Sitting with her arms clamped around folded legs, Ayane Mirasaki sat alone on the closed toilet seat, the bathroom door both locking Donki out, and keeping herself in. In her hands, she clutched two objects tightly, both making indentations in her palms. One was the locket she'd taken off of Doguru's body, the one that had caused him to do what he did and kill himself. And the other was the pair of cat ears she wore in the picture…he'd given them to her as a gift, and she always felt that they were like a part of him she could keep all to herself. She refused to relinquish her grasp on either of the objects, retreating to the bathroom when Donki had tried to console her…not wanting to part with the last bit of Doguru she had left, the Program having taken everything else.

Donki sat outside, back against the wooden door, banging his head backwards into the lumber, trying to expel the thought of Kazo's death from his mind. He could see everything moving in slow motion over and over again like some kind of broken video that wouldn't move beyond a set point due to damage in the footage. Despite not having seen the initial moments, he played back the exact moment when Doguru had surprised Kazo and fired those two shots, Kazo's face going white and his eyes going wide as the bullets traveled towards him in an excruciatingly slow manner. Donki wanted to stop them, but it was only a dream…nothing he could do to make things right as they hit their target, right in Kazo's gut, and he fell to the ground.

Donki saw himself running, like an out of body experience, and holding Kazo in his arms as the boy bled. Ayane was there, screaming something as Donki looked up and watched another bullet bury its way into Doguru's skull, the boy falling slowly, Kazo having died less than a minute before due to his wounds. Both of them…the two survivors that is, simply sat there…Ayane not making a move towards her fallen love, Donki squeezing Kazo tighter as he recalled all the moments of their childhood. It was so difficult to think that Kazo was really gone…just a lifeless shell…his mind nothing now without the beat of a pulse. So much violence…so much pain…this wasn't a game, it was a war, and they were prisoners.

"Hey, Doguru said he's going as Inuyasha…'cause Ayane's dressing as Felicia and he figures dog boy, cat girl…it's a good combination."

"Man…I wanted to go as Inuyasha…he's fuckin' badass."

"Doguru's lucky man…he's got a girl that's into this stuff. We can't even find girls to go out on NORMAL dates with us."

"Yeah…Kazuko doesn't even notice me."

"Hara? Man…you're better off trying to get with Bustaka. Hara's nice…but she's not desperate…she's actually got prospects."

"A guy can dream, can't he?"

"Yeah…but Hara?"

"Hey, she's smart, cute, and nice. That's like…the ultimate female trifecta."

"Note to Kazo: Girls aren't gonna be turned on when you use the term 'trifecta' nor will they even know what it means."

"Hara knows."

"Well maybe she does…but she'd still be freaked out."

"Whatever man…just help me pick a costume. Who're you going as?"

"I was thinking of going as Ryoga Hibiki, you know, from Ranma."

"Heh…you'd be better off as the Dojo Destroyer dude."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

"Nothing…hahahahaha!"

Donki had chased Kazo around for hours after that, Kazo continuing to make minor fat jokes which only spurred on Donki's rampage. He'd ended up going as Ryu from Street Fighter, while Kazo took the role of Ryoga…which only led to numerous taunts where Kazo was called "P-Chan." They'd met up with a guy dressed as Ranma…who kept talking smack and acting tough, while insulting Kazo for his role as Ryoga. When Kazo and Donki teamed up to dump an entire bucket of cold water on the boy, obviously not changing him into a female as in the anime, the boy grew enraged and started pummeling Kazo. Needless to say, Donki wasn't going to let his best friend fight alone…he tackled the other boy and the three fought and punched each other on the floor until separated and thrown out of the convention by security.

Those were good times in Donki's mind, and he preferred remembering them to the bad times, but now things were different. First and foremost in his mind, it would never be the anime convention that Donki remembered. He'd always remember how in his mind, it was his fault that Kazo now lay dead. He had been the one that had stopped watching the window to play cards. He had been the one who had let Kazo go out into the hall by himself, inside of joining up like the team they were. And he was the one who had been too late to save his friend from death, and had to watch him die to one of their friends.

Looking down at the gun, he thought about how easy it would be to just put it to his temple and pull the trigger, and blow those thoughts out of his mind entirely. He pressed the barrel against his skin and mouthed the word "Boom" before dropping the weapon and letting his head rest against the door, hearing Ayane's sobs through the portal. He had nearly forgotten about her, having been wrapped up in his own thoughts. Ayane wasn't really someone he was comfortable around…she'd always just been someone who'd shown up at anime club one time, and Doguru kept dragging her along with them from that point on. He couldn't feel sorry for her, having lost the boy she loved; he'd lost his best friend, and Doguru was the evil bastard that had taken Kazo away.

Sighing heavily, Donki stood and tried the door one last time, Ayane still having locked herself in, as though she was more afraid of him than of the boy that had waved a gun at her a few hours before. He walked back into the central room and grabbed his bag, stuffing Saikichi's gun inside along with the map, the class list, the food and water he'd brought in, and anything else that could've been useful. He returned to the bathroom and pounded on the door, trying to get Ayane's attention in the dark cocoon she'd formed around herself.

"Ayane…I'm leaving."

With no response, Donki entered the bedroom where he'd personally laid Kazo to rest, and patted his friend's forehead, giving his limp hand and hearty shake with tears in his eyes. Ayane was on her own…if she wanted to stay locked in that bathroom alone, that was her decision. Donki just couldn't stay in the apartment anymore…he needed to get out and be free. The building was like a prison to him, the place where his friends had died now haunted by their forlorn spirits. He just couldn't handle it anymore, and if he stayed there any longer, he would go insane, and he WOULD blow his brains out. This decision was for the best…and he just needed to get away.

After about ten minutes of silence in the apartment, the door unlocked and Ayane timidly stepped out. Donki was truly gone, but he'd left all her stuff…including the gun Doguru had used to…kill. She gathered up her supplies of food, water, weapons and bullets, and went back into the bathroom, locking the door once more and hoping that her fortress would stay safe though the duration of the game. Thinking of Doguru once more, she cried herself to sleep, head falling to a rest on the cold and hard metal of the Colt revolver.