stepping forward and clasping their tense, rigid shoulders. "It's alright! We're NOT in the middle of an operation!" Then, he quickly added, "S-Sorta-"
Hinata stared at Otonashi incredulously. "O-Otonashi?"
The redhead nodded and smiled at his friend. "It's alright, man. You're alright..."
Hinata looked absolutely overwhelmed by the sudden developments, for he had nothing to say, and his breathing was a little ragged. Then, his eyes slowly widened, and Otonashi could tell his memories were returning to him.
"W-Wa-Wait a minute..." he said shakily. "We...We moved on... H-How the hell do I still know w-who I am?! And who you are, Otonashi?!" He looked around frantically at the devastated room. "Where are we, Otonashi?!"
"Hinata, calm down. Take a deep breath." Otonashi squeezed his friend's shoulder gently. "You too, Yui." He did the same to Yui's shoulder, placating her. "Look, I know this is gonna be hard to believe...and perhaps a little terrifying too...but..." He quickly cleared his throat. "You see...we're in the real world again..."
"What?!" Yui exclaimed. "The real world?!"
"Yeah. And the year is 2026."
"2026?!" Hinata cried.
He tore himself away from Otonashi's grip and ran up to a cavity in the wall that once held a window. Looking through it, he saw the glittering lights of Tokyo's skyline in the distance. Though he couldn't make out the futuristic designs of the skyscrapers, Hinata could already sense how foreign the very air was. It was like his very body was incompatible to the current atmosphere.
"So..." he said, his voice barely a whisper, "this is...the future... And we're somehow living it..."
"Not exactly," Kanade replied, stepping forward. "We've all been reincarnated into different people, but somehow, we've managed to take control of their bodies."
Hinata glared at the silver-haired girl. "What?!" His pupils started to quiver. "Who...Who was I...?"
"Your name was Naotatsu Yunokawa."
"A-And wh-wh-what about m-m-me...?" stuttered Yui.
"You were Yumie Matsushina," Otonashi replied.
"And...what about you two...?" Hinata asked.
"I was Arata Takahashi. She was Chouko Hashimoto. And that's not all, guys." Otonashi's burgundy eyes narrowed. "The rest of the SSS is here as well. Some of them have already taken control of their hosts' bodies, but others have yet to do so."
"So...who's already back...besides us...?"
"Noda, Fujimaki, Iwasawa, and the rest of the Girls Dead Monster. Yuri, Takamatsu, Matsushita, Shiina, and Chaa are all here as well, but they have yet to regain their memories. I have no idea where Yusa, Ōyama, Takeyama, and TK are, but Yuri's host knows them and most likely got them involved as well."
By that point, Hinata was leaning against the wall, his expression shifting from horror to utter disbelief.
"I...I can't believe this..." he breathed out. "I...I thought we all...moved on...?"
"I thought so too," Otonashi replied.
"We all did," Kanade said solemnly. "But apparently, our identities were just latent within our host bodies for their whole lives, until we were exposed to stimuli that triggered our returns."
Hinata's head perked upward. "And that stimuli would be...?"
"A group of terrorists." Kanade's golden eyes narrowed with urgency. "They're planning to nuke all of Japan, Hinata, and we put it upon ourselves to stop them."
"N-N-Nuke Japan?!" repeated Yui fearfully.
Otonashi nodded. "Yes. We don't know how, but this group has enough nuclear devices to wipe the country off the map."
"Holy crap..." Hinata replied. "Wh-What about the police...?"
"Unfortunately, they're useless by this point."
"Crap..." Then, Hinata stared deeply into Otonashi's eyes and sensed something else from him. "But...that's not all, is it? There's another reason why we're going after those people?"
"Yuri's siblings... I-I mean, the siblings of Yuri's host... They were kidnapped by that group. We have to save them before anything happens to them. Yuri's host, Kimiko Nishimura, she's tearing herself apart thinking about them."
"That's not good at all..." Once again, Hinata looked out of the hole in the wall, towards the lights in the distance. "So...I guess the SSS is back in full swing, huh...?"
"Pretty much."
"Do you know how any of this could've happened? Us taking over the bodies of our reincarnated selves, I mean..."
"I'm not sure, but...it appears...you were the first person to start taking over."
Hinata looked at Otonashi once again. "I was?"
"Yes. Your reincarnated self was just telling us about a dream he had, only it wasn't a dream, but one of your memories."
"One of my memories?"
"That's right. And he most certainly was not alone. When he started asking around about this occurrence, someone else came forward with a story of her own." Otonashi suddenly felt driven by a strange surge of energy. "We met her, Chouko and I, and we learned about her daughter Kanade, and the dreams she had about her."
"Her daughter...Kanade...?" repeated Kanade. Then, her golden eyes widened with a startling realization. "You...You met my mother, Otonashi?"
"Huh?" Otonashi looked at her, the energy subsiding as quickly as it came. "I-I did...?"
The two stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, unsure of how to process this latest exchange. Then, Hinata spoke up again.
"W-W-Wait, so Kanade has a mom...who's still alive? And she had the same experiences as my reincarnated self?"
"I...I think so..." But then, Otonashi reconsidered. "No, I'm sure of it. She...She met me...o-or I met her...o-or Takahashi did, I mean. I...I don't know what exactly happened, but-"
"Otonashi," Kanade said, her eyes narrowed at him, "I think...you're finally tapping in...to Takahashi's memories..."
"So do you remember what exactly Kanade's mom told you?" Hinata asked. "O-Or Takahashi, I-I mean...?"
"I'm...not sure..."
"Think."
Otonashi's brows furrowed as he strained his mind. At first, he couldn't recover anything significant. Then...
"I'm afraid my break's over. Do call me if you have something, the both of you."
"Oh, speaking of which, we don't have each other's numbers."
"Ah, yes, I'll give you guys my number. Hold on a sec..."
"Same."
Otonashi's eyes widened. "Your mother, Kanade...she gave us her number!"
Kanade's eyes widened as well. "Her...Her number...?"
The redheaded boy nodded. Then, he reached into his pocket on instinct, but felt nothing there. His heart stopped for a brief, horrifying moment, and he started groping around his body for any lumpy pockets. But he didn't find any. After he double-checked the first pocket he checked, he slammed a fist on the nearby doorway.
"DAMN!"
"Wh-What's wrong...?" Yui asked.
"I don't have my phone," replied Otonashi, before quickly backtracking. "Takahashi's phone, I mean. Takahashi's phone."
"When's the last time you saw it? I-If you ever saw it, I mean?"
"I don't know. I..."
"Takaha..."
