Title: Terror…

A/N: Look, this chapter is not edited (technical problem), so I'm sure it's not as nice as the last one. Oh and BTW, I'm really sorry it took me so long to upload this chapter b'coz I was away for a camp

sLL: I watched Dark Waters too. It was quite nice.

Lazuli:*Blush* thanks!

Alexia: Ei? Well I'm not sure, but most probably because, you know, Kainan was the best followed by Shoyo…

Ayce Shade: Err… what exactly is a demon fodder?

Eliar Swiftfire: No! This isn't the end!

Chapter 5- Uncertainty?

            'Yasuda! Please, your crying ain't going to help Shiozaki one bit, okay? Don't you get it? He's beyond our help, and the only thing that would make him happy, if such a feeling is possible where he is, is us getting out of here alive!' Mitsui said, getting a little frustrated. But at least Yasuda was showing signs that he was calming down, and he felt a little better. His efforts weren't in vain.

            'Sempai, is Shiozaki…' Yasuda left his sentence unfinished.

            'You'll have to accept that fact. Can you do it?' Mitsui asked in return.

            'This must be a dream, it has to be. Shiozaki can't be dead…'

            'Yasuda! If this is a dream…' Mitsui pinched him, harder than he was supposed to, but he was losing his patience, so he couldn't care less.

            'Then wake UP! This is not a dream, no matter how all of us wish it is. So stop it.' There was a moment of pause where Yasuda rubbed the place where Mitsui pinched him, looking totally scared. Then, in a softer tone, Mitsui continued,

            'Look, I may not know how you're feeling, okay, I admit that, but you don't know how we feel either. I mean like… man… I would give anything to be one of you, no responsibility and all. But we can't choose to be who we are. It's not by chance that it took Shiozaki and not you, you may be important later, so… please don't make it any harder on all of us… the eight of us,' he continued. Yasuda stared at him, and then looked at the other seven who were standing, looking very, very sad and unhappy. He felt a little guilty looking at them, he was too selfish. Sighing, he nodded, still sniveling. Such a thought had not crossed his mind.

After making sure that Yasuda wouldn't break into hysteric wailings again, he asked Ryota to watch over Yasuda while he joined up with the other seven at the corner of the gym. More flashes of lighting and clashes of thunder. Mitsui shuddered involuntarily.

            'What's going to happen now?' he asked himself, jogging towards them. The first greeting he received was a question.

            'How's Yasuda?' Fujima asked. Mitsui nodded.

            'Fine, well better than before at least.' At the same time, he sighed, inwardly. Responsibility, he never liked it.

            'Well, as we were saying, the next victim should be from Kainan,' Hanagata said. He was about to continue when Koshino, deep in thought, cut in, not even aware that he was interrupting Hanagata.

              'Um… sempai Mitsui, Rukawa, do you think that Shiozaki actually believed what we said just now?'

            'Ei?... you mean about using our imaginations and all that crap? Well, I wouldn't know, but… if you ask me for a speculation, I think… no… yeah, no, he wouldn't,' Mitsui said. There was a pause. Then Jin asked the question which had been circling in their minds.

            'Why? I mean… it won't actually make a difference, now would it?'

'Well… you see, I know very well that Uekusa wouldn't believe in this kind of stuff, you know, imaginations. He's the more practical one, one who would work with facts. As for Ito, he practically proclaimed to the whole world that he didn't believe in such a thing… do you see where I'm going?' Koshino replied, ending it with a question.

'Um… yeah, well at least I see two possibilities. Either it is angry that we won't acknowledge its presence and reality, or you could be suggesting that it feeds on the uncertainty of the mind,' Maki answered. Everyone around them was whispering to each other, making him more nervous.

'I think the second one would be a better possibility. Most of them could not believe that such a thing could happen. Yet, it happened. They were torn between practicality and the fact that it was happening right in front of their eyes. Naturally, they'd be shock, confused.' Hanagata said, explaining, not only to those who didn't really understand, but maybe, just maybe, to himself as well.  

