Nishi's eyes widened at the sight of the alien; it was here the whole time, hiding outside the apartment. Who knew it'd be smart enough to do that? Nishi turned and quickly grabbed two large guns from the small room behind him, and as he whirled around, screams filled the room when the alien chose its first victim, Uchida. Misuki and Himari ran to hide behind the black ball, tears streaming down their faces. As if Gantz is going to save you. "Yoko!"Nishi quickly threw a gun over to Yoko, and she caught it gratefully. Nishi caught Akari scampering away on his hands and knees into the back room, sniffling and mumbling to himself. Coward.
For a moment, everything stopped; the body of Uchida lay in two halves in a pool of blood, mouth open in a scream. The alien had ceased its attack and looked as though it was studying the remaining players. Itsuki stilled all movements as he sat shaking, pale-faced, staring up at the vicious creature. "It's not real… it's not real…"
Nishi raised his gun and pulled the trigger three times without hesitation. The alien screeched and skittered to the side, baring its teeth angrily. "Damn it!" The windows on the right smashed, and the floor nearby Itsuki blew upward.
Itsuki turned to look at Nishi with a glare and shouted, "Are you crazy! It wasn't doing anything! You just pro-" Itsuki was cut short and screamed when the alien's teeth sank into his shoulder, lifting him in the air. "Noooo! Please don't kill me! It was him that shot you, not me!" Suddenly a third explosion caused one of the alien's arms to blow up, gushing green over the floor, and it dropped Itsuki with a shriek. Itsuki shuffled backward from the alien, utter fear on his face.
Yoko tightened her hold on the weapon, and just as she was about to shoot, Nishi grabbed her arm. Yoko looked at him in surprise.
"I told you, this alien is mine," Nishi told her with a frown and fired three more shots at the alien as it skittered across the far wall beside the Gantz ball. Each shot damaged the wall, and the homeless woman covered her head to protect herself from falling chunks of ceiling. Nishi gritted his teeth when the alien suddenly jumped in his and Yoko's direction. The two teens both fired their weapon simultaneously before diving to the side.
The alien turned to Yoko and let out a hiss before swiping its sharp limb across her shoulder. Yoko gave a cry of pain as she hit the floor, covering her wound with her hand with gritted teeth. Yoko had turned just in time to avoid severe injury, but the pain was still excruciatingly painful. Yoko glanced over to Nishi, who stood still, gun raised encase it decided to attack him next. Yoko never expected him to help her but watching his cold reaction to the alien's attack proved she meant nothing to him after all.
Nishi narrowed his eyes, barely looking at Yoko writhing on the floor. The alien suddenly turned to Nishi, causing the boy to step back, keeping his gun raised. "Die you fucker!" Nishi fired the gun multiple times, but when the time lag ended, only two shots were absorbed, and the rest imploded against the wall, causing Yoko to groan in pain as she shuffled back to avoid the backlash. "Fuck!" Nishi's eyes widened, and he began to worry. How does it keep avoiding our aim in such a closed space! Suddenly, the alien disappeared, and just as Nishi tried to activate his device, he realized. "Shit." Nishi took another step back and turned to yell at Akari, who still hid in the back room, "Throw me a device!"
Akari raised his head in fear and stammered, "No, the alien will kill me."
Nishi gritted his teeth. "If you don't throw me a device, I'll fucking kill you, now hurry up!" Akari scrambled to his knees and fumbled through the weapons before grasping a controller. "Now hurry up and-" Nishi suddenly cried out when he was thrown off his feet and hit the balcony rail outside, landing with a thud on the ground.
Akari stared in shock and shrunk back. "Oh crap."
Yoko gritted her teeth and attempted to sit up, but the pain in her shoulder caused dizziness. There was a sudden hand on her back, and Yoko looked up to see Misuki aiding her. "Don't bother," Yoko said when she realized what Misuki was trying to do. "Just help me up, I have to help Nishi." Misuki gave her an incredulous look, and Yoko smiled. "I know, but I – he's all I have, I don't expect you to understand."
Nishi pressed his hand against his side, arching in pain from the deep gash the alien's limb caused, surprised his suit still functioned. Nishi glanced down to see the wound had ripped his skin open but relieved since it had missed a cap by inches. The gash was large, and every time he tried to move, it just bled and opened more. "Ah, shit…" Nishi reached for the bar to pull himself up, choking back a sob when he turned to face the alien that was almost hovering over him. Nishi narrowed his eyes and grasped the fallen gun with gritted teeth, shuffling up against the railing. Blood trickled from Nishi's mouth when his vision blurred, and he could barely keep the gun still. "I won't…die…." Nishi looked up with gritted teeth at the alien looming over him from just a few feet away. I don't think I can kill it in time; it's too fucking close….