"Look at who... here..."
"...ko!"
"...love a figh..."
"Oof! Agh! Ack!"
"...not hurt him!"
"...hashi!"
"...here to hel..."
"Please... -er go..."
"Keep him al..."
"...mighty Ka..."
"No..."
Takahashi's last memory repeated itself in Otonashi's mind over and over again, like an echo in a chamber. Then, as the redhead focused his mind, he could vaguely hear the clattering of something solid, like metal-
"Goddamn it," he said. "Takahashi must've dropped it when those cultists jumped him and Chouko."
"So Takahashi lost it when Chouko was kidnapped and taken to that skyscraper," Kanade replied. "And that was also the same time as when you came into this world, right?"
Otonashi nodded. "Yes..."
"So where exactly did you wake up, Otonashi?"
"In an alleyway...not too far from downtown Tokyo... A couple found me... I was about to be taken to the hospital..." All of a sudden, Igarashi entered Otonashi's head, and his eyes lit up. "The police..."
"What?" Hinata asked, confused.
"The police! They responded to that alleyway right away, and they were processing the scene... They had to have found my phone and taken it as evidence!"
"So it's somewhere in police lockup," remarked Kanade, putting a finger to her chin.
"It doesn't matter," replied Hinata determinedly. "We'll worry about the phone later. For now, we've gotta save Japan."
"Wait, what?" Otonashi asked, taken aback by the sudden proclamation.
"Look, I may not know the true context of this whole thing, but I'm in, Otonashi. You know I'm in, no matter what."
Otonashi looked away. "Hinata...if you feel like you need to stay out of this, then-"
"Oh, hell no." The blue-haired boy looked back at his friend with determination. "I'm already here, you're already here... Heck, about half of our friends are already here and the other half is still with us... We might as well stop that group and get to the bottom of this mess, right? Because this shouldn't be happening. We gotta find out the cause of this before we get into some real trouble. And the more, the merrier, am I right?"
Otonashi looked at Hinata again and smiled happily. "Of course. I'm...I'm glad to have you back, Hinata."
Hinata chuckled and approached the redhead. "Same here, Otonashi. Same here."
Otonashi and Kanade looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating with their eyes. Otonashi stared at the silver-haired girl reluctantly, but she pursed her lips with defeat and shook her head. The redhead took a deep breath of realization and nodded at her. She smiled slightly and nodded back with understanding.
Then, the two looked at Hinata.
"Yeah, you're right," Otonashi said.
"We save Japan first," added Kanade.
Hinata nodded. "Good."
With that, the two boys took a hold of each other's palms and held on tight like it was a handshake. Then, Hinata looked at Yui.
"What about you, squirt?" he asked teasingly. "Ready to make a difference in real life?"
Yui puffed out her cheeks in an adorable pout. "Don't call me a squirt, Hinata! You know as well as I do that I can kick a whole lot of butt!" The pink-haired girl started making a series of punches in the air. "HYAA! HYAA! HYAA! Heck yeah, I'm ready!"
Hinata chuckled jovially. "Alright, alright, but don't come crying to me if things get too harsh for you. I mean- Hey, hey, hey, Yui! What're you- AGH! OOF!"
Yui had suddenly taken the blue-haired boy and subjected him to, of all things, a German suplex.
"Gonna question me now, Hinata?!" Yui asked menacingly as she stood up and dusted her skirt.
"Alright, alright, I give!" Hinata replied with a mixture of shock and happiness. "I guess you showed me there, Yui..."
"Darn straight!"
The two then smiled fondly at each other, just as Otonashi stepped forward and helped Hinata up. Then, before anyone else could have the opportunity to speak, the sound of a single gunshot pierced through the wreckage, followed up with a familiar scream. Chills were sent up the quartet's spines.
"Iwasawa?!" Otonashi exclaimed.
Kanade was quick to activate her Hand Sonic blades and rush off.
Several minutes earlier
"Alright, everyone," Kimiko announced determinedly. "Remember your groups and stick close. We must cover every inch of this place for clues."
"And what if we find something?" asked Hiroto.
"Give me a shout. Now, come on. We mustn't waste any time."
The group instantly broke off into their assigned subgroups and went on their own ways. Hiroto looked around for a brief moment, trying to recall who his teammates were. Then, he remembered and followed after Iwasawa and Fujimaki, who were stepping outside into the backyard. Once he was outside as well, Hiroto's eyes widened with wonder.
"Whoa," he remarked. "So these guys had a pool and a Jacuzzi? Damn..."
"Well," Iwasawa replied in a low, flat voice, as she stared into the murky, muddy waters, "the water doesn't look usable anymore, so don't even try."
Hiroto nearly fell over with embarrassment. "I-I didn't say I was gonna!"
Then, all of a sudden, neither of them budged an inch. Iwasawa merely stared absentmindedly into the dirty, uncleaned water, while Hiroto stared at her deeply. For the longest time, he wasn't sure what was happening.
Finally, the aspiring musician spoke up.
"Tell me...what do you think about all of this?"
Hiroto blinked. "All-All of this? L-Like, re-reincarnation and all that stuff?"
"Yes. And the SSS."
"Th-The SSS...?"
"It's what my group called ourselves in the Afterlife."
"O-Oh! ...W-Well..." The boy gulped awkwardly and looked off towards some bushes. "T-To be perfectly honest..."
His voice trailed off, prompting Iwasawa to reply, "Go on. You don't have to lie."
"W-Well...I'm...I'm glad to know more...about the Afterlife...and what happens after death...in general..."
Iwasawa blinked with surprise. "You do?"
"Yeah..." Hiroto took a deep breath as his eyes became unfocused. "You see, I grew up in Hokkaido. Everywhere you can look, there would always be mountains. I...I used to love mountains... They were so huge and majestic. It was like they were showing off the power of the Earth or something.
"Anyway, when I was still a kid, my class was coming back from a field trip in Tokyo. It was a very rainy and cloudy day, and it was smack in the middle of a huge recession in Japan. Strikes were happening from left and right. So many people weren't very happy with how things were at the time. The aviation industry was one that suffered quite a bit, plus it had never the best in the first place. So a whole bunch of things weren't up to speed when they should've been. ...Like radar systems..."
Iwasawa's eyes widened. The pink-haired girl could tell where this was going.
"Yeah," Hiroto continued with a cynical smirk. "Because of that, plus all the rain and clouds, the pilots weren't able to see that stupid mountain in front of them."
"Oh, my gosh..." Iwasawa replied, staring at the boy with horror. "And you...survived that?"