'Okay, thought acknowledged and fact accepted. But then, there is one flaw, why couldn't it get Uekusa?' Mitsui asked. The eight of them went quiet, thinking. At least the four, Hanagata, Koshino, Mitsui and Maki were thinking. The others, they were watching, observing and listening, wondering what was going to happen next, and who was the next victim. They all, especially Rukawa felt uncomfortable, vulnerable. For some reasons unknown to himself, he kept casting worried glances at Jin.

The rain seemed to be thinning.

'Is that a good sign?… or a bad?"' Rukawa asked himself. Then, Hanagata cut his thought short.

'I can only come up with these two most probable reason, which may not be true,' Hanagata warned. The rest nodded, a little impatiently. They didn't know how much time they had left, before it came back for its next victim. Sendo felt eerily vulnerable.

A feeling he had not felt. Not even in this gym where his friends were being murdered, no. He too noticed that the rain was thinning, but…

'First of all, Rukawa and Sendo were on your guard, weren't you?' he questioned. Sendo and Rukawa nodded mutely.

'So, you see, they already… waiting. They were not caught by surprise, which gave us more time to actually think and them to act. Secondly, maybe Uekusa didn't believe, but that didn't mean he closed out all the possibilities.'

Koshino stared at Hanagata, his brain trying to sink in everything he had said.

'He might have not have closed out all the possibilities,' Koshino reiterated. Hanagata nodded.

'Yeah, maybe, just maybe, he was willing to believe, if we could provide enough proof. So, actually, his mind wasn't really… um… uncertain. He was open to any possibility,' Hanagata continued, looking at each one of them, especially Koshino, for this was actually his idea. Hanagata was merely elaborating the idea Koshino had laid out. And, probably, because Koshino was quite a good friend of Uekusa. Probably he was looking for some kind of affirmation.

'Proof! Man, that's it. Uekusa works with proof. He's a Science man… open, but not to imagination! Open to possibilities. Jeez, that was it,' Koshino muttered. Uekusa always wanted prove, how could he have overlooked it?

'Yeah, Ito felt something, I could see it. See it in his eyes,' Sendo murmured.

'Yeah, Ito felt it, but knowing him, I know that he wouldn't have accepted such an illogical fact. He wouldn't want to. You see that's two main differences between them. One didn't believe, and wasn't ready to accept, the other, didn't believe, but was ready to accept,' Hanagata concluded. Another flash of lighting, and a loud clash of thunder. Then, so many things were heard together that Rukawa's mind went blank for a while.

First, he heard Hanagata saying something about not having proof.

Second, he heard Ayako screaming.

And third…

'Help! Help! Maki, Jin, Kiyota, Takasago! HELPPP!' Rukawa shook his head. Those voices mingled together, causing his ears and head to ache. The thunder and splattering of the rain outside wasn't helping either. He didn't seem to realize… acknowledge the tensed atmosphere in the gym.

Sendo, on the other hand, who was not as blur as Rukawa, knew perfectly what was going on. He could sense how scared everyone was. He was no exception. He was terrified, almost petrified. This particular voice was worse, far worse, in a way, compared to the voice he heard in his brain, mind. It was… Mutoh's voice, and he could see that particular fact registering itself in the brains of the basketball players in the gym, causing them… terror.

'Mutoh?' Jin said softly. Rukawa, who finally got his brain cleared, blinked a little, and looked around. He could feel the uncertainty in everyone's mind. The indecisiveness. He had that feeling, that sense again. The feeling…

His eyes met Sendo's, and confirmed the possibility. The possibility that again, it was using this as a trick.

'As blur as that guy is, he's sharp as well,' Sendo muttered to himself.

'Jin-san? Come on, someone, help me!'

'Mutoh… Mutoh…' Jin muttered again and again, the shock nearly making him lose his mind.

'Jin… Help! HELP!'

Rukawa snaked his hand out, catching Jin's, holding him back, while Sendo stood behind Maki, eyeing him uncertainly.    

'They want to destroy us first. If we're gone…' Hanagata muttered, observing the fact that although everyone was scared to death, not one of them was affected the way Jin and Maki were… especially Jin. It was scary to see the way Jin was reacting to Mutoh's voice.

Koshino nodded.

'If we're gone, things would be much easier on it.'