Yoko's heart leaped in her throat, her eyes glistened at the thought of watching Nishi die. "No…." Yoko shoved Misuki off her and stumbled forward. "No…. Nishi, I won't…I won't let you…"
Nishi's eyes widened as the alien's sharp limb jolted forward, and he clenched his eyes shut.
Misuki reached her hand out in an attempt to stop the inevitable. "No!"
Himari covered her mouth as she appeared from her hiding space behind Gantz. Akari crawled out from the back room, his body shaking uncontrollably. Riku stared at the scene with a solemn expression, shaking her head in disapproval. Itsuki cradled his shoulder, eyes wide in disbelief, unable to grasp the reality of the situation.
When Nishi opened his eyes, a loud gasp escaped his lips, and he froze.
Yoko looked down at him through half-lidded eyes, the pain in them was unmistakable, and yet, she still found the strength to smile at him, even just the slightest bit. "Nishi….kill it, it's guard is down…kill it."
Nishi's fingers twitched on the trigger, but he barely had the strength to raise his arm; the unexpected occurrence had zapped the rest of his endurance. Yoko cried out when the alien's limb withdrew from her torso and almost fell on top of Nishi as she fell to the ground. Nishi stared at her, but it lacked the cold expression from before as thin tear lines covered his cheeks, finally realizing what he felt for her. The alien's strange hissing jolted Nishi's attention from Yoko, and he raised the gun angrily. "Fuck you!" Nishi fired the gun multiple times without pause, tears cascaded down his face, but he didn't care. "Fucker!" Nishi stopped abruptly, dropping his gun out of sheer exhaustion, blood heavily seeping through his fingers and trickling from his mouth. The alien exploded several times; its body parts covered the entire area, including the apartment inside. Screams erupted from the survivors as parts of the ceiling from the open balcony began to implode.
"Nishi…."
Nishi turned his head slowly to the side, and with tremendous effort, he shifted to Yoko's side, dropping to his elbows, noticing her suit was leaking. "You…. hypocrite…what the hell…"
Yoko smiled weakly at him. "I'm sorry…I just….I couldn't let you die." Yoko reached her hand up to his and Nishi grasped it tightly.
"Well….I got the points at least, next time don't risk-"
Yoko tightened her hold on his hand. "Nishi, I can't come back with you this time…."
Nishi's eyes widened slightly, trying his best to stop the tears. "Shut the fuck up, don't say shit like that…" Nishi looked toward the broken windows. "Fuck, Gantz! Hurry up already!"
Yoko grimaced and choked blood from her throat. "Nishi, tell me….do I look okay? You know….am I still beautiful, even in my own death?"
Nishi glanced back down at her, and he managed to huff a laugh, trying to ignore his own injuries. "Idiot…." Nishi leaned down and captured her lips in a deep kiss.
Yoko smiled happily despite her tears because, for the first time, she knew how Nishi felt about her, and she could finally confess. "Nishi, I love you…."
Nishi knew she did, somewhere deep down, he knew, but to hear those words from her now…. "You coward, didn't have the courage to tell me sooner, so you wait until your deathbed, the fuck is that?"
Yoko tried to laugh, but she coughed and groaned in pain. "Sorry…but it's….not like you're much….better, you're crying so….that tells me you care about me, and you only showed me because you know I'm going to die, so which one of us….is really the hypocrite."
Nishi gritted his teeth and grasped her by the shoulder. "Shut up…the mission is over…so don't think you're getting away with that remark…"
Yoko shook her head and placed her hand on his cheek, wiping away a tear. "Nishi, please survive, you have to…if it weren't for me, we both would have been free, so please…do whatever it takes to survive. Promise me."
Nishi grinned, despite his blurred vision and stained cheeks, both from tears and blood. "You know that I will."
Yoko's hand slipped from Nishi's face and softly hit the ground. "Goodbye Nishi…. thank you for everything, I love you."
The moment Yoko's eyes closed, Nishi's hands began to disappear, and his emotions burst. "Don't you fucking die! Yoko! Don't leave me alone!"