Hiroto nodded. "At first, it was just me and a classmate of mine. All alone, on the side of a mountain, during a cold, wet day, for six hours. I somehow came out with only this." He lifted his pant leg, revealing a considerable-sized scar on his right shin. "But my classmate, well...let's just say she was worse off. She, uh...she eventually died too...leaving me all by myself until search-and-rescue arrived.
"I later learned the only reason I survived was because of my assigned seat and lots of complicated math. Basically, had I been in any other seat on the plane, any other seat, I would've died for sure."
Iwasawa looked away awkwardly. "I'm...I'm so sorry to hear that..."
"It's alright. It's...It's what got me interested in death and what happens after. I never really planned to spend my adult life looking into that, but...I just wanted some sort of answer. Something that would put all of my concerns to rest. But I knew the chances of that happening would be zero, so I focused all of my attention on helping others, making sure they don't suffer like I do. I guess that's why I joined Kimiko's club. It gave me the most leeway in helping others at my own capacity. And now-" Hiroto smiled passionately at Iwasawa. "Not only do I have the chance to actually make a difference, but it's also given me an opportunity...to find the answers I've always been seeking..."
Iwasawa looked back at him with surprise. That was when Hiroto started to backtrack.
"I-I mean, I-I didn't ask for any of this! I wasn't hoping the country wouldn't get nuked because of it or anything, n-nor was I hoping to exploit your original deaths in any way-"
"Relax, newbie," the musician replied, smiling warmly. "I know these weren't exactly the circumstances you wanted. And I know you're not a manipulative bastard." She strolled up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "You're alright."
"Phew!" He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "I'm glad to know that!"
"And besides..." Iwasawa stared absentmindedly at Hiroto's chest, her smile still in place, and her hand still clasping his shoulder. "I'm glad to know the SSS isn't burdening you with all of this. After all, we never knew you in the Afterlife. So you're doubly-uninitiated for this sort of thing."
Unbeknownst to her, Hiroto was looking away, his face bright-red. Normally, he didn't care much about girls, but being in close proximity with Iwasawa somehow put him on more edge than ever before. Fortunately for him, the aspiring female musician eventually stepped away and looked up at the moonlight.
"We all have our regrets and unresolved conflicts," she said. "That's why the Afterlife exists. So we can have our second chance at closing that chapter of our lives before we pass on to the next life. It's a cycle, and the Afterlife keeps it all in balance. That's what happens to us after we die. At least, that's what I've gathered from my experiences..." She turned around to look at Hiroto. "Well, newbie? Does that answer your question for you?"
Hiroto gawked at her, his blush even brighter than ever before. He prayed she wasn't able to see it in all of the pale light that shone upon them.
"Y-Yeah..." he replied. Then, he cleared his throat. "And, uh...I'd appreciate it if you stopped calling me 'newbie'."
"Oh, sorry! I didn't happen to catch your name. Mind running it by me again?"
Hiroto stared at her for a moment before replying, "I'm Sekozawa. Hiroto Sekozawa."
"Nice to meet you, Sekozawa-kun. I'm Iwasawa. Masami Iwasawa."
"Iwasawa..." Hiroto smiled. "It's nice to meet you too."
Iwasawa smiled at him before looking over her shoulder. "Now then, where were we again...?"
"We were searching for clues for Kimiko." At that moment, Hiroto noticed something. "H-Hey, wait a minute, where'd our other teammate go? The one with the beady eyes?"
"He must've wandered off without us." At that moment, Iwasawa eyed the wilting garden maze. "Probably in there."
"In there?" Hiroto stared at the maze warily. "I didn't know they had something like that here..."
But Iwasawa ignored him and proceeded inside. "Hey, Fujimaki! Where'd you run off to?! Fujimaki!"
Hiroto looked over his shoulder at the ruins of the mansion, where he knew the others were. Then, after spending a few seconds mulling over his decision, he quickly joined Iwasawa on her search.
"What'd you say your friend's name was again?" he asked.
"Fujimaki," the pink-haired girl replied.
"Ah, okay." He cupped his lips with his palms. "Yo, Fujimaki! Where the hell are ya?!"
"Fujimaki!" called Iwasawa. "If you can hear me, sound off!"
But the two teenagers received no response, prompting them to continue further and further into the maze. Even though its plants were dead and dry, the tangled masses of stems and branches still blocked everything else from view. Some of the unattended branches were now overgrown, forcing Iwasawa and Hiroto to step over them.
"Does your friend usually do this?" Hiroto asked eventually.
"Never. I bet he split as soon as he saw the pool. He hates water."
"Yeah, but into this maze?"
"Well, I really can't imagine anywhere else to go for clues." Iwasawa called out again, "Hey, Fujimaki! This isn't funny! I need you to give me a sign on where you are!"
"Ohhhhh, I'll give you a sign, babe..." a familiar voice hissed uncharacteristically.
An arm suddenly slunk over Hiroto's left shoulder, while another hand grabbed onto his right shoulder and held on tight. The boy felt a rusty blade press itself lightly against his neck, prompting him to stop dead in his tracks.
"Oh, shit..." he muttered.
The sound of Hiroto's terrified voice caused Iwasawa to freeze, her blood running cold. Then, she twirled around quickly and aimed her pistol. But what she saw next caused her heart to stop.
"F-Fu-Fujimaki?!" the teenage girl exclaimed. "Wh-What the hell are you doing?!"
The beady-eyed boy grinned manically and pressed the blade, one half of a pair of gardening shears, slightly deeper into Hiroto's neck, drawing a single bead of blood from his tanned skin. Hiroto's eyes were quivering, and his whole body was trembling so severely that it was like he stepped out of a walk-in freezer.
"Who the hell is Fujimaki?" Fuyuhiko Ezakiya asked with a malevolent sneer.
Iwasawa's eyes widened with horror. "Oh, crap..." she thought. "I don't know how, but Fujimaki's reincarnated self must have retaken control of his body. Whoever this new guy is, he's definitely bad news!"
"Okay, whoever the hell you are," she said, her voice low and menacing. "You let him go now, and we can talk about this peacefully-"
Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Yeah? And does your definition of 'peaceful' involve me being strapped to a chair and butted in the head a hundred times by a freaking machete?" His sneer became more pronounced. "I think not!"
"What the hell do you want...?" Hiroto asked, his voice coming out as a strangled croak.
"What do I want?" Fuyuhiko bared his teeth. "Well, destruction, for starters. And the cult's my best bet for accomplishing that. The more miserable people that are wiped off the face of this planet, the better!"
Iwasawa's eyes widened even more. "You're...You're with the cult?"