The voice was still calling out in a pathetic voice. That was the only flaw of the voice. Mutoh never used a pathetic voice in his whole life, even if he was desperate. But Jin didn't seem to notice that.

'Maki-san… please,' Mutoh's voice called out.

And directly after that, to Mitsui's surprise, Sendo left Maki's side.

'It wants Jin,' he muttered, loud enough for them to hear. Yet, what he said did not register itself in Jin's brain. He was too consumed with the voice… and the though of Mutoh.

'Demo… Sendo,' Mitsui said. Hanagata stopped him.

'They know what they are doing. Don't worry.'

'Sempai Hanagata. Just keep an eye on Maki,' Rukawa said, his normally unemotional voice was tinted with… panic. Hanagata nodded, while Fujima ran over to help him.

'Sempai Fujima, Sendo, both if you do it this time,' Rukawa said to them. Flashes of lightning decorated the night sky. The thunder that followed left Rukawa feeling very… angry. He felt again that it was the cause of the rain. The rain was its… emotion…   

            Fujima and Sendo nodded, and tried to enter into Jin's mind. But this was a little harder than in Uekusa's situation. Jin had his own mind power, and it was not actually letting them enter. It didn't allow them to do what they wanted in Jin's mind. Sendo was worried. If, if its power was strong enough, it could use Jin's power, Jin's mind power against them all.

* * * * * * * *

            'Mutoh. That's Mutoh! He's not dead. Aren't you going to help him?' a voice told Jin, mocking him for not being able to help the last time. He tried to walk towards Mutoh's voice which seemed to come from… everywhere. He was absently aware that his mind was in a whirl, and that someone was holding him back.

            'That's not important. The important thing is Mutoh's alive, and in danger. You have to help him!' the voice told him again.

            'Mutoh's dead! That's just a fake, a gimmick,' another voice woke in the back of his head, but… that voice was not as strong. It wasn't as strong as the first voice. The mocking voice. But then, it was followed by two other vague voices.

            'Yes! That's right. It's all gimmick. Come back, Jin. Get into control again.'

            'Jin? Come on, you can't help Mutoh by giving in. Fight it!' yet, even the combination of the three voices was not as strong as the first voice.

            'Don't talk crap! Don't listen to those voices. Help Mutoh!' The same voice. The persuading, mocking voice. He was so confused. So utterly helpless. Suddenly…

* * * * * * * *

            *Pap*. Rukawa slapped Jin, hard. Jin's hand flew to his face, his blank eyes clearing a little.

            'Rukawa…' Maki said softly.

            'Hey! Come back! What do you think you are doing? How can you just give in? You're supposed to be helping us. Leading them! How can you give in to that thing? Do'aho!' Rukawa said. Sendo noticed that his voice this time did not contain fear, but… pain? He also noticed that unlike his voice, Rukawa's face was still unemotional. At least on the outside. Sendo wondered… was Rukawa hiding anything?

* * * * * * * *

            Frustration drove dots in front of my eyes.

I'll get you.

I'll win in the end.

            And yet, I could feel the fear trying to take over my frustration. No matter how itried to avoid it, it was still there.

What if they win??

It doesn't matter, I'll be careful…

They won't win if I'm careful.

            A mental picture of Rukawa flashed into my mind. My anger returned.

The possibility of you winning may not be that remote anymore, but I'll get you.

I'm immortal.

Mortal man like you will never triumph over me.    

Rukawa and Hanagata.

You'll be the first.

            My anger intensified. The rain, which was thinning at my concentration, suddenly lashed down, harder than before.

I know you're tensing up, Rukawa.

I'm omniscient.

Remember.

* * * * * * * *

            'Jin, daijoubu ka?' Fujima asked. A very bewildered Jin stared at him

            'Give me a minute,' he answered, feeling quite shaken. Sendo smiled, nervously. Rukawa let out a sigh, as if he had just completed a tedious task. Sendo chanced a glance at him. Just looking at him made Sendo feel that… he was in a way, alone, at least for now. Outside, it was still raining, and the moon shone down, somehow, seeming more cold and hostile than warm.

A/N: I'm really sorry if there were any mistakes. And oh… please, review. Thanks for all your support.