Nishi was the first to transfer back into the room. The balcony windows were fixed, the ceiling and walls were unscathed; it was as though nothing had happened. Nishi's eyes narrowed tearfully as he opened his hand to find a key in his palm, and he let out a scream as he pounded the floor. "Fuck!" Nishi could hear the survivors begin to appear behind him, could feel their sympathetic expressions burn holes into his back, and it caused him to tense.
Itsuki was the first to speak once they realized the room was back to normal. "Is it over?" The group scanned their surroundings with shock and confusion.
Akari frowned and failed to acknowledge his cowardice act during the fight against the alien. Akari turned to Takeda, awaiting an explanation, knowing he wasn't likely to get an answer from the teen right now. "You gonna tell us what happens now? This isn't the first time you've survived, is it."
Takeda hunched his shoulders and looked at the black ball. "It will score us, and then we're free to go." Takeda's explanation caused a gasp of surprise from the group at the possibility of freedom.
Nishi stood up without a word, his hands curled into fists around the key, and silence cast about the room.
Gantz began to display information, and each of them awaited with anticipation.
There's a lot of them this time, Nishi thought with disgust and couldn't help feeling resentment toward the survivors. They deserve to die. Yoko's smiling face as she died appeared in his mind, and he tightened his fists. Damn it, she fucking left me alone…shit.
Okay, here are your scores.
Dog:
0 points.
Total points: 0.
Were you invisible?
Homeless woman:
0 points.
Total points: 0.
Meh.
No balls:
0 points.
Total points: 0.
Talks tough but never backs it up, hides too much.
Akari glared at the ball. "Hey! I didn't – I'm no coward!"
Itsuki looked over at Akari and raised his eyebrow. "You did kinda hide away like a coward."
Akari raised a fist defensively. "I'm not the only one who hid, they did too!"
Misuki gasped at the accusation and placed her hand on her chest. "At least I tried to help!"
Himari hunched; she didn't share the same feeling. I'm a nurse, and I didn't do anything; I'm so ashamed.
Itsuki shrugged and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh come on, girls are supposed to be scared."
Misuki frowned and stomped her foot. "That's so incredibly sexist!"
Nishi pursed his lips, he was on the verge of breaking, and they were angering him. Utterly useless idiots.
Manga dude:
0 points.
Total points: 0.
You survived; good for you.
Itsuki tilted his head. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
Coward:
0 points.
Total points: 0.
You're still a coward.
Akari looked at Takeda. "At least I'm not the only one."
Takeda frowned but said nothing.
"Tsk."
Nursey:
0 points.
Total points: 0.
Well, at least you tried.
Misuki huffed, unsure how to respond to the strange compliment.
Nursey wannabe:
0 points.
Total points: 0.
Relies too much on Nursey.
Himari gasped, and her cheeks reddened as she frantically shook her head. "I just – look up to her is all."
Misuki looked at Himari and chuckled.
Nishi ignored the group behind him; finally, it was his turn, and he couldn't wait to get the hell out of this apartment. A small part of his heart ached when his name appeared on the screen, knowing he'd never see the words flat chest again, but he shook it off quickly.
Nishi-kun.
5 points.
Total points: 5.
95 more to go, and you're done.
…
Akari and Itsuki stared in disbelief at the now blank screen of Gantz. "Can we really go now?" asked Akari.
"Yeah," Takeda said. "It's over for now."
Nishi's shoulders began to shudder, and the group turned their attention to him.
Riku was the first to approach, a sympathetic expression on her face once more. "We're sorry for your loss young man." The group's initial thoughts were that Nishi mourned his teammate's loss, but when Riku placed her hand on the boy's shoulder, he suddenly burst into laughter.
Nishi turned to them with a grin on his face, expertly hiding his emotions. "You're all going to die," he laughed hysterically. "All of you, you haven't got a chance in hell, you're all dead." Nishi laughed again as he walked away from them and left the apartment.
"That kid is so messed up," Akari said, and the rest nodded.
…..
Nishi reached Yoko's apartment and hesitated to unlock the door; she had silently told him he could go back. Why does this feel wrong? Nishi entered the apartment with a small sigh, toeing off his shoes and quietly shutting the door. Nishi leaned against the frame for a moment, his eyes wandering with a frown; nothing felt the same anymore. Soon, his eyes landed on the picture frame, sat on the kitchen counter, and he moved to get a closer look. Nishi picked up the image, but he refused to cry; he was too angry.
"Nishi, I love you."
Nishi threw the frame across the apartment and the center shattered upon impact. "How could you!" Nishi cracked the countertop with his fists and fell to his knees. "I'm…. I'm alone now…fuck."