"Of course, bitch. And I need to get back to them." Fuyuhiko craned his neck a little to look at Hiroto. "I think I'll take ya along for some insurance. Can't afford to fuck up the master plan for my benefactors, now can I?"
Iwasawa's eyes met Hiroto's, and he stared back at her with terror. Then, at the corner of her vision, she saw something that could turn the tide of this incident: Fuyuhiko's shoulder poking slightly out from the safety of Hiroto's body, partially exposed. The aspiring musician tried her best to suppress a reaction to this realization.
"Okay..." she replied. "Fujimaki, or whoever you are, you don't have to take him." She slowly lowered her gun, eliciting a surprised reaction from Fuyuhiko. "You can take me."
"You?" The psychopathic teenager slowly scanned Iwasawa's body from head to toe and smirked hungrily. "I think I can live with that. Maybe I'll have some fun on the way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police-"
Without warning, Iwasawa aimed her pistol and fired at Fuyuhiko's shoulder. The bullet grazed his skin and struck an old ceramic vase, shattering it and allowing the old soil within to pour out. As Fuyuhiko recoiled from the wound, Hiroto was able to tear away from his grip and run towards Iwasawa. But Fuyuhiko quickly recovered and charged forward with his weapon.
"Sekozawa, watch out!" Iwasawa cried with concern.
In his surprise, Hiroto fell over to the side, allowing Fuyuhiko to tackle Iwasawa to the ground. The impact was so hard it knocked Iwasawa's pistol out of her reach. Before she could react, Fuyuhiko swung his makeshift knife downward, and its blade buried itself deep into Iwasawa's shoulder.
"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" she screamed.
"Ah, yeah!" Fuyuhiko cried gleefully, and he started digging the blade deeper into her flesh. "How does it feel, bitch?!"
Iwasawa grabbed onto the arm holding the knife, and she tried to use her strength to prevent him from digging the knife deeper. Unfortunately, Fuyuhiko was stronger, and she started to feel overwhelmed with pain and exhaustion...
"ARGH!"
Hiroto charged forward, a large, thick branch secured in his hands, and whacked Fuyuhiko across the face with it like the improvised tool was a baseball bat. The psychotic teenager let go of the knife and fell off of Iwasawa, allowing her to pull the weapon out of her shoulder.
Groggily, Fuyuhiko crawled towards Iwasawa's fallen handgun as fast as he could. Hiroto noticed this and dove for it, but Fuyuhiko managed to clasp his hand around its grip first. Hiroto then grabbed Fuyuhiko's hand, and the two boys began to wrestle over ownership of the gun. Growling savagely, and totally preoccupied with forcing Hiroto off of him, Fuyuhiko blinded pulled the trigger repeatedly, causing bullets to ricochet on the walkways and the nearby vases.
Then, Hiroto punched Fuyuhiko in the face as hard as he could. Fuyuhiko's grip on the gun promptly slackened, allowing Hiroto to take it from him. However, Fuyuhiko took a loose slab of cobblestone from the walkway and hit his opponent in the head with it, knocking him over.
"You goddamn bastard..." he snarled as he stood up and towered over Hiroto. "I'm so gonna enjoy cutting you up- OOF!"
Iwasawa tackled Fuyuhiko into some nearby bushes, but he held on to the slab tight and struck her in the head. As soon as he did, she fell limp, allowing him to drop the slab and pick up her body in his arms. As he did, he smirked maliciously and let out a gurgled chuckle.
"Alright, time to get back with the big leagues..." he said to himself.
With that, he ran off in search of an exit. Hiroto watched his departure with horror and stood up, but he found himself a little disoriented from the blow he received.
"Crap..." he muttered. The boy clutched his forehead and felt the fresh blood dribbling down his skin. "Crap, crap, crap... Ugh... C-Can't let him get away...with her... I just...can't..."
Stomaching the pain as best as he could, Hiroto stumbled off after Fuyuhiko.
Kanade was the first to arrive on the scene, but as soon as she did, she found nothing but destroyed vases, a discarded branch, and a bloodied cobblestone slab. Her brows furrowed, she de-materialized her Hand Sonic blades and bent down to pick up the slab.
"Iwasawa..." she said to herself.
"Kanade!" Otonashi called, as the redhead ran up to her. "What happened here? Where are Iwasawa and Fujimaki?"
Kanade stood back up and looked at him darkly. "They're gone..."
"Gone?" Otonashi looked around frantically. "But...But how?! What happened?!"
The silver-haired girl raised the slab, and the gleaming film of blood caught Otonashi's attention. He took the slab from Kanade's hands and looked at it more closely. Then, the redhead started looking around for any other clues.
"They were attacked," Kanade explained.
"Attacked?" Hinata asked as he too arrived on the scene, followed by Yui. "Attacked by whom?"
"It couldn't have been the cultists. We would've known if they were here."
Upon hearing Kanade's conclusion, Otonashi stopped dead in his tracks, and he felt a horrible realization seeping into his heart. He desperately wanted to deny the possibility, but the more he mulled over it, the more plausible it seemed by the second. There was no other alternate explanation.
"Fujimaki..." he said in a low whisper.
"Fujimaki?" Hinata asked, confused.
"He... No, his reincarnated self...he's a member..."
Hinata and Yui's eyes widened with horror as the latter replied, "What?!"
"I don't know how, but...Fujimaki's reincarnated self must've taken control of his body...and attacked Iwasawa and that other boy..."
"There are no bodies, Otonashi," Kanade said, "so that must mean he took them to a secondary location."
"Yes, but where would that place be...?"
Just then, Kimiko appeared from some bushes, followed by Noda and Asahara. The trio ran up to the quartet, Asahara's gun and Noda's machete drawn. Hinata and Yui's eyes widened at the sight of the newcomers, especially Kimiko, but the couple didn't have time to celebrate joyful reunions.
"Otonashi!" Kimiko cried. "We heard gunshots! What happened?!"
"Fujimaki attacked Iwasawa and Hiroto," the redhead replied gravely. "Took them..."
"Fu-Fujimaki?" exclaimed Noda. "The hell?! Why?!"
"His reincarnated self took over again." Otonashi felt his shoulder twitch instinctively. "That guy... He's a total monster..."
"Shit," muttered Asahara, his fists clenching. "That must mean he's taking them back to the damn cult. Oh, and speaking of which, we found absolutely nothing that could be of any use to us! Which means..." He shot an accusatory glare down Kimiko's direction, which didn't go unnoticed by the magenta-haired girl. "We're back at square one!"
Kimiko pursed her lips angrily in response.
"Not exactly..." Kanade suddenly said.
Everyone's heads turned towards her, and Otonashi asked, "What do you mean, Kanade?"
She pointed towards the rough, uneven walkway of cobblestones. Though they didn't see it at first, the inching shine of the moonlight was quick to highlight it for them: a trail of dark blood droplets leading off in a certain direction.
"So the situation isn't hopeless!" Kimiko cried determinedly, her confidence completely restored. "Noda, Asahara, get the others! We need to follow that trail before Fujimaki or whatever his name is now gets a car!"
"Right away, Yurippe!" Noda replied loyally.
"Don't call me that."
"Sure thing, Yur- AGH!"
The purple-haired delinquent had to dodge an upwards kick from Kimiko before running off. As for Asahara, he remained for a few moments. He locked eyes with Kimiko and narrowed his at her direction, causing her skin to pale considerably. Sensing a potential confrontation, Otonashi stepped forward with the intention of defusing it, but Asahara seemed to let go of his outrage for the time being, for he turned around and followed Noda.
Once the two boys disappeared into the ruins of the mansion, a trembling Kimiko growled angrily and kicked one of the destroyed vases, sending its pieces skittering in all directions.
"DAMN IT!" she cried through outraged tears, startling the others. "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! I SHOULDN'T HAVE LEFT FUJIMAKI WITH IWASAWA AND HIROTO!" She started stomping down on the dried soil. "FIRST MY SIBLINGS AND NOW THIS?! DAMN YOU, GOD! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!"
"Hey, calm down, Yuri!" cried Hinata. He stepped forward and touched Kimiko's shoulder, but she slapped his hand away.
"DON'T YOU CALL ME THAT, NAOTATSU! I'M NOT THIS GODDAMN YURI PERSON!"
Hinata initially stared at Kimiko with confusion and disbelief. Then, he remembered what Otonashi told him about her.
"And I'm no longer Naotatsu..." he said solemnly.
"YEAH, DAMN RIGHT YOU'RE-!" The rage and anguish in Kimiko's eyes were instantaneously replaced with befuddlement. "W-Wait, what...?"
Hinata chuckled and scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, uh...I'm so sorry, but Naotatsu isn't here at the moment. My name now is Hideki Hinata."
"Hideki...Hinata...?" Kimiko repeated with disbelief.
"Yeah." Hinata held out his right hand. "It's so nice to meet you. What's your name?"
Kimiko reluctantly looked at Hinata's outstretched hand for a moment and contemplated her next choice. Eventually, she took his palm and shook it gently.
"Kimiko Nishimura..." she replied, her voice soft and ambivalent. "My name's Kimiko Nishimura."
"Kimiko, huh?" Hinata's blue eyes narrowed earnestly. "Don't lose hope, Kimiko. We'll find your siblings and save them. I promise you that."
Upon hearing those words, the magenta-haired girl averted her gaze, though Otonashi and Hinata could see the hopeful look in her sea-green eyes. But before the conversation could continue, the air was penetrated by the hammering sound of automatic gunfire. Everyone's heads turned back towards the manor, just in time to see a large section of it collapsing in on itself.
"NODA?!" Kimiko called with horror. "ASAHARA?!"
Several minutes earlier
As soon as they parted from the rest of the group, Mutsuto, C, and Royama glided aimlessly through a number of rooms before they entered the family room. The first thing they saw was the oblong table where the Hashimoto family ate their meals. Mutsuto arched an eyebrow and released a single, drawn-out whistle.
"Wow," he remarked. "That's one big-ass table. Makes me wonder if the homeowners were trying to overcompensate for something..."
Suddenly, the large, stocky boy heard some slight shuffling and looked over his shoulder. Within a split-second, he found Royama scouring through one of the many cabinets in the room.
"Yo," he said. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Trying to take some of this glassware," Royama replied. "This is the home of one of the wealthiest families in Japan. If I find something valuable here, I'm so gonna sell it-"
"Even in the face of an impending nuclear apocalypse?" C interrupted, her eyes closed. "How foolish."
"Hey, I didn't forget about that! No need to remind me!" Then, Royama looked at the ninja girl and frowned. "And for the love of God, stop saying that! It's bad enough that I've been roped into this mess! Now I've got a hot girl like you looking down on me like a heap of trash!"
"Justifiably so."
Royama's frown deepened. "Jeez, I can't wait till this is all over..."
"Hey, no one's asking you to stay and help, man," Mutsuto replied. "You've been given so many opportunities to bail, yet you never took any of them." He crossed his arms. "And that tells me you've got a bit of a brave side to you, even if you are too afraid to admit it."
Royama glared at Mutsuto and jabbed a thumb at his chest. "Look, man, I'm only in this for the fame and glory, alright?! I mean, the Yuzuru Otonashi needs help in solving this crisis, and if I help him out, then maybe I'll get some recognition and respect for once!"
"Recognition and respect...for once...?" Mutsuto repeated, confused.
"Well, yeah. Who doesn't want that?" Royama resumed his search for valuable, salvageable items. "I just didn't expect I would be doing something like this in order to get it."
"Well, what did you expect?" C asked.
"Oh, I dunno. Getting a whole bunch of politicians arrested for corruption, without me getting shot at in the process...?" Royama paused mid-movement. "You know, that's kinda why I joined the Global Awareness Club. So I'd get the chance to do important stuff like that. But I quickly got bored with the stuff they were doing before. I thought we weren't being extreme enough in our efforts." He chuckled dryly. "Guess I gotta be careful what I wish for." He closed the cabinet door and glanced over his shoulder. "What about you guys? Why're you guys still sticking around?"
"We're street children, man," said Mutsuto. "We've been cast aside by society, with nothing but the asphalt and concrete to our name. Our lives never amounted to anything. We walk on goddamn tightropes trying to make sure we live to see another day. So..." He looked down at his palm. "If this country is gonna go to hell, if there's nothing we can do about it, then we might as well go out fighting. That way, our lives will mean something to someone."
Royama blinked with surprise. "Oh. That...That makes sense..."
"You know, it's ironic. C and I, we've made a living singling out hapless dudes with heavy pockets pick-pocketing the shit out of them. And throughout the years, the kinds of people we pickpocket just blend together. To me they're all conceited heaps of crap whose only best interests are their own. No one truly cares for people like us. Even if someone decides to make a donation to help homeless kids, they're just doing it for the euphoria it brings to their pathetic soul. Deep down, they're glad it's us out on the street and not them. They're perfectly content with helping us, just as long as they're still the people on top..." He clenched his fists. "I've always hated society for that. For raising attitudes like that. And that is why I'm not surprised you'd be into this for the fame and glory, even if you already have everything."
"Everything?" Royama repeated. "HA! I'm flattered, dude, but trust me, I have nothing-"
"No, you don't? You've got every last freaking thing any regular member of society could ask for. A permanent home, a steady lifestyle, a clear-cut vision of the future, possessions to call your own, people who love you-"
Royama suddenly scoffed. "No, I don't."
"Yes, you do-"
"No, I don't." The redhead took a deep breath. "Look, life has never treated me well my whole life. I'm barely scraping by in school, I've got parents who've given up on me a long time ago, no serious plans for the future...and I may have friends in the club, but no matter what, I wind up being the butt of their jokes, sooner or later-"
"Unsurprising, given your attitude," C interrupted, her voice still monotone.
"Yeah, exactly. No one takes me seriously..." Then, after some quick pondering, Royama heaved out a sigh. "And yeah, I guess I'm partially to blame for that as well. I guess that's what I get for striving for something that's way out there such as respect... But it's all I've got in life!"
"You want recognition and respect?" The ninja girl twirled her wooden shinai around before resting it on her left shoulder. "Stop being a baby and put others over yourself." She turned around and started walking away. "Life never treats anyone well, no matter how much people want it to. You are NOT going to get the things you want exactly the way you want, so just let your fears go and allow your better judgment to guide you."
Royama and Mutsuto stared at her as she left. Then, Mutsuto looked at Royama, who was gawking at her with wonder.
"Hey, she's got a point, man," he said sagely.
"Allow my better judgment to guide me...?" Royama repeated to himself.
But before he could ponder those words any further, the two boys heard a gunshot, followed by a familiar scream.
"What the?!" exclaimed Royama.
"That was that Iwasawa girl!" Mutsuto cried.
But before either of them could act, an emotionless C dashed past them, her wooden shinai poised to strike.
Fuyuhiko Ezakiya didn't remember how he regained consciousness, but the first thing that entered his mind was a whole set of knives...and a gruesome scene of bloody carnage. That was what spurred him to action, just like it always did. And he knew it was too good to be true the moment he saw that Hasumi Itagaki girl with another guy, but it didn't matter to him either way. He did what he thought was natural, and now he was going to be rewarded handsomely by the cult.
If he could get back to them, that is.
The psychotic teenager entered the mansion, allowing some unknown, foreign instinct to guide his way. For some reason, he knew where to go, what paths to take. It was unusual to him, because he never allowed instinct to take control of him and navigate him through the day. He always relied on his bloodthirstiness and a never-ending series of circumstances to live out his life. There was never any purpose to his actions. He never believed in it, and he didn't want it.
But for once, he decided to trust in his inner judgment.
Just then, Fuyuhiko heard the Hasumi girl groan, and he smirked down at her. He kept his eyes on the red blood trickling down her forehead.
"Ah, don't worry, babe," he said. "It's just a scratch compared to what you're about to experience. Trust me, it'll be on a whole other level- OOF!"
Something long and blunt hit him in the back of the head, and he collapsed to the ashy floor, letting go of Hasumi in the process. Growling savagely, Fuyuhiko scrambled back up on his feet and saw Hiroto Sekozawa preparing to take another swing with the detached leg of a chair. His face was streaked with his own blood.
"You let go of Iwasawa now, you bastard!" Hiroto shouted, his voice slightly woozy.
Fuyuhiko cackled as he ducked his head and avoided the second swing. Then, he tackled the other boy to the floor.
"Ahhhhh, so you wanna be a hero now, ehhh?!" the beady-eyed teenager shrieked. "Is that what's happening?! Heh heh heh..." With his pupils constricting, he clutched Hiroto's neck with both hands and began squeezing with all of his might.
"Well, I'll show you how heroes get truly rewarded!"
He began to cackle as he felt Hiroto's life force ebb away by the second. The other boy struggled in vain, trying to pry his hands off his neck and hit him in vulnerable places. But Fuyuhiko refused to let the opportunity to take a life go to waste. After all, he thrived on the suffering and the loss of life-
Once again, Fuyuhiko's fun was interrupted by another blunt object striking him in the head and knocking him off Hiroto.
"GAH!" he shouted as he clutched his forehead. "STOP RUINING MY FUN, BITCH!"
Through his blurring vision, Fuyuhiko could see a calm, collected girl with dark-blue hair and red eyes, who was wearing a dark-blue tank-top, black jean shorts, and a pink, thick scarf that nearly obscured her mouth. In her right hand was a wooden shinai, which she twirled around in the air.
"Prepare to face the might of the shinai..." C hissed, her red eyes narrowing at him.
Upon realizing C's arrival, Hiroto, still gasping for breath, stood up on his feet and stared at Iwasawa's motionless form. Unfortunately, it was lying closer to Fuyuhiko than him or the ninja girl.
"C!" Mutsuto cried as he and Royama rushed onto the scene. "What happened?! What's going on?!" Then, his eyes flitted to Fuyuhiko's direction. "Yo! You're Fujimaki, right?! Would you mind filling me in on...?" His voice trailed off the moment he spotted Iwasawa. "Iw-Iwasawa!"
"Be careful, Mutsuto," C warned, stopping her partner-in-crime from rushing to the pink-haired girl. "Something's wrong with Fujimaki."
"Wh-What?!" Royama exclaimed, surprised. He looked at the beady-eyed teenager disbelievingly. "No way. He looks fine to me." He started waving at Fuyuhiko. "Yo, Fujimaki! You alright?"
"Ohhhhh, I'm alright," Fuyuhiko replied with a gleeful smirk. "In fact, I'm better than alright-"
Hiroto charged towards Fujimaki, closely followed by C. "Let Iwasawa go, you bastard!" he shouted.
"HAHAHA!"
Fuyuhiko sidestepped Hiroto's attempt at a swing, then grabbed C's arm before she could swing her shinai downward. C tried to break free, but Fuyuhiko took this time to elbow her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Then, Hiroto charged at Fuyuhiko again, but he shoved C into him, sending both teenagers toppling. With his opponents incapacitated at the moment, Fuyuhiko picked up the discarded chair leg and charged at Mutsuto and Royama.
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Mutsuto cried as he and Royama avoided one of his swings. "Fujimaki, what the hell's wrong with you?!"
"STOP CALLING ME BY THAT GODDAMN NAME!" Fuyuhiko roared, flecks of spit flying out of his mouth. "I AM FUYUHIKO EZAKIYA, AND YOU WILL ALL WITHER AND BURN!"
He was about to make another swing at Mutsuto's direction when the stockier boy raised something. Fuyuhiko froze and his blood ran cold at the sight of the Rheinmetall MG 3 light machine gun, whose barrel was aimed directly at his head.
"Alright then, whoever you are," Mutsuto said triumphantly. "The gig is up."
Fuyuhiko bared his gritted teeth at him with a hiss. Then, he looked over his shoulder and saw Hiroto and C getting back up. Suddenly, he seemed to notice something else, for the boy's beady pupils started darting around the bloodshot white of his eyes, examining his surroundings. Finally, he looked back at Mutsuto, and his frown suddenly turned into a vicious grin.
"Ohhh, not yet..." he replied.
Then, without warning, he threw the chair leg over Mutsuto's shoulder. It hit the wall behind him and Royama, seemingly with no effect. Royama stared at the place where the chair leg hit, then looked back at Fuyuhiko with an amused smirk.
"Really?" the redhead asked. "That's all you've got?"
Suddenly, a low, horrendous creak started echoing throughout the room. Hiroto, C, Mutsuto, and Royama looked around and saw cracks forming everywhere on the walls, originating from the place Fuyuhiko struck.
"You guys have fun with that," Fuyuhiko replied tauntingly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a police station to go to."
"Oh, shit!" Royama screamed, his voice cracking.
"Everyone, get cover!" ordered Mutsuto.
Within seconds, the ceiling started plummeting down on all of the teenagers, piece by piece. C, Mutsuto, and Royama ran in different directions, searching desperately for something stable that they could seek shelter under.
As for Fuyuhiko, he picked up Iwasawa's still-motionless body and ran as fast as he could for the fireplace. Once the boy arrived, he looked around frantically as the ceiling and the walls collapsed all around him. Almost immediately, Fuyuhiko noticed the small golden statue sitting conspicuously on a simple wooden table beside the fireplace.
"Ah, bingo!" he thought gleefully.
He stepped forward and aimlessly groped the statue with his free hand before pushing it down into the table. A loud and mechanical snap of a click pierced through the collapsing wreckage, followed by the fireplace opening up automatically. Fuyuhiko sneered triumphantly and ran into the panic room. Inside, he looked around, saw the red button, and pressed it, triggering the fireplace to slowly close and save him from the falling wreckage.
However, just before it could fully close, Hiroto slipped through the gap.
"You just don't know when to give up, do ya?!" Fuyuhiko shouted.
"Not until you give Iwasawa back!" Hiroto shouted back, his voice labored by his deep, ragged breathing. "You bastard!"
"Awwwww, now isn't that adorable!" At that moment, Fuyuhiko spotted a green button at the opposite end of the room. "Unfortunately..." He approached the button and pressed it, opening up the wall. "My superiors need a fresh sacrifice and I'm gonna be rewarded generously for this chick! So, uh...sayonara!"
With that, he burst into a sprint down the passageway, with Iwasawa still in his arms and a maniacal laugh trailing from his mouth. Hiroto growled furiously and ran after him as fast as his legs could carry him.
"I gotta get Iwasawa back!" he thought with determination. "I...I can't let her die! I can't let that happen again! I...I just can't!"
"OH, MY GOD!" Kimiko screamed as the mansion continued to collapse in on itself. "NODA! ASAHARA! GUYS!"
She and the others suddenly heard a trio of feminine screams emerging from within the building. Seconds later, Hisako, Miyuki, and Shiori ran outside, completely covered in dust and soot.
"Hisako!" Yui cried happily. "Miyuki! Shiori!"
"H-Huh?" Shiori stared at the pink-haired girl for a second. "Y-Yui?"
"Yui?!" squealed Miyuki.
"We don't have time for reunions!" Kimiko snapped. "Did any of you see any of the others?!"
Hisako stopped to catch her breath, upon which she started coughing. Then, she replied in a strained voice, "I saw Noda and Asahara...run past me...towards some yelling in another room... I think it was...Mutsuto, C, and Royama..."
"No..." Kimiko breathed out, shaking her head slowly with denial. "No, no, no... If...If they die because of me-"
"They won't die," Kanade interrupted suddenly. "Have faith, Kimiko."
"Have faith?! How am I supposed to have- Ka-Kanade?!"
Kimiko and the others watched as Kanade deactivated her Hand Sonic blades and ran into the collapsing manor without a second thought. For some odd reason, Kimiko wanted to run in after her and stop her, but an outstretched arm hindered her from doing so.
"O-Otonashi!" she cried. "A-Aren't you going to s-stop her?!"
But to her surprise, the redhead shook his head with a gentle smile.
"Kanade knows what she's doing," he replied calmly. "Trust her."
Kimiko's sea-green eyes expanded with complete astonishment at Otonashi's confidence. However, an unknown, foreign instinct guided her into agreeing with him, and she stared reluctantly at the manor as the entire western wing crumpled inward, further destroying what remained of the great Hashimoto Manor.
A few minutes later, Noda and Asahara emerged, carrying an unconscious Mutsuto and C, respectively.
"What happened to them?!" Hisako exclaimed.
"They got knocked out," Asahara replied. "Don't worry, though; they're fine."
"What about Kanade and Royama?" asked Kimiko.
"Kanade's saving Royama right now," Noda replied smoothly.
At that moment, the western wing exploded, forcing all of the teenagers to run towards the garden maze to avoid being pelted by debris. Mere moments later, they watched as Kanade ran out of the manor at shockingly superhuman speeds, all the while carrying Royama's unconscious form and completely lacking a speck of dust on her clothes.
"Ka-Kanade?!" Kimiko cried in disbelief.
But Otonashi smiled at the hilarious poker-face Kanade was wearing as she carried the redhead.
"Yep," he thought. "That's Kanade for you."
"I'm boooooooooorrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeed!"
"Stop saaaaaaaaaayiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnng that!"
Natsumi delivered a scowl at Chazawa's direction before stroking the top of Yuri's head. The cat purred softly and rubbed its body against her crisscrossed legs. As for Chazawa, he sighed with irritation and rested his forehead against the hard leather of the van's steering wheel.
"D'you have any idea when they're gonna be done?" he asked. "I'm not sure if there's gonna be anything useful over at that wreck of a home."
"Don't ask meeeee," Natsumi replied absentmindedly. "I'm just a liiiiittle kid."
"Yeah, and a pain in the ass too."
"Oooooh, you said a bad word."
"Ah, shut the fuck up, bitch."
"You're gonna go to heeeeellllllllll."
"I don't believe in Hell. Or Heaven too, for that matter. It's all just a bunch of stinking horseshit that people sell to other people so they could dupe 'em into giving 'em their money."
"Then what do you think will happen to you after you die?"
"Whatever that Noda punk and his friends told us. It sounds legit to me. For some reason." Chazawa lifted his head and looked at Natsumi suspiciously. "You're asking a lot of complicated questions for a little kid..."
The little girl merely shrugged as she scratched the underside of Yuri's neck. "I just wanna know where my Onii-chan is." Then, she released a drawn-out yawn and started to slump against the van. "I...I like Noda-san...but I'd rather have my Onii-chan back soon..." Her eyelids started to flutter. "He makes the bestest food..."
"Well, we'll see what happens." Chazawa stared at Natsumi as she started to drift off to sleep, and remembered how late it was at night. "Just go to sleep now, Natsumi-chan. I'll wake you up when your Onii-chan comes back."
"'Kaaaaay..."
With that, Natsumi dozed off, and Yuri promptly curled itself up on her lap and fell asleep as well. Chazawa smiled at the adorable sight before refocusing on the windshield. He could see Hashimoto Manor in the distance...and saw its western wing falling apart and collapsing in on itself.
"What the f-?" he began in a whisper.
Chazawa was interrupted by movement at the corner of his eye. Turning his head sideways, he saw someone emerging from the abandoned shed Kimiko and her group disappeared into. At first, the person was obscured by shadows, but as he got closer, Chazawa realized it was Fujimaki...and he was carrying an unconscious, bloodied Iwasawa!
"What the hell...?" Chazawa got out of the van and ran up to Fujimaki, who froze upon spotting him. "H-Hey, man! What the hell happened to you?! And her?! And where are the others?!"
At first, Fujimaki did not respond, and Chazawa couldn't help but feel something was off with him. Then, all of a sudden, panic filled the delinquent's face.
"Th-The others..." he said, sounding as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment. "They're... They're all DEAD!"
"What?!" Chazawa exclaimed, his voice cracking.
"W-We-We're the only s-sur-survivors!" Fujimaki raised Iwasawa's unconscious form slightly. "Q-Quick! W-We need t-t-to get her t-to a ho-hospital!"
"The hospital! Right! Gotcha!" However, Chazawa looked back at the direction of Hashimoto Manor. "Bu-But shouldn't we check for any other sur-"
"NO!" Fujimaki interrupted. "We gotta go now! Like, right now!"
"O-Okay! Okay, okay..."
Chazawa ran back into the van, while Fujimaki opened up one of the side-doors and casually threw Iwasawa inside. Just then, before he could board himself, Chazawa heard a small banging noise. He looked towards the abandoned shed and saw Hiroto running out, his face flushed and his breath strained.
"Sek-Sekozawa?!" exclaimed Chazawa. "You're alive too?!"
"CHAZAWA!" Hiroto screamed at the top of his lungs, and Chazawa immediately registered the terror in the boy's voice. "THAT BOY, THAT'S NOT FUJIMAKI!"
Chazawa's eyes widened with horror. "What?!"
"THAT'S-"
Hiroto was cut off, just as Chazawa simultaneously felt something cold press against his neck lightly. His pupils darted to the corners of his eyes, and they caught the malevolent sneer on Fujimaki's face.
"You'd better start driving..." Fuyuhiko snarled, his eyes quivering with madness as they were trained on Hiroto. "If you don't, I cut the little girl's throat open and you'll get to watch the blood gush out of her like a fountain!"
Chazawa hitched his breath, and in the terrifying silence, he could hear Natsumi's soft breathing, indicating she was still asleep. Not wanting to jeopardize her safety, his pupils trained themselves back on Hiroto.
"Sorry..." he mouthed ambivalently.
"Chazawa, do-!"
Hiroto's voice was drowned out by the loud bellow of the engine. Chazawa put the van in reverse and stepped on the gas pedal. The rickety vehicle lurched backward and crawled along the ground for a few feet, with Hiroto in pursuit. Fuyuhiko saw this and gritted his teeth with exasperation.
"Better hightail it fast or you'll regret it, wheel-man," he snarled.
Once he got far enough from the original parking spot, Chazawa put the gear into drive and stepped on the gas pedal for a second time. The van raced forward and inched to the right, just narrowly avoiding Hiroto. Fuyuhiko giggled sadistically and released Chazawa.
"Now that's a good hostage."
"Where do you want me to go?" Chazawa asked, his voice low.
"To the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters." Fuyuhiko's grin became more pronounced. "That, you lucky man, is where it's all gonna go down. That's where the world is going to change for the better..."
Chazawa blinked with fear, but he maintained his composure and kept driving even after he reentered the street adjacent to Hashimoto Manor. There was no way he was going to put Natsumi's life at stake, not to mention Iwasawa's.
"Don't worry, Natsumi-chan, Iwasawa-san," he thought. "I'll find a way to get us outta this predicament..."
Unbeknownst to anyone else, Hiroto was hanging on for dear life on the side of the van.
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A/N: And that marks the conclusion of this chapter! Not only did you get to see the immediate aftermath of the returns of Hinata and Yui, but you also got to learn more about the actual OCs of the group, Hiroto and Royama! Not to mention it looks like something's blossoming between Iwasawa and Hiroto. ;D And outside of that, it appears Fujimaki is now out of the picture again! You'll learn more on what happened to him in the next chapter.
Anyway, I do apologize if it seems like I sort of glossed over Hinata and Yui's return. Looking at that section now, I really feel like that should've been included in the previous chapter as well. Ah, well. Beggars can't be choosers.
Alright, now the next chapter won't be out until the beginning of next month. I'm going to be resuming work on the new chapters for "Hero Club", my first "My Hero Academia" fanfic, as well as "Fate/Rule Zero", because I'm still committed to updating it every month. In other words, it's time for more exercises in patience, everyone! Hooray? XD
I'd like to thank the following people for reviewing:
-WoodenStarfish: I'm so glad your favorite couple has finally made their comeback in my story! And don't worry, there will definitely be a lot of adorable and sugary moments between the two of them in following chapters! Rest assured, I'm going to give everyone equal proportions of the spotlight!
-Dracus6: *sigh*
-FaatalisticCry: Oh. Well, you know "Angel Beats!" Their backstories can be a bit sadistic sometimes. So naturally, I had to replicate that style to the best of my ability. Otherwise, you know, this story wouldn't look like an "Angel Beats!" fic... But I'm glad you still liked the happy note the chapter ended on! I had to make it up to you somehow anyway! :D :D :D :D :D
Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